Promoting Non-English Majors' Learner Autonomy Through Learning Strategy Training

With the shift of English teaching from teacher-centered approach to learner-centered approach, learner-centeredness and learner autonomy have become the hot topics in the field of ESL and EFL. Most of the researchers and teachers agree that fostering learner autonomy is one of the most important goals of education. Learner autonomy, most often defined as "the ability to take charge of one's learning", is initiated by Henry Holec in 1980s. In the last two decades, many EFL researchers and educationists gave more attention to the topic and lots of books on learner autonomy came out. In China, the research on learner autonomy has a short history but in recent years the development of learner autonomy has received more and more attention. As a result, there are an increasing number of studies introducing related research in western countries, commenting on learner autonomy or exploring teaching practice. The study of learning strategies began in late 1970s and most of the early research in the area of language learning strategies has been focused on the identification, description and classification of useful learning strategies. The results of the studies on strategy description and categorization have found their implications in language classrooms in helping teachers accelerate the language learning of their students.Many factors contribute to the promotion of learner autonomy, for example, language learners' attitude, motivation, language proficiency, learning strategies, learning environment etc. Among these factors, learning strategies play a critical role and more and more researches on learner autonomy and learning strategies are carried out. In the past few years, much research has been done in China on the effectiveness of learner-centered approach in improving learners' communicative competence, but there is little research on the development of learner autonomy by means of strategy training. Among the limited studies of learning strategy training, most depend on the classification of strategies by Oxford and her SILL (Strategy Inventory for Language Learning). This thesis is mainly based on the classification by O'Malley and Chamot, which clarifies the relationship of meta-cognitive strategies, cognitive strategies and social/affective strategies. Among these three categories, meta-cognitive strategies are high order executive skills and to a great degree, the success of learners is mainly decided by the use of meta-cognitive strategies (O'Malley & Chamot, 1990). Thus the author puts forward the main idea of the thesis: promoting non-English majors' learner autonomy through learning strategy training.The author suggests embedding strategy training into regular teaching for the promotion of learner autonomy. The strategy training helps get students more responsible for their own learning. With regard to the strategy training in classroom teaching, the thesis puts forward a six-step teaching model: assessing strategy; explaining strategy; modeling strategy; scaffolding instruction; evaluation & expansion and developing motivation.The following results are found from the empirical study: within the short-term training of learning strategies, the improvement of cognitive strategies is more apparent than that of meta-cognitive strategies and social strategies; the students in this research use meta-cognitive strategies and cognitive strategies more frequently than social strategies; students' strategy use is positively correlated with their increased language proficiency and among the three categories of learning strategies, cognitive strategies contribute more to the language achievement.The result of this study can illuminate pedagogy, namely, all the teachers should be equipped with strong awareness of learning strategies and make use of every opportunity to embed strategy training into regular teaching; strategy training should be geared towards the level and needs of the learners; the teachers play a crucial role but different from what it used to be; teachers themselves should be involved in strategy training and systematic strategy training is recommended for teachers.