A Correlational Study Of Vocational School Students’Learning Beliefs, Learning Strategies And English Scores

With the rapid development of language learning researches, a major number of scholars and professors have now focused on the learner factors. In resent years, researchers at home and aboard have done their investigation towards two variables including language learning beliefs and language learning strategies, however, their subjects are the students in universities, the researches based on the vocational school students who are becoming a large group in resent years are seldom seen in important journals and researches on these two variables together with English scores haven’t been done in China. Thus, the purpose and the significance of the present study is to propose some useful suggestions to the English teaching practice and to provide some empirical evidence for enriching the theories of linguistics and pedagogy by ways of summarizing and analyzing the relationship between these two variables together with English scores according to the investigation of vocational school students.The present study employs two main questionnaires including Horwitz’ The Belief about Language Inventory and Oxford’ Strategy Inventory for Language Learning and interviews. It analyses the relationship between language learning beliefs and language learning strategies and two variables together with English scores by using quantitative and qualitative methods. The following are the research questions:(1) What language learning beliefs are shared by students in vocational schools?(2) What language learning strategies are frequently used by students in vocational schools?(3) What the relationship between language learning beliefs and language learning strategies?(4) What the relationship between language learning beliefs and English scores?(5) What the relationship between language learning strategies and English scores?The following are the main findings in this thesis:(1) General distribution of language learning beliefs and language learning strategies: as for language learning beliefs, firstly, most of students agreed with the special ability of learning English and they thought the hard working was more important than the special ability; secondly, a major students believed that writing and reading were easier than speaking and listening; students had the vary answers about the difficulty of English learning; although most of students thought still had the common sense that vocabulary and grammar learning was the most important thing; although they took cultural knowledge as an important factor, they seldom positively acquire some knowledge; their motivation of learning English tended to get a better job. As for strategy use frequency, most of students used six learning strategies in a medium level and metacognitive strategies were used in a higher level. As for significant difference of two level groups, high-proficiency groups use four strategies including memory strategies, cognitive strategies, affective strategies and metacognitive strategies more frequently than low-proficiency groups do; there is only one significant difference in motivation between two levels.(2) The relationship between language learning beliefs, language learning strategies and English scores:firstly, there are positive correlations between language learning beliefs and language learning strategies; secondly, as for the relationship between language learning beliefs and English scores is that:motivation is significantly correlated with English scores, and other two beliefs (foreign language learning aptitude, learning and communication strategies) are correlated with English scores; there are significant positive correlations between the use of four types of language learning strategies (including:memory strategies, metacognitive strategies, cognitive strategies and affective strategies) and English scores. It indicates that students who use these four strategies more frequently could get better English scores.The study provides a detailed discussion based on the major findings from the investigation in order to propose some useful suggestions to the English teaching practice: firstly, teachers should offer more correct language learning beliefs to help them build confidence; secondly, teachers should master some training methods of learning strategies and introduce these training into the teaching process to improve students’ English learning efficiency. Though there are some limitations in the study, it still hopes to be helpful to English teaching and learning...