A Study On Influencing Factors On Learner Autonomy In Oral English For English Majors

In the field of modern foreign language teaching, there has been an increasingimportance attached to learners’ subject role and the cultivation of learners’ autonomy.In Teaching Requirements for College English Curriculum (2004), learner autonomy(LA) is one of the teaching aims of college English teaching. The formation ofstudents’ individual learning methods and the cultivation of this ability are regarded asthe significant milestone indicating whether the teaching reform is successful or not.Previous research discussed a lot on the current situation of learner autonomy andEnglish majors’ oral ability respectively. English majors show many deficiencies inoral ability. Meanwhile, their autonomy in oral learning still remains mystery.However, there are few studies focusing on learner autonomy in oral English(LAIOE), which is the key point of this study.This study involves a large-scale investigation of learner autonomy in oralEnglish (LAIOE) for English majors in China. A hypothesized model integratingLAIOE and five influencing factors (self-efficacy on oral ability, attribution on oralability, teacher, peers and atmosphere in class, and awareness on oral autonomy) wasproposed based on literature and then tested by using stepwise regression analyses.The data collection involved two phases and all the data were collected throughquestionnaires adapted from previous studies. The questionnaire included6sub-scales,investigating learner autonomy in oral English and the five factors above respectively.Phase I, aiming at testing the validity and reliability of initial questionnaires (82items), was carried out among127English majors in a second-tier college, which ledto the deletion of13items with low factor loadings. Phase II was the main studyinvolving the process of sending modified questionnaires (69items) on a large scale(478English majors from7different universities or colleges). By using SPSS17.0,stepwise regression analyses were served to reveal potential predictors of LAIOE andother factors.The results of this study are1. LAIOE for English majors was commonly notgood enough. English majors at key universities did better in LAIOE than otherstudents in second-tier and third-tier colleges.2. The five influencing factors are allsignificantly and positively correlated with LAIOE.3. The regression analysesshowed:1) Teacher, self-efficacy, attribution and awareness could significantly and positively predict LAIOE.2) Teacher could predict peers and class atmosphere, andattribution.3) Peers and class atmosphere, as well as attribution, could predictself-efficacy.4) Attribution and self-efficacy could predict awareness. Theseregressions have constructed a path model which was similar to the hypothesized one,indicating the potential to draw on those influencing factors to account for LAIOE.On the basis of this path model, several suggestions were proposed in this study:1. Teachers should be more conscious of their vital role in nurturing Englishmajors’ LAIOE;2. Teachers should try more to improve oral learning atmosphere in class;3. Teachers should help English majors make right attributions on oral ability andraise awareness on oral autonomy;4. Students should reconceptualize autonomous oral learning and “learn LAIOEby doing”.The development of English majors’ LAIOE is not an isolated process andteacher is the most important factor except for students. English majors couldgradually enhance LAIOE for improving speaking ability to the full extent, with theguidance and supervision of teacher and the impacts of various factors.