A Study Of The Effects Of SALC-Based Teaching Upon College Students’ Autonomy In English Learning

In recent years, with the development and reform of college English teaching and learning, the theory of self-access learning, on the basis of the theories of constructivism, cognitive psychology and humanistic psychology, has got more and more attention from experts and scholars. It is well acknowledged that Self-access Learning Center is a new concept of teaching and learning, also is a good way to made reforms to the existing system of English teaching and learning. The Self-access Learning Center is established to cultivate and improve students’learning autonomy, as well as the ability of problem solution and independent analysis. And more and more universities and colleges have built up Self-access Learning Centers. However, its effect has been doubted by a lot of people about whether it can improve college students’language learning and learning autonomy or not.The study is going to find out and the role Self-access Learning Center plays in students’English autonomous learning and learner autonomy, especially for those non-English major freshmen in independent college. It tries to find out the answers to the following questions:first, what is the state of students’ability of English autonomous learning and learner autonomy when they come to the City College? Second, can the practice in the Self-access Learning Center improve students’ability of English autonomous learning, and in what degree can it influence learner autonomy via task-based teaching and learning in the school’s Self-access Learning Center? Third, what are the main problems affecting the cultivation of students’ability of English autonomous learning?The results indicate that the students selected from the City College of Wuhan University of Science and Technology generally don’t have good learner autonomy and capacity of autonomous learning. They have accustomed to the traditional mode of classroom teaching, and could not adapt to the new teaching mode on the basis of supporting learning tasks in the Self-access Learning Center. Although many students enjoy their improvement of English language skills, especially listening skills, via self-access learning, the influence, showed by the results of the second questionnaire, on students’learner autonomy and autonomous learning ability is not strong because the period of learning in the center is only one semester. The students admit that there are several influential factors and that learning strategies have great impact on the effects of their study and learner autonomy. But the analysis of the statistics from the survey shows us that participants, or most freshmen in independent colleges don’t have active and clear sense to take appropriate strategies of English learning, and their ability of self-monitoring and self-evaluation is poor.The implications got from this study are as follows:firstly, in order to make students to learn English more actively and independently, English learner autonomy for students in independent colleges should be developed further; secondly, teachers, together with students, should create more proper environment and facilities and make better use of learning methods of autonomous learning; thirdly, teachers should help students to have better recognition of the advantages of English learning strategies and the importance of self-monitoring and evaluation, to make better use of these strategies, and then to enhance the efficiency and effects of students’autonomous learning.