Research On The Correlation Between Cognitive Strategies And Classroom Behaviors Of Non-English Major Undergraduates Based On The English Flipped Classroom Model

With the wide popularity of the Internet and the rapid development of information technology, a new teaching model--the flipped classroom--comes into being. Based on the Internet, the flipped classroom with micro lectures inverts the teaching activities in class and outside class with the purpose of exploring a learner-centered teaching model. When it comes to learning strategies, English learning strategies can enhance the teaching effect and promote the effective teaching. As for classroom behaviors, relevant researches have shown that the study of students’ classroom behaviors can provide great help for creating a more effective English classroom. Therefore, this paper will make an investigation on the situation of cognitive strategies and classroom behaviors of non-English major undergraduates in the flipped classroom model and analyze the correlation between cognitive strategies and classroom behaviors in order to provide some effective and practical suggestions for college English teaching in the flipped classroom model.In this study, questionnaire, classroom observation and interview are used as the research instruments, and the subjects are 101 non-English major freshmen from Guangxi Normal University. The Non-English Major Undergraduates’ English Classroom Behavior Questionnaire is developed from Hays’(1992) questionnaire. There are seven dimensions in this questionnaire:verbal participation, learning orientation, dominating others, support-seeking, self-disclosure, self-assurance and sociability. The Non-English Major Undergraduates’ Cognitive Strategies Questionnaire, developed from Shao Ruizhens’(1997) classifications of cognitive strategies, is made by the author. It includes four dimensions:rehearsal strategies, elaborative strategies, organizing strategies and concentrative strategies.The three research questions addressed in the present study are:(1) What is the overall situation of non-English major undergraduates’cognitive strategies in the flipped classroom model? (2) What is the overall situation of non-English major undergraduates’ classroom behaviors in the flipped classroom model? (3) Is there any correlation between non-English major undergraduates’English classroom behaviors and their cognitive strategies in the flipped classroom model? If yes, how are they related with each other?Through the study, three findings have been found:(1) Non-English major undergraduates’cognitive strategies stay at a medium level. Specifically speaking, concentrative strategies are used by students most frequently, which are followed by elaborative strategies and rehearsal strategies, while the organizing strategies come to the bottom. (2) Non-English major undergraduates’English classroom behaviors stay at a medium level. In detail, the subjects’learning orientation ranks the top, followed by sociability, self-disclosure, support-seeking, verbal participation, self-assurance and dominating others. (3) Non-English major undergraduates’cognitive strategies and their classroom behaviors are significantly correlated with each other.Based on these findings, some suggestions are put forward for college English teachers. non-English major undergraduates as well as colleges or universities in order to greatly strengthen the college English teaching effect in the flipped classroom model. For teachers, they should create a favorable classroom atmosphere, improve their information literacy, change their roles, emphasize informative evaluation and train students to use appropriate English cognitive strategies. For students, they should develop autonomous learning ability and collaborative learning ability. For colleges, they should invest and update multi-media equipment and provide technology support including employing technicians and organizing technology training for teachers.