A Study On The Relationship Between Language Learning Beliefs,Learning Strategies And English Achievement Of Students In Senior High School

With the development of humanistic psychology and second language acquisition,the research interest in foreign language learning has shifted its focus from teacher-centred to student-centred.Studies on learners have gradually become the focus of teaching research.As the central aspect of learner factors,the study of language learning beliefs has attracted extensive attention.Since the1970 s,psychologists and educators have realized the vital role of learning strategies in English learning.Moreover,The English Curriculum for Chinese Senior Schools(2017)has established the critical position of learning strategies in English learning.Therefore,it is worth exploring the relationship between senior school students’ language learning beliefs,learning strategies and English achievement.This research investigates 794 students from five senior high schools in Qiannan Bouyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture to verify the relationship between language learning beliefs,learning strategies and English achievement.Hopefully,the paper provides useful advice to satisfy the expectation of teachers and students.The study focuses on four aspects:(1)The study attempts to present the current situation of language learning beliefs held by senior high school students.(2)The study attempts to present the current situation of senior high school students’ use of learning strategies.(3)The study attempts to explore the relationship between senior high school students’ language learning beliefs,learning strategies and English achievement.(4)The study attempts to explore the path model between senior high school students’ language learning beliefs,learning strategies and English achievement.In order to achieve research purposes,a questionnaire and semi-structured interview were used to collect data.Later,descriptive statistics,correlation analysis,multiple regression analysis and path analysis are used to analyze results through SPSS20.0 software,which are shown in the following:(1)Overall beliefs owned by students was relatively high.The most popular beliefs were beliefs about the nature of language learning,while the least agreeable beliefs were motivations and expectations.(2)The overall situation of learning strategies was at the medium level.The most commonly used strategies were affective strategies,while the least used strategies were social strategies.(3)Language learning beliefs,learning strategies and English achievement were interrelated.In particular,language learning beliefs related to learning strategies.Beliefs about the difficulty of language learning were the strongest predictor.Besides,language learning beliefs correlated with English achievement.Beliefs about the difficulty of language learning were the strongest predictor.What’s more,learning strategies were related to students’ achievement.Affective strategies were the strongest predictor.(4)Three pathways had a significant impact on academic achievement,including two direct pathways and one indirect pathway.Two direct pathways contained the effect of language learning beliefs on learning strategies and the influence of learning strategies on English achievement.One indirect pathway was the indirect effect of language learning beliefs on English achievement through learning strategies.According to the analysis and discussion of the results,implications of the present study mainly include three aspects:(1)Teachers should always track and monitor students’ foreign language aptitude to help students identify beliefs,cultivate their positive beliefs in terms of learning and communicative strategies,motivations and expectations,the difficulty of language learning,and counter their negative beliefs for proper treatment of aptitude and efforts.(2)Teachers should strive to improve students’ motivations and expectations through creating learning situations,setting appropriate learning tasks and penetrating cultural awareness.(3)Teachers should promote interactive teaching to cultivate the positive functions of affective factors and train students’ ability to apply cognitive strategies and metacognitive strategies in different activities.