A Study On The Correlation Between Students' Family Backgrounds And Their English Achievement

In recent years, people have tended to study foreign language learning from a social perspective. Family is an important micro-ecological environment affecting one's growth and academic development. In the new century, China has been deepening its reform and opening up, as well as the development of market economy system. Thus, there has been further differentiation of social strata, and people's income gap too, so student's family backgrounds become diversified. However, on account of the uneven distribution of educational resources, such social differences are prominently demonstrated in education, particularly in the non-compulsory stage of education.With the coming of information age and economic globalization, the importance of English is increasingly prominent. English, as one of the most important information carriers, has become the most widely used language in all areas of human life. In China's current education system, foreign language is the required course in the foundation stage of education, while English the most important one. Students'academic achievement in English directly restricts students further development. Compared with learning of other courses, English language learning needs the family's more investment in it. This study focus on the relationship between family background and high school student's English learning. In this study, family background is mainly described as parental education, household economic status and family culture, which affects children's English language learning such as the setting of English language learning goals, learning plans, learning methods and strategies as well as academic achievement in English. It is hoped that it can equip the parents with the awareness of the significance of improving their family status in order to improve their children's English language learning.In order to investigate the relationship between family background and high school students'academic achievement in English, we selected at random high school students from No1 middle school of Zhuanglang County, Gansu Province, involving a total of 698 senior students of 2009. By the use of questionnaires and follow-up interviews, we have a one-year investigation and research. The results showed that: family background has a positive impact on students'English learning. These empirical findings have a certain practical significance for parents, educators and foreign language learners themselves as well. In order to improve the efficiency of teaching and learning of English, parents should strive to improve their level of education, and better the family environment for their children to learn English. Foreign language teachers and educators should take student's family background into consideration to promote effective cooperation between school and family.