The Effect Of Self-concept On Foreign Language Learning

The main purpose of this research is to analyze how English self-concept, especially the English pronunciation self-concept are related to English achievement. Self-concept refers to an individual's perceptions and conceptions about himself which give rise to his sense of personal identity, it is considered as an important factor that contributes to learning outcomes. Participants in this study were 353 middle school students and 100 college students. Data were collected through a nine-domain questionnaire named ASQHSS, and were subjected to correlation and ANOVA analysis by using SPSS software.Data analyses yield the following results. First, both General English Self-concept and English Pronunciation Self-concept correlate significantly with English achievement and English related self-concepts. Second, the development of General English Self-concept and English Pronunciation Self-concept and their correlations with English achievement change across stages. Third, those students with higher levels of English self-concept attributes to relatively higher English achievement. Finally, the findings further reveal gender differences in academic achievement and different self-concept domains.These findings contribute to the study of English self-concept and provide pedagogical implications for English learning and teaching. The study suggests that both English learners and English teachers should adopt some methods to enhance students' English self-concept because the improvement of English self-concept will facilitate and benefit students' English leaning.