A Survey And Analysis Of Non-English Major Freshmen's Beliefs And Learning Strategy Use

The basic aim of education is to make a student become an independent, autonomous and efficient learner. Teaching students how to learn and introducing them to some effective language strategies can help them improve their learning abilities. Learners are the key factor in the process of learning.The originality of this thesis lies in: The subjects are divided into three different bands. In response the specific pedagogic conditions at Hefei University of Technology, a series of reforms are carried out. The author analyzes the outcomes of the survey of freshmen's beliefs and strategy use by combining qualitative with quantitative methods.In an effort to explore that what beliefs Chinese non-English major freshmen have about EFL learning and what the differences among the different bands in this respect are, and also explore what some of the strategies most commonly used by these students in their English learning and how they are organized, the author conducted a survey on 106 freshmen at Hefei University of Technology.Findings from the survey have thrown light on the relationship between L2 proficiency and language beliefs and strategies of second language learners. Some beliefs may promote the freshmen to take advantage of effective strategies to learn English well while others may hinder their learning. What's more, there exist differences among the freshmen at different bands in many respects, such as their confidence, their motivation, their understanding of the nature of learning language. Therefore, the author proposes that our English teachers carry out the teaching pattern of Strategies-based instruction (SBI) in our daily College English Teaching. At the same time, the author reconsiders language teachers' roles in the process of SBI. Finally, suggestions are given for developing SBI in our practical teaching context.The paper consists of five chapters. The first chapter presents a brief introduction to researches on language learning strategy at home and abroad. The second chapter is literature review, focusing on the theory framework, definition and classification of language learning strategy and the major subjects and findings in this field. The third chapter introduces a survey of non-English major freshmen's beliefs and learning strategies. The primary goals of the study are to describe non-English majorfreshmen's beliefs about language learning and strategy use, and to investigate the relationships among EFL learners' beliefs, learning strategy use and language proficiency. The fourth chapter is the key part of the paper, which discusses the findings of the survey. The last chapter is implications and conclusion.