A Study On The Low-achievers In English Learning

This thesis deals with a study on the interest of low-achievers in English learning. This study was conducted on 105 second-year non-English majors in Jinling Institute of Science and Technology. During the process of the study, such instruments as questionnaire, interview, and case study were employed. Besides, SPSS was applied to the analysis of the questionnaire.The result of the study showed that low achievers' learning interest was comparatively lower than those high achievers and that their learning interest decreased dramatically after they entered college, which, to a large extent, contributed to an obvious decrease in their learning time after class and their low achievement in learning. In turn, low achievement became a major reason for low interest as well. Through the case study, the writer found that the teacher's interference with low-achievers' learning process had some positive effects on them.Therefore language teachers should take some measures to help those low-achievers improve their learning interest, and the low-achievers themselves should try to cooperate with their teachers' help as well. From the teachers' perspective, they should try to be facilitators; that is, they should have a clear idea about what real language teaching success is, reform their inappropriate teaching and testing methods, take part in the process of curriculum development and care for low-achievers' psychological needs. From the learners' perspective, they should be a master of their learning process and arrange their learning actively and initiatively. Here a popular learning method, autonomous learning, was suggested by the writer, which requires learners have definite objects of their learning, make detailed learning plans, stick to their plans with strong perseverance and reflect on their learning from time to time. As for their troublesome problem of vocabulary learning, the writer suggested that words should be memorized in contexts by getting more access to those interesting authentic materials instead of by using traditional rote learning.