The Language Learning Beliefs Held By Chinese University Students From Urban And Rural Areas

This study explores the language learning beliefs held by university students from urban and rural areas in China. Two research questions were raised. They are: 1) What are the language learning beliefs held by Chinese university students in general? 2) Are there any differences in beliefs between students from urban areas and those from rural areas in Chinese universities? If there does exist any difference, how are they different?The subjects of the study are 558 first-year non-English major students from Zhejiang University. The language learning beliefs questionnaire (LIU & DAI, 2003) was used to collect data. After the data were collected, SPSS 13.0 was employed to analyze them. The results are as follows:1) After many years' study of English, Chinese university students have established some beliefs about the nature of language learning. For example, language learning is a long process; English is helpful for them to study their majors. At the same time, they have realized the importance of some language learning strategies such as listening to English programs on the radio, practicing oral English both in and after class. In addition, students are confident in their ability to learn English.2) There are indeed significant differences between students from urban areas and those from rural areas. In addition, differences between students from capital-level cities and students from rural areas are the largest, and differences between students from county-level cities and students from rural areas are the smallest. There is no significant variance between students from capital-level cities and students from prefecture-level cities; meanwhile the difference between students from prefecture-level cities and students from county-level cities is not significant either.3) Compared with students from rural areas, students from capital-level cities hold much stronger self-management beliefs and more firmly believe in the importance of language learning strategies; furthermore, students from urban areas have a relatively higher sense of self-efficacy.