A Study Of The Autonomous Learning In College English Pedagogical Reform

This study was undertaken to investigate the general state of affairs of the non-English majors'English autonomous learning in Yangzhou university, exploring the differences between freshmen and non-freshmen in terms of their autonomy in English learning and analyzing the underlying factors responsible for the present state of such affairs. The research questions to be addressed in the study are the following:1. What is the general state of affairs of the non-English majors'English autonomous learning?2. What are the differences between freshmen and non-freshmen in terms of their performance in English autonomous learning?3. What are the underlying factors responsible for the state of affairs of the non-English majors'English autonomous learning?The theoretical framework on which the study was based was the theory about psychology, especially constructivism, which emphasizes the need to develop learner autonomy.Two research designs were employed in the present study---- a quantitative research design and a qualitative design; the former was a questionnaire and the latter, an interview. The questionnaire was made up of 35 items covering three main aspects: understanding of relevant concepts about autonomous learning, the process of implementing autonomous learning and the evaluation of autonomous learning. Altogether 363 non-English majors responded to the questionnaire. The subjects were from four schools at Yangzhou University, with age ranging from 18 to 22. All the subjects studied English six years in junior and senior high schools before they entered the university. They have four periods of English lessons per week now, and use the same textbooks– Experiencing English. All the subjects have an easy access to the self-access centers, which provide audio, video and other necessary English learning materials.Stratified random sampling was used to select sixteen students for the interview to find out the factors responsible for the present state of affairs of the English autonomous learning.Based on the data collected from the study, the writer summarizes four major findings:1. Most non-English majors have a certain knowledge of autonomous learning, though their knowledge is not systematic and they are still conceptually confused about some aspects of autonomous learning.2. In the process of autonomous learning, most non-English majors are aware of the importance of setting goals, making plans, selecting materials, employing strategies, monitoring and evaluating their English learning. But they are unable to combine theory with practice because of their unsystematic knowledge of autonomous learning, the lack of self-confidence, the lack of intrinsic motivation and the insufficient professional training of strategies.3. Freshmen and non-freshmen show differences in their understanding of autonomous learning, in their choice of strategies and in their attitude toward SACs. Non-freshmen tend to neglect the necessity of teachers'instruction in their autonomous learning. Affected by the examination-oriented evaluation system, non-freshmen make choice of learning strategies different from freshmen. Besides, non-freshmen show less interest in SACs because of the insufficiency of updated language learning resources there.4. On the whole, most students are satisfied with the resources in SACs and are willing to study there. And they are in favor of autonomous learning and prefer autonomous learning to the traditional approach they experienced before. The study was far from comprehensive, it is limited in two ways:1. Though randomly chosen samples were used for the interview, it might not ensure that the interviewees fully represent the population.2. No mention has been made of role of the curriculum in promoting autonomous learning.