Learners' Roles In Self-Access Language Learning

With the increasing students'enrollment in Chinese tertiary schools and the development of information technology, there is constant conflict between language teachers'exhaustion and students'dissatisfaction with their English classes. In this circumstance, the emergence of the notion of"self-access learning", with its underlying promotion of life-long learning, has been embraced with wide enthusiasm. Ideally effective as it is, the practice of self-access learning in some Chinese tertiary schools has encountered numerous problems. In UNNC, however, self-access language learning is conducted successfully. As the roles learners play in self-access learning is of essential importance to its success, this thesis has conducted a comparative study between learners'roles in three tertiary schools and UNNC.This thesis aims to seek answers to the following two questions: First, how do different roles taken by language learners in some tertiary schools in China and UNNC lead to contrastive self-access learning outcomes? Second, What factors have exerted influences on learners'roles taken in self-access learning?The analysis of the data collected from questionnaires and interviews reveals that the self-access learning outcomes of the students from the two sides are distinctive. The distinction is not caused by learners'internal factors, i.e., learners'belief, but by external factors, including the support they are offered, the learner-teacher link, and learners'involvement in the curriculum. In the end, three tentative suggestions are put forward:First, re-think learner-centered curriculum and promote self-access language learning in genuine learner-centered context. Second, transform teachers'belief. Third, implement effective tutorial system.