The Effects Of Streaming Teaching On The Non-English Major Postgraduates' Motivation To Learn English

In the field of applied linguistics, motivation has been identified as one of the key determinants in foreign language learning and second language acquisition. Inspired by foreign motivation theories, most domestic empirical studies just center on learners' motivation types and ignore the effects of specific learning situations on learners'motivation to learn a foreign language.Recently, with the expanding enrollment of postgraduate candidates in China, streaming teaching in accordance with candidates'English scores of the National Postgraduate Entrance Examination has been proposed to achieve "individualized instruction". However, the new teaching model still has some drawbacks which negatively influence students' situation-specific motivation. Based on Dornyei's (1994a) educational-psychological model of motivation at three levels, the present thesis aims not to overthrow the model, but to study the negative effects of streaming teaching on non-English major postgraduates' motivation to learn English and seeks to answer:(1) What is the non-English major postgraduates'current motivational intensity? (2) What factors negatively affect their motivation to learn English under the conditions of streaming teaching? (3) To what degree do lower proficiency basic class and higher proficiency lecture class differ in terms of demotivating factors found?To answer the three questions above, a previously constructed questionnaire consisting of 33 closed-ended items and 1 open-ended question was completed by 180 first-year non-English major postgraduates (90 from basic class, the other 90 from lecture class) at Jinan University. First, the research results showed that the motivational intensity of both basic class and lecture class was neither too intense nor too weak under the conditions of streaming teaching. Besides, lecture class scored higher motivational intensity than basic class, but an independent-samples t-test indicated no significant difference in motivational intensity between the two classes. Second, through factor analysis four common demotivating factors were extracted together explaining 61.08% of the variance:(1) lack of interest and reduced self-confidence; (2) teachers' competence and teaching style; (3) negative attitude to streaming teaching; and (4) teaching contents. Third, based on the within-subjects mean scores of each factor, basic class was demotivated successively by Factor 1, Factor 4, Factor 3 and Factor 2 (in descending order), whilst lecture class by Factor 2, Factor 1, Factor 4 and Factor 3 (in descending order). Among the four demotivating factors, four independent-samples t-tests were then performed with class type as the independent variable. The results showed significant differences in Factor 2, with lecture class scoring significantly higher than basic class and in Factor 3, with basic class scoring significantly higher than lecture class. And subsequent qualitative data were directly support and complement these extracted factors, except Factor 2. In addition, due to slightly different learning situations, there emerged one new factor in lecture class:(5) large class size and two ones in basic class:(6) unfair way of evaluation and (7) unfair way of streaming students.The results are discussed in relation to the different teaching and learning specific situations between the two classes. Finally some suggestions are set forth to ameliorate streaming teaching model. Hopefully, the case study of streaming teaching will help teachers to reflect on classroom practice and students to foster their learner autonomy and enhance their learning motivation.