A Probe Into Language Learning Strategies Used By Non-English Majors In The Context Of College English Teaching Reform

Recently, language teachers and researchers began to realize that no single language teaching method guaranteed success for each student. They started to shift their attention from teaching process to learning process. The way how language learners monitor their learning processes has become one of the major research interests ever since then. In the meantime, college English teaching reform has been conducting around the country; the thesis possessed practical significance and applied value.Against this background, the study investigated learning strategies used by non-English majors in regular class and experimental class, especially focusing on gender, test performance in CET Band 4. Subjects consisted of 264 students in regular class and experimental class from five universities of Harbin participated in the study:Heilongjiang University (HLJU) Northeast Agriculture University (NEAU), Northeast Forest University (NEFU), Harbin Normal University (HNU), and Harbin Institute of Science and Technology (HIST). Oxford's (1990) Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) was administered as measures of learning strategy preferences. This study was designed to hope it would contribute a little to the reform of college English teaching.As for use of language learning strategies, Descriptive statistical analyses indicated that learning strategies used by non-English majors all fell into medium level. Compensation, metacognitive and social strategies received relatively higher level of employment, while cognitive, affective and memory strategies were reported to be used less frequently.Results of ANOVA analysis revealed a significant relationship between language learning strategies and CET4 achievements. High achievement group appeared to use overall learning strategies more frequently. Among high, middle and low achievement groups, the significance laid in memory, metacognitive affective and social categories.Independent-samples t-test indicated that no significant gender difference in overall strategy use. As for the three strategy categories:memory, metacognitive, and affective, females used strategy categories significantly more often than males. There was significant gender difference in CET4 performance.The findings indicated significant difference in overall strategy use between regular class and experimental class. The students in experimental class used strategy categories significantly more often than the one in regular class in all six categories; the students in experimental classes performed better in CET4; in the experimental classes there was no significant gender difference in overall strategy use and CET4 performance. So college English teaching reform made a good effect on the English Learning.Such findings may provide teachers with a better understanding of the types and frequencies of learning strategies used by non-English majors and help them to incorporate effective strategy training into classroom practice for more autonomous and effective learning. It also emphasizes the importance of providing adequate opportunities for non-English majors to engage actively in authentic communicative tasks in the classroom. To advance rapidly toward proficiency, non-English majors should be encouraged to take risk and provided with enough opportunities to practice using the language in accomplishing communication-oriented tasks.