A Study Of Senior High School Students' Beliefs About English Learning

In the past few decades, the focus of language teaching has been mainly on teachers' instruction of knowledge. Researchers in the field of second language acquisition have shifted their interest and researching objectives from focusing on teachers to focusing on learners since 1970s. Inherited in this shift, the study of learners' individual differences has become the focus of research. With the development of cognitive psychology, learners' beliefs about language learning has been introduced into language teaching and becomes an important part of the researches on individual differences. As one key factor influencing learners' learning behavior and learning outcomes, learners' beliefs plays an important role in second language and foreign language teaching, and its significance has been widely confirmed by researchers. Researchers abroad have conducted studies of learners' beliefs about language learning from different perspectives. However, the study of learners' beliefs about English learning in China starts rather late. Among these studies, studies of Chinese senior high school students are even rare. Investigating senior high school students' beliefs about English learning is of great necessities and importance in understanding students' needs in the learning process, clearing up students' inhibitive beliefs, optimizing their learning methods, improving their efficacy and facilitating their learning achievements. Under these circumstances, the author is inspired to conduct a study of Chinese senior high school students' beliefs about English learning. The subjects are 100 senior high school students in Grade Two from Chongqing Chaoyang Middle School. The instruments are composed of questionnaire and interview. Of the two instruments, questionnaire is the main instrument, while interview is a complement. A questionnaire based on the revision of Horwitz's (1987) Belief About Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) has been distributed to each subject. Based on classroom observation and questionnaire, an interview focused on English teaching and learning has been conducted in 12 subjects. The study has two purposes: firstly, it aims to explore the preconceived beliefs that senior high school students hold about the difficulty of English, foreign language aptitude, nature of English, learning and communication strategies, motivation and expectations, English teaching and learning; secondly, it aims to find out the significant differences in senior high school students' beliefs about English learning between high proficiency group and low proficiency groups. Descriptive statistics in the present study include percentage, means, standard deviations, and paired-samples t-test.Investigation and statistical analysis reveal the various beliefs hold by these senior high school students and the similarities in their beliefs. Students hold similar beliefs about language aptitude concerning age, and innate language aptitude; most of them are highly motivated to learn English. Most of them consider English to be a difficult language and emphasize the importance of culture and learning environment. Vocabulary and grammar are their main concern. In terms of the four language skills, these students generally consider oral English to be the most difficult point. Most students are thirsty for pure English textbooks and diverse teaching methods and are willing to establish a friendly relationship with their English teachers. Meanwhile, they expect to learn more things from English class besides the language itself. As for the differences in beliefs about English learning between high and low proficiency groups, they are significantly different in nine BALLI items. High proficiency students are more positive and confident about English learning; compared with low proficiency students, they are more willing to communicate with others in English and express higher motivations.Based on the findings and problems exposed from this study, the author has put forward some implications and suggestions for senior high school English teaching and learning from the perspectives of the change of beliefs, the improvement of teachers' teaching, the choice of teaching material, the optimization of tests, etc. Furthermore, suggestions for further study are also raised. It is hoped that the present study will shed light on the studies of senior high school students' beliefs about English learning and facilitate senior high school students' English learning.