An Experimental Study Of Fostering Junior Students' English Learning Autonomy

To push forward the"quality-oriented education"process, we adopt actively the new teaching methods to accelerate the curriculum development. The current curriculum reform needs us to help students transform their studying modes and arouse their interests in learning. Autonomous learning is essential to the implementation of the curriculum reform since it is not only a new tendency of English teaching and learning in middle schools, but also an important factor affecting junior students' English learning. The objective of cultivating middle school students'autonomous learning ability is to let them know how to learn in order to help them lay a foundation for lifelong learning. Meanwhile autonomous learning and interests'development are closely connected and inseparable.In this thesis, data is collected mainly through literatures, questionnaires, interviews and experimental research. The result is analyzed both in quantitative and qualitative methods. The subjects are 140 students from two classes in Grade one, Changchun Foreign Language Junior High School whose English autonomous learning status have been studied from five aspects (motivation, attitude, self-monitoring, learning strategy and self-assessment) by means of questionnaire and investigation. The questionnaire is self-made based on the definition of autonomous learning and relative references. Then the two classes are investigated respectively by assigning Class One as the experimental class and Class Two as the control class. Students from experimental class are trained to improve the English autonomous learning ability by cultivating their interests in learning English. Feasible learning goals and plans are made by students under the instruction of teachers; meanwhile students learn to manage their time for study, to use effective study methods and strategies and to assess and establish students-centered autonomous learning environment. Students from control class are taught by regular English teaching methods without any autonomous learning training. The experiment lasts an academic year (Sept. 2007一Jun. 2008). The research findings show that it is an effective way in arousing students'English-learning interests and cultivating their English autonomous learning awareness. Through this training, students learn to arrange their time properly and set reasonable plans as well as to assess themselves timely and to use and adjust the learning strategies. Therefore good study habits have been formed and sound autonomous learning environments have been built which are helpful for students improve their English performance.