An Investigation On English Learning Automony Of Non-English Majors In A Vocational College

In recent decades, learner autonomy has been a"buzzword" in the field of second language teaching and learning. Learner autonomy refers to the willingness for and the ability of taking charge of one's own learning. It is generally acknowledged that learners themselves should play an active role and take the responsibility in mastering a foreign language to improve learning efficiency. So in English teaching, teaching model has been changed from the "teacher-centered" into the "student-centered", requiring the learners to learn on their own to assume responsibility.Currently, most studies on learner autonomy have selected students in universities and middle schools, with little research on students in vocational college. However, most students in the Vocational College learn English with passive attitudes. So it is necessary and important for them to learn how to take responsibility for their own learning at school. The subjects in this study are 175 of first-year non- English major students in their second semester from Jiangxi Engineering Vocational College. The instruments used in this research are questionnaire and an interview. The questionnaire items are derived from the questionnaire designed by Victoria Chan, Mary Spratt and Gillian Humphreys (2002). This thesis investigates vocational college students'perceived responsibilities, abilities and motivation related to autonomous learning, and the related activities conducted inside and outside classroom. With the help of the SPSS, data collected from the questionnaire and interviews are analyzed to answer the research questions.Results from the study show that:(1) non-English majors in the Jiangxi Engineering Vocational College are not willing to take responsibilities for their own learning;(2)students don't have good decision-making abilities;(3)although 59.4% students considered themselves'motivated','well-motivated or'highly motivated', they are not interested in English. They are motivated to learning English, for the purpose of passing exam; (4) students don't carry out many outside and inside-class activities, showing that they are not competent enough in learning English autonomously.Based on the major findings of the present study, some practical implications for English teachers have been put forward for students in Vocational Colleges: (1) we should change the thoughts of teachers and students. In autonomous learning, students should become the centre of the whole teaching course; the function of a teacher is not only teaching knowledge, but taking different roles in accordance with the requirement of developing learner's ability in learner autonomy; (2) teachers should try their best to stimulate learners'motivation; (3) teachers could help learner make leaner profile for promoting learners'autonomous learning abilities. It is expected that these implications can provide teachers with some practical approaches and ways to promote their students'learning autonomy in college English teaching.