Research On Fostering The Students’Autonomous Learning Ability Through English Teaching In Higher Vocational College

With the rapid development of science and technology and the extensive application of IT technology, human beings has entered a new era of knowledge and information in modern society. In order to adapt to the development of the society, learners must have the lifelong learning capacity. In the study field of pedagogy and psychology, autonomous learning has become a hot issue, which has attracted more and more researchers’ attention. In order to adapt to the competitive society, students must be able to continuously update their knowledge and skills, which requires them to have a strong autonomous learning ability.English curriculum is an important public compulsory course in higher vocational college, which is an important foundation for the students’ formation of professional competence, entrepreneurship and the sustainable development capacity. To foster the students’ autonomous learning ability is one of the main goals in the "Teaching requirements for English Curriculum of Higher Vocational College". However, in the actual teaching, students’ autonomous learning ability in English is quite low, and frequently they are in a passive position in their study. They belong to a special study group, and they will face greater pressure and challenges in the employment and personal development. Therefore, English teachers must be aware that it’s very important to foster students’ autonomous learning ability in English, exploring teaching methods and enabling them to realize the value of life.Based on the basic theory of autonomous learning and autonomous learning ability, the author conducts a survey and analysis of the current status of the students’ autonomous learning ability in English, and then proposes to foster the students’ autonomous learning ability in English by several specific teaching measures, which contain the following six aspects:(1) To stimulate the English learning interest and motivation of students;(2) To guide students to develop learning objectives and plans;(3) To train the students to master the English language learning strategies;(4) To select the teaching materials and content according to the needs of students;(5) To improve the teaching methods, creating autonomous learning atmosphere in the classroom;(6) To improve the form of the teaching evaluation, encouraging students to monitor and evaluate the learning process. In order to test the feasibility of these specific teaching measures, the author carried out an experiment with two classes. The experimental class has made greater progress than the comparison class in their autonomous learning ability in English and English test. The experiment shows that the specific teaching measures constructed by the author are useful for fostering the students’autonomous learning ability in English, which can help students improve their English achievement.