Research On The Cultivation Of Students’ Autonomous English Learning Ability In Vocational School In The Mountain Area

Modern society is changing rapidly and new situations andproblems occur constantly. The speed of updating our knowledge isaccelerating. What is required is a lifelong education. One is never tooold to learn. A future illiterate is no longer one who has not learned toread or write, but one who does not know how to learn.” Teach aperson to fish is better than just give him some fish”, so the cultivation ofstudent’s autonomous learning ability is not only to improve theiracademic achievement, but also lay a good foundation for theirlifelong learning, which will benefit them all their life.Current domestic and international economy is developing rapidly,and globalization is increasing. Especially with further development andprosperity of China and increasing contact between China and foreigncountries, there is no doubt that English as an international languagewill play a special and vital role. Now a good mastery of Englishprovides one with a useful window to the world. Learning English isbecoming more and more important. The Ministry of Education putforward specific requirements of English learning for students ofvocational school in Vocational School English Syllabus. But the presentsituation of English teaching in schools in the mountain area is notoptimistic on the whole. Students’ autonomous learning ability is poorand they are lacking in learning strategies. As a result their use of theEnglish language is not good. Thus, the task of cultivating student’sautonomous English learning ability is urgent and important.This thesis is divided into eight parts:The first part is a preface which mainly introduces the importanceand necessity of autonomous English learning.The second part analyzes the present situation of English teachingin vocational schools in the mountain area. The third part discusses the concept and characteristics ofautonomous learning.The fourth part discusses the theoretical foundation for autonomouslearning from psychological and educational perspectives.The fifth part investigates students’ English autonomous learningthrough a questionnaire given to94students enrolled at the School ofBusiness and Economics in Nanping in2010. It is about their autonomouslearning and learning strategies. The data from the investigation iscollected and analyzed, and the autonomous learning problems ofstudents at the school are summed up.The sixth part discusses the influence of both internal and externalfactors on the cultivation of students’ autonomous learning ability.The seventh part presents proposals of developing the autonomouslearning ability in students of vocational schools in the mountain area.The eighth part is a summary of this research.