On Formative Factors Of Low English Achievers And Their Transformation

Researchers in SLA agree that there exist marked differences in learning a second language due to the differences in factors such as personalities, motivation, study habits and some external factors. The polarization of middle school students in China is common with regard to their learning results. Some are excellent while others are poor. Low achievers in English learning have their causes and this is no exception in Hang Zhou Jing Fang Middle School. As a teacher with eight-year teaching experience, I have been confused by this phenomenon for a long time. With such a background information, I conducted a research seeking for the following two research questions:what are the major factors that make students feel hard in English learning, and what measures can teachers take to transform them into good English learners. To try to answer these two questions, I did a case study on two low achievers in English. In this case study, I firstly interviewed them in order to acquire the background information of my research subjects, such as what their interests are, how they think of English learning, etc.. Then I analyzed the reasons why they failed in English learning. From the research I learned that the students’personality, motivation, and learning strategy and their family situation may be the main causes of their poor performances. To test this hypothesis, I adopted some countermeasures to transform the students. After one-year effort, the students made great progress in terms of classroom performances, learning attitudes and learning results. From this case study, I find three variables affecting low achievers most, i.e., personality, motivation, and learning strategy respectively. Besides, there are some external factors in terms of family education, family finance, and family relationship which have impact on the children. Only when teachers, parents, and students cooperate closely can low achievers make progress and catch up with the others. I hope this study could shed light upon the teaching of low achievers in English in middle schools around China.