A Survey Of Autonomous Learning Of English Undergraduates In Interpreting

The study on autonomous learning began in the1980s abroad. In1981, Holecfirst defined autonomous learning as “the ability to take charge of one’s ownlearning”. In1991, Little further developed its connotation and he noted thatautonomous learning was “a capacity for detachment, critical reflection,decision-making, and independent action”. With the development of autonomouslearning theory, autonomous learning ability also attracted the attention of manyChinese experts and scholars. Some domestic foreign language learning publicationscontinuously introduced autonomous learning theory and discussed how to promotethe cultivation of students’ autonomous learning ability.With the increasing international exchanges and cooperation in politics,economics and culture, the establishment of China’s socialist market economicsystem, the rapid development of science and technology, both China’sinternationalization and impact on Asia Pacific region are growing. To meet therequirement of the times, Foreign Languages Teaching Guidance Committee ofhigher education officially listed interpreting as a compulsory course for Englishmajor university students in China in May,2000. More and more Chinese educationexperts and scholars focus on cultivating English interpreters.Although the research on interpreting learning and the cultivation of interpretershave been attached great importance to, the survey of interpreting autonomouslearning (IAL) is rare, and the study on English undergraduates’ IAL is even less.The cultivation of English interpreters starts from the interpreting learning in theuniversities and colleges. Nevertheless, the present interpreting teaching effects ofEnglish undergraduates are not satisfactory in China, and there is still much room forthe improvement of the study on IAL. The author believes the ability to conductautonomous learning is an indispensable competence for English interpreters.Therefore, this thesis aims to investigate English undergraduates’ IAL condition andput forward some suggestions to promote their IAL, hoping it can play a certain rolein enhancing the cultivation of English interpreters and the interpreting teaching for English undergraduates.In order to ensure the feasibility and validity of the survey, the author adoptsquantitative and qualitative research methods. By means of questionnaires andinterviews,223English major undergraduates from two universities in Jilin province,China were chosen as the subjects. And3teachers who have been teachinginterpreting course for many years were interviewed so as to get to know the realsituation of students’ IAL. Three questions are to be answered through theinvestigation: Do English undergraduates study interpreting autonomously after class,and what are the effects of IAL on them? What motivate English undergraduates’IAL? Which learning strategies do English undergraduates apply in IAL?After collecting the data, the author input, processed and output the data withthe aid of SPSS. And a systematic analysis was made according to the mean valuesand standard deviation obtained. The survey results show that the present situation ofEnglish undergraduates’ IAL is far from being satisfactory. The author makes somespecific suggestions to improve English undergraduates’ IAL competence in terms ofIAL effects, motivations and strategies. This thesis not only contributes to theunderstanding of English undergraduates’ IAL situation, but also provides a newperspective for the cultivation of English interpreters and the study on interpretingteaching.