Application Research Of Promoting English Learner Autonomy In Junior Middle School Based On The Guided Learning Plan

In recent years, the concept of autonomous learning has gained great attention. More and more scholars andexperts advocate autonomous learning. Numerous researchers have carried out studies in this field, especiallywithin the fields of language teaching. In China, education ministry has listed “developing the students’ ability ofautonomous English learning” as one of the main objectives of English teaching and learning in the new Englishcurriculum standard for senior secondary schools in China (Ministry of Education，China，2001).This urgentlyrequired teachers to change their ideas, optimize students’ learning methods, and ultimately enhance theircapacity of autonomous learning for the purpose of ensuring students will be improved in comprehensiveabilities.The guided learning plan is supported by learning plans，it takes guidance as a main way, self-learning asthe core, and aims at improving learners’ efficiency and autonomy. At present，the domestic study for thismodel of classroom teaching is more theoretical research in the fields of value-orientation as well as thedesigning strategy and construction of the model while there is less study on teaching practice. Therefore，it isvery necessary to study the mode of teaching systematically from the practical perspective in order to improvethe quality of teaching through the research on improving the autonomic learning.Combining the above concepts of two research areas，the researcher aimed to investigating whether theapplication of the guided learning plan has positive effects on English learners’ autonomy in junior middleschool. In order to testify this issue, specifically, the author set about researching it from four aspects:(1)whetherthe guided learning plan could help learners improve learners’ autonomous awareness and responsibility inEnglish learning;(2) whether the guided learning plan could help learner develop positive attitude and motivation;(3)whether the guided learning plan would help students improve learning strategies and skills;(4) whether theguided learning plan is helpful to improve learners’ performance on the English test.In this research, the author adopted some research methods, including referring to the relevant documents,conducting the questionnaire survey, interviewing and carrying out the experiment. In the experiment, the authorselected two classes in the No.3Middle School in Yuzhong County, Class1and2in Grade8. Class1acts ascontrol class, while Class2acts as experimental class. The author performed traditional teaching model in Class1and performed the guided learning plan in Class2to test the hypothesis. All the data collected fromquestionnaires and test was calculated in SPSS analysis system.The results indicated that:(1) the guided learning plan enhanced learners’ awareness and responsibility in learning English;(2) the guided learning plan stimulated learners’ attitude and motivation in English learning;(3)the guided learning plan are helpful in cultivating learners’ learning strategies and skills in English learning;(4)the guided learning plan can improve learners’ performance on the test. Synthesizing the above four researchresults, it indicated that the guided learning plan has positive effects on English learner autonomy in juniormiddle school.In the last chapter of the thesis, the author presented implications and suggestions for promoting learners’autonomy in middle school based on the application of guided learning plan and the findings of the empiricalstudy. The author stated that the empirical study is certainly far from perfect due to possible limitations andfurther studies on its effects on learner autonomy are needed to be done.