An Empirical Study On Perception Of Classroom Environment In English Majors’ Writing Classes

In the late 20 th century English writing gradually developed into an independent discipline.Researchers pay more attention to improving the quality of writing classes. Domestic scholars still focus on teaching methods and teaching tools, while western scholars have concerned the factor of classroom environment, indicating that it is meaningful to improve the writing proficiency from the perspective of perception of classroom environment(Fraser, 2007). On the basis of the present studies at home, the thesis will conduct an empirical study from the perspective of perception of classroom environment in English writing classes.Based on the theory of Moos, which classifying human environments into three basic types,relationship dimension, personal development dimension and change dimension, the author did an empirical research on the perception of classroom environment in English writing classes. The subjects of this research are 58 sophomores of English majors and three teachers in North University of China. There are four instruments, as questionnaire, interviews, classroom observation and writing test involved in this research.This research focuses on solving the following questions: 1) What are the students’ and teacher’perception of classroom environment in English majors’ writing classes? 2) Are there any differences between teachers’ and students’ perception? If yes, what are they? 3) What’s the relationship between students’ perception and their writing proficiency?All the collected data are analyzed by SPSS 17 and Excel software. The major findings are as follows: 1) The perception of classroom environment in writing classes in every dimension is higher than medium level. On the whole, teachers’ perception is much higher than that of students’ in every dimension. 2) There are differences between teachers’ perception and students’ perception in English writing classes and teachers perceive the classroom more positively than students. Significant differences emerge in the three dimensions in teacher support, involvement and student responsibility. 3) The perception of all the nine dimensions has a positive correlation with writing proficiency. Among them,perceptions of task orientation, equity and leadership are positively and significantly correlated to writingproficiency.Moreover, the thesis elaborates the limitations of the present study and implications for the further study. The findings point out that classroom activities have positive effect on students’ writing proficiency.Teachers had better interact with students and consider their feelings more in class, such as paying attention to questions each of her students asks, treating students equal in class and talking enthusiastically to attract students’ attention. For students it’s necessary to know the objectives of each class, try to accomplish tasks in class and discuss with classmates to get involved in classroom activities actively.