| In1959, Gardner and Lambert put forward the concept of learning motivation in their language experiment, and they distinguished learning motivation into instrumental learning motivation and integrative learning motivation. Since then, learning motivation has gained attention among experts and scholars from all over the world. In China, the research on English learning motivation started in the1960s, the subjects of which are mainly undergraduate students. Although studies on middle school students’English learning motivation have gained increasing attention in recent years, few researchers have directed their attention to art students in senior middle school. Most of the art students’English level is poor and their motivation to learn English is not strong enough. As a result, how to activate senior middle school art students’learning motivation is a challenged faced by all the English teachers.In this thesis, the investigation of115art students from Grade2in Huangzhou West Lake Middle school is performed through questionnaire and interview. Based on their English learning level, motivation type, attribution type, factors that influence their performances, as well as their difficulties in English learning. the author strives to answer the following research questions:1. What is the English learning level of art students?2. What are art students’attitudes towards English learning?3. What kind of English learning motivation affects senior middle school art students’English performances?4. How do art students attribute their English performance?5. What factors lead to senior middle school art students’lack of English learning motivation?6. What are senior middle school art students’difficulties in English learning?Carefully analyzing the results of the questionnaire and interview, the author arrives to the following conclusions:1. Art students’English level in Huangzhou West Lake Middle School generally tend to be much low. According to the statistics,95.65%of the subjects score below90, with52.17%even fail to reach60, the lowest score that is demanded by the first-rate universities in China for the enrollment of art students.2. Generally speaking, art students’attitudes towards English are not positive enough, and they lack confidence in learning English well. Although most of them have realized the importance of English learning and they don’t think learning English is a waste of time, very few of them are willing to make great efforts.3. Art students’English performances tend to be mainly affected by instrumental motivation rather than integrative learning motivation. Meanwhile, the majority of art students posses both intrinsic learning motivation and extrinsic learning motivation, with extrinsic motivation overweighs intrinsic motivation.4. Art students’attributions of English performances are not proper. To those students who get above90, they would rather attribute their successes to their ability while those who get below90tend to attribute their poor performances to their lack of effort.5. Art students’English learning motivation are influenced by many factors, such as parents, teachers and learning environment. According to the statistics, English learning environment around them is not sound, their parents seldom care about their English study, and their English teachers’self-culture should be improved.6. Art students’biggest difficulties in learning English are mainly from two aspects: vocabulary and grammar. With too many vocabulary and complicated sentences, the textbooks are beyond art students’ability to understand.Finally, based on the findings, some suggestions on activating senior middle school art students’English learning motivation are proposed, such as building harmonious relationship between teachers and students, helping art students gain confidence in learning English, guiding art students to set proper learning goals, guiding art students to make correct attribution, giving art students trainings on useful learning strategies. |
PDF Full Text Request