An Investigation Of Urban Pupils’ Interest In English Learning And Pedagogical Implications

Interest plays a significant role in English learning. In the recent decades, students’ interest in learning has aroused scholars’attention. Scholars and teachers have never stopped researching and studying on pupils’ interest in English learning. Nowadays, what is the status of pupils’ interest in English learning in urban area? Do school, teacher and family have an impact on pupils’ interest in English learning? By conducting an empirical study, the current research focuses on urban students’English learning interest in elementary school, intending to find out their interest level of English language learning and relevant influential factors. Questionnaires are utilized in this research to explore the current status of senior primary school students’interest in English learning and to testify whether the five factors (school supports, teaching activities, teacher’s behaviors, teaching materials and teaching aids, and family supports) have influence on students’learning interest. The research was conducted in Chengdu Yandaojie Primary School.303 students and six English teachers participated in the research as subjects. The main findings are as follows:(1) The status of pupils’ interest in learning English in urban area is generally positive. Most students have strong interest in English learning while students who are totally not interested in learning English are very few.(2) Students in Grade Six have the strongest interest in English learning. This finding is at variance with the broadly held conviction that pupils’interest in English learning decreases as they proceed to higher grades.(3) Urban pupils’ interest in English learning is different in gender and start-learning age. Female students show higher interest in English learning than male students. Students who began learning English before three years old have the strongest interest in English learning than others.(4) The five influential factors (school supports, teaching activities, teacher’s behaviors, teaching materials and teaching aids, and family supports) do have impact on urban pupils’interest in English learning.At last, based on the findings above, this thesis also proposes some educational implications which hopefully can serve as suggestions for teachers to evoke, cultivate and maintain pupil’s interest in English learning.