A Study On Autonomous English Learning Of Non-english Majors Of Secondary Vocational School

At present, the focus of English teaching has shifted from how to teach to how to learn,from the results to the process, from the mechanical practice to the understanding and use of knowledge, that is, the center of classroom teaching is students, classroom teaching serves to develop students lifelong learning ability and sustainable development ability. As English is an international language, it is necessary for vocational school students to master the basic knowledge and skills of English which is an important part of what they learn in school. But the vocational school students’ English learning situation is worrying, their English foundation is weak, learning attitude is passive, and autonomous learning ability is low. Teachers teach hard, students learn in pain. How to solve this problem is a new topic of English teaching in secondary vocational schools.This study will take the contradiction between the requirements and status of vocational school English teaching as the breakthrough point, pointing out that the approach to solve the problem is developing vocational school students’ autonomous learning ability. This study is guided by humanism and constructivism theories, and applies these theories to the teaching practice of cultivating the students’ autonomous learning ability. From both theoretical and practical levels, this thesis explores the effective ways to cultivate non-English major students’ autonomous learning ability in secondary vocational school, and puts forward the corresponding suggestions for the cultivation of English autonomous learning ability of secondary vocational school students.This paper conducts an empirical study on the non-English major students’ English autonomous learning ability. By means of questionnaires and interviews, this paper reveals the factors which hinder the improvement of non-English major students’ English autonomous learning ability in secondary vocational schools. The research results show that the non-English major students of the secondary vocational school have little knowledge of the concept of English autonomous learning ability, they don’t understand the meaning and importance of English autonomous learning method either, and they are more accustomed to the traditional mode of English education and the traditional spoon-feeding English teaching method. The current situation of students’ English autonomous learning of secondary vocational schools is far from satisfactory, and their autonomous learning ability is poor on the whole. They show passive attitude toward English autonomous learning, and they are reluctant to accept the autonomous learning method, their intrinsic motivation of learning is rather low; most of the students of secondary vocational schools do not have clear learning goals and they don’t make English learning plans, they rarely apply the proper learning strategies to help themselves learn English autonomously. Therefore, this thesis chooses two classes of animation major of Grade 2013 in the Secondary Vocational School attached to Weifang Institute of Science and Technology as the experimental subjects, the autonomous learning mode is used in one class while the traditional teaching continues to be used in the other class. By comparing the English achievements of the two classes, it aims to prove that it is of importance to cultivate students’ English autonomous learning ability.The research questions in this study are listed as follows:(1) Will autonomous learning stimulate the English learning motivation and interest of the students in secondary vocational schools?(2) Will autonomous learning improve the students’ confidence in English learning in secondary vocational schools?(3) Will autonomous learning promote the cultivation of the students’ English learning strategies?The analysis of research findings shows that there is no significant change in the English learning motivation, attitude, learning skills and the level of English learning of the students in the controlled class, while there are some significant improvements in the English learning motivation, attitude, learning skills and English achievements in different stages in the experimental class. After the experiment, the students in the experiment class have learned to make English learning plans and arrangements according to their own situation; and their confidence in learning English has greatly improved. The experiment proved that cultivating the autonomous learning ability of students is an effective way of improving English level of the students.In the end, based on the results of the investigations and studies, this paper makes some suggestions on the cultivation of non-English major students’ English autonomous learning ability in secondary vocational schools and colleges: raise students’ awareness of autonomous learning, promote the students’ positive learning attitude and intrinsic learning motivation,guide students to use proper learning strategies in developing autonomous learning ability,change the teachers’ role in the English teaching process, change the traditional spoon-feeding teaching method, create a more favorable learning environment for the students. In addition,the paper aims to help other colleagues and other teachers improve their English teaching, and get some enlightenment from this paper.