Teaching Practicum's Influence On Awareness Of Language Learning Strategy Instruction Of M.ed Students

Although studies on Language Learning Strategies (LLSs) started from 1960s,studies on Language Learning Strategy Instruction (LLSI) appeared relatively late.Among those scanty theoretical and empirical studies on LLSI,almost all the research subjects are in-service teachers in secondary schools. But for the M.Ed students,there is no research at all. Therefore, this thesis mainly pays attention to this community.With the title teaching practicum's influence on awareness of Language Learning Strategy Instruction of M.Ed students, this thesis aims to place its lens on the following three questions:(1) How much do M.Ed students know about LLSs and LLSI before the teaching practicum?(2) Do they know what strategies can be taught in class? When and how should they instruct students to apply those strategies during the teaching practicum?(3) Are there any changes happening after the teaching practicum? What are they?What are the reasons for those changes? If not,what are the reasons?With the help from questionnaires and interviews, the author comes up with three findings.Firstly, most of the M.Ed students possess medium level knowledge of LLSs and LLSI. At the same time, they hold that their knowledge on LLSI is lower than their knowledge on LLSs.Secondly, the majority of the M.Ed students fail to harbor systematic knowledge on LLSs and LLSI. As a result, most of them know little about how to effectively conduct LLSI in class and their LLSI are susceptible to external pressures.Nevertheless, most of them reckon cooperating LLSI with knowledge points is the most effective method in conducting LLSI.Thirdly, according to the two questionnaires, 6 pairs produced prominent differences while the rest (39 pairs) didn't show prominent difference before and after the teaching practicum. Hence,a general analysis of these two questionnaires didn't show an obvious difference, which indicates that the teaching practicum has no prominent influence on awareness of LLSI of M.Ed students in this study. After carefully analysis and literature review, four causes to the results are found. They are the teaching practicum itself, passiveness of the M.Ed students, lacking of related training (courses) and the exam-oriented situation of secondary schools. Concerning the deficiency of the teaching practicum, short practicum period and scanty opportunities to teach are problems here. With regard to the passiveness of M.Ed students, the reality of exam-oriented and score-based assessments conflicts with M.Ed students' pedagogical mindset formed in normal schools. Besides,the M.Ed students didn't have initiative to get to know knowledge in these fields. What's more,most of them didn't pay enough attention to the teaching practicum due to various personal causes. Also, about lacking of related training before the teaching practicum,the curriculum of the normal universities fails to offer relative courses and the disconnection of theory and practice renders the M.Ed students to be passive in conducting LLSI. Last but not lest,most schools don't dare to spend extra time in instructing skills or strategies to students because of examination-oriented teaching.At last, the author tries to put forwards suggestions based on the four causes shown above,hoping to enrich the empirical studies on LLSI and provide references in cultivating M.Ed students.