| Motivation is one of the most active and unstable dimensions in self-regulated learning.The dynamic nature makes motivation fluctuate a lot in the learning process.Meanwhile,foreign language learning is a long-term and difficult process in which students' motivation is always decreased or even disappeared.On account of the above situation,students will adopt some methods to sustain or increase their motivation.These methods are termed as motivational regulation strategies(MRS).As a significant aspect of self-regulated learning,motivational regulation occupies an important position in the learning process and can influence students' academic learning and achievementTo date,a few studies have been made to explore students'use of MRS and the relations between MRS used by students and academic achievement in the field of foreign language learning.The majority of the existing studies take college students as subjects,which cannot provide a comprehensive picture of the use of MRS.Seeing that students at different learning stages have different abilities to regulate their motivation,studies on students at different learning stages should be carried out.Additionally,there is evidence suggesting that gender is one of the individual factors that can influence students' use of MRS in the field of self-regulated learning.Hence,it is of great significance to take into account the gender factor in motivational regulation.Based on the previous research results,the present study is aimed at exploring motivational regulation in the field of foreign language learning,so that it can deepen teachers'understanding of the strategies in the actual teaching and then guide the teaching practice.The present study takes junior high school students as subjects to investigate their use of MRS and then explore the gender differences in their use of MRS.Lastly,the author will lay emphasis on the relations between MRS used by students and English achievement so as to further examine the influence of MRS on students,English achievement.The present study mainly addresses the following three questions:1.What is the current situation of junior high school students'use of motivational regulation strategies in the process of English learning?2.What are the gender differences of junior high school students' use of motivational regulation strategies?3.What are the relations between junior high school students' use of motivational regulation strategies and English achievement?The present study is composed of a questionnaire survey and an interview.The subjects are from three junior high schools in Shenzhen,and there are 435 students in all.Among them,twelve students are involved in an interview after final exam to serve as a supplement for the study.Collected data are analyzed by the software SPSS 17.0.The results of the present study are as follows:1.Junior high school students frequently use various MRS in the process of English learning.In addition,the frequency of students' use of the eight MRS reaches a medium to a high level.2.There exist significant gender differences in the use of negative-based incentive,task value enhancement and volitional control in English learning.Female students use all the MRS more frequently than male students.3.Junior high school students' use of the eight MRS is positively and significantly related to their English achievement.In the regression model,all the MRS can explain 27%of the variance in students',English achievement.Based on the above results,the present study can enlarge the current understanding of junior high school students' use of MRS.Meanwhile,it further proves the female students' dominance in the use of these strategies.Additionally,the present study also supports the belief that motivational regulation can influence'"students' academic achievement.Therefore,English teachers should help students self-regulate their motivation in the process of English learning,and attach particular importance to the gender differences in students' use of MRS at the same time. |
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