A Study Of The Use Of English Learning Strategies By Chinese Rural Junior High School Students

The research of second and foreign language learning strategies could date back to the 1960s of the last century.At the end of the 1970s of the last century,researchers in China began to investigate English learning strategies.In recent decades,with the stagnation of the research on language teaching methods and the development of the theory of cognitivism,the focus on foreign language teaching has been turned from the study of teaching methods to the research on learners.And more and more researchers have started to study the characteristics of learners and their effects on language learning process.Currently,more and more attention is paid to the learning strategies in language learning.To investigate the correlation between students' use of English learning strategies and their English performance,the present study carried on an empirical research by issuing questionnaires to 55 students of Grade 9 from a rural middle school in Jiangsu.This study is aimed to probe into the following questions:1.What is the current status of the use of English learning strategies by rural middle school students?2.Is there any correlation between students' use of English learning strategies and their English performance?If yes,what is the correlation?3.Is there any difference between high-achievers and underachievers in their use of English learning strategies?If yes,what is the difference?The data analysis of this study was performed by using SPSS16.0(descriptive analysis,correlation analysis and independent T-test).And the results are as follows:The frequency of rural middle school students' use of learning strategies was relatively low(M=2.5385).In the five dimensions of English learning strategies,cognitive and affective strategies were used most frequently,followed by metacognitive and resources strategies,while communicative strategies were used least frequently.There existed comparatively strong correlation between students' performance and their use of English learning strategies.And the correlation coefficient between affective strategies and students' English achievements was the highest,which shows that affective strategies had the closest relation with students' English achievements.There was a significant difference in the use of English learning strategies between high-achievers and underachievers.High-achievers used English learning strategies more frequently than underachievers.Based on the above findings,the author proposes that teachers of rural middle school should guide and train students to consciously use more learning strategies in the learning process,especially the communicative strategies.The author hopes that the present study can help rural middle school students know their learning characteristics and improve their learning methods.