大连理工大学城市学院非英语专业学生英语学习动机与策略相关性的调查报告英语专业本科毕业论文

大连理工大学城市学院非英语专业学生英语学习动机与策略相关性的调查报告Chapter One Introduction1.1 Background of the Study Over the last few decades, there has been a marked shift in the field of foreign language learning education research-in comparison with the diminishing stress put on teaching, the role of learners has been attached greater importance. Learners are considered as the center of foreign language learning process during which learning motivation and strategy are regarded as two of the most important factors influencing foreign language learning by many researchers and educators. Whats more, a lot of studies on the two factors have been done severally. Therefore, I conduct a study which aims to explore the relationship between learning motivation and strategy among non-English major students in City Institute, Dalian University of Technology. Although many researchers have conducted a lot of studies on individual learner factors, the study is still not easy and the results of researchers are not entirely satisfactory. This is partly because of the interrelation of the various factors. So, there is still a long way to go to identify the interrelation and test the relevant hypotheses.1.2 Purposes of the Present Study Nowadays in China, the field of English teaching and learning research is not strange any more. But the fact is that although many scholars have already done some researches and have issued a lot of papers on English Learning Motivation (ELM) and English Learning Strategies (ELS), there is minority exploring the deep correlation between the two through empirical method. Moreover, the minority thesis and studies which have done in this area mainly took investigation on middle school students.Therefore, this study aims to explore the nature of the relationship between English language learning motivation and strategy among non-English major students in City Institute, Dalian University of Technology. In order to study it deeper and better, many aspects must be researched.1.3 Significance of the Study This study is very important theoretically and practically. On one hand, theoretically speaking, it can enrich the researchers on English teaching and learning. It not only explores the deep relationship between ELM and ELS, but also carries out an empirical study and takes non-English major students as participants. So it will provide more evidence and results for researchers who are interested in this issue. On the other hand, as for the practical value, it can help students to set up a strategy system which can facilitate their English learning in a more efficient way and improve non-English major students interest and enhance their strategy use by themselves. It can also bring benefits to English teaching and learning practice. English teachers understand students motivation type and use of learning strategies, determining whether the strategies are appropriate for their particular goals and maybe change teaching method to arouse students high motivation to improve teaching efficiency. Chapter Two Literature Review2.1 Research on Language Learning Motivation It is generally agreed that motivation is one of the most important factors influencing individual learners language learning. Language teachers easily acknowledge the importance of learners motivation, not infrequently explaining their own sense of failure with reference to their students lack of motivation. SLA Researchers also views motivation as a key factor in L2 learning (Ellis, 1999) Ellis, R. 1994. The Study of Second Language Acquisition. Many people believe learning is most likely to occur when they want to learn, and motivation in L2 learning constitutes one of the most fully researched areas of individual differences. Then what is motivation? How to classify motivation? In this section, different versions of definitions and classifications will be introduced. 2.1.1 Theories on Motivation Motivation is a vast and complex subject with a variety of theories which are developed through hard work with animals in laboratories and based on research with human in situations when games or puzzles are adopted. The following are general views of different approaches to motivation.2.1.2 Definition of Language Learning MotivationGardner (1985) Gardner, R. C. 1985. Social Psychology and Second Language Learning: The role of attitudes andmotivation. London: Edward Amold.defined motivation as “a combination of effort plus desire to achieve the goal of learning the language plus favorable attitudes towards learning the language”. This definition includes effort achieve the goal, desire to learn the language, and favorable attitudes towards the target language. According to Gardner, these components are necessary to language learning motivation and they are co-existing. Crookes and Schmidt (1991) Crooks, G. and R. Schmidt. 1991. Motivation: reopening the research agenda. Language Learning,41(4), 496-512. put forward their motivation definition in the 1990s when the revival of interest in L2 motivation was promoted by a large number of studies which attempted to re-open the research agenda with a “new wave” educational focus. They defined motivation as “learners interest in and enthusiasm for the materials used in class; persistence with the learning task, as indicated by levels of concentration and enjoyment” (p.498-502). It is an improvement since it mentions learner enthusiasm, persistence and enjoyment which were beyond previous studies. Dornyei (1998) Dornyei, Z. 1998. Motivation in second language and foreign language learning. LanguageTeaching, 31, 117-235. defined motivation from a more comprehensive angle: “In a general sense, motivation can be defined as the dynamically changing cumulative arousal in a person that initiates, directs, coordinates, amplifies, terminates, and evaluates the cognitive and motor processes whereby initial wishes and desires are selected, prioritized, operated and (successfully or unsuccessfully) acted out”. This definition lays more emphasis on the dynamic nature of motivation. 2.2 Research on Language Learning StrategyResearch into language learning strategy began as early as in the 1960s, since when a considerable amount of descriptive work has been carried in this area. In 1966 Carton found that different learners made use of different ways of inference while learning a second language, which was the first attempt to study the use of learning strategy. After that, many researchers studied learning strategies from different angles, but all with the purpose of applying, that is, to find learning strategies more applicable to language learning. In this part, different versions of definitions and classifications of language learning strategy will be presented:2.2.1 Definition of Language Learning StrategyDefining language learning strategy has been a major concern for researchers devoted to this area. The divergence in the existing definitions results from different strategies identified in different studies and different understandings of the language learning process. The term strategy has been used to refer both to general approaches and specific actions or techniques used to learn a second or foreign language more effectively, which include the concrete strategies such as reading or listening strategies, and the macro strategies such as learning goals, learning result, planning, adjusting, controlling, assessment and so on, and some other cognition and understanding that learners hold to the language learning. In a word, there is no consensus on definition of language learning strategy. To conclude, language learning strategies are general approaches or specific techniques that learners consciously use to facilitate language learning, they can be both behavior and mental, and some contribute to language learning directly while others indirectly.2.3 Research on the relationship Between LLM and LLSUp to now, the author has made a brief introduction on the definition, classification, and relevant theoretical issues of language learning motivation and language learning strategies, thus we can have a clear picture in mind about them. As we have mentioned above, language learning motivation and learning strategies are not separated from each other. Since the 1980s, researchers have begun to study the relationship between them though not so many conclusions have been drawn. In this section, the author will make a summary about research achievements on the relationship between LLM and LLS.Oxford and Nyikos (1989) Oxford, R., & Nyikos, M. (1989). Variables affecting choice of language learning strategiesby university students. Modern Language Journal, 73, 291-300. investigated the use of language learning strategies of university students and found that students self-rating of motivation intensity played the most important role in the type and frequency of strategy use, highly motivated students frequently use more strategies.(p.291-300) Wen Qiufang (1996) 文秋芳，1996c,英语学习策略M, 上海：上海外语教学出版社conducted a research among English majors on the correlation among motivation, belief, and strategies. The research revealed that there were fairly stable relations among motivation, belief and strategies, besides, motivation affected strategies and beliefs. Compared with surface motivation, deep motivation has more influence on beliefs and strategies. Qin Xiaoqing (2002)秦晓晴，2002，“动机理论研究及其对外语学习的意义”，外语研究第四期 stated that motivation had direct influences on strategy frequency. In a word, second language learning is a complex system concerning many variables interact with and affect each other, thus we can not only study motivation or learning strategies respectively. Researches mentioned above provide great insights into the relationship between LLM and LLS. Reviewing the researches above, there are still many problems to be solved on the relationship between them, especially to students of nationalities. To explore the problem, the author conducts this study among English learners under Chinese context, trying to reveal the relationship among different types of motivation, learning strategies considering students academic major.Chapter Three Methodology3.1 IntroductionThis part mainly deals with the research methodology adopted by the researcher in the present study. In this study, non-English major students at City Institute, Dalian University of Technology will be asked to answer a questionnaire. Based on the data which the questionnaires show, this study tries to find out how ELM is correlated to ELS. The major sections of this chapter are introduction, general and specific research questions, subjects, instruments, data collection and data analysis.3.2 General and Specific Research QuestionsAccording to the purposes of this study, this study aim to explore the relationship between ELM and ELS among non-English major students at City Institute, Dalian University of Technology. Based on this purpose, an investigation will be conducted trying to find out if there are significant correlations between ELM and ELS among non-English major students at City Institute, Dalian University of Technology Thus, in the case of this study, a few specific research questions are solved:1) What is the situation of non-English major students use of ELM and ELS at City Institute, Dalian University of Technology?2) What is the correlation between ELM and ELS among non-English major students at City Institute, Dalian University of Technology?3) What is the condition of ELM among freshman, sophomore and junior students of non-English major students at City Institute, Dalian University of Technology? If ELS is changing and What is the performance of ELS?4) According to the above phenomenon, correlation and variation, how students and teachers make some adjustments?3.3 Subjects and Instruments3.3.1 Subjects To achieve the purpose of the study and get representative samples, the researcher use simple random sampling technique for selecting subjects. The researcher distributed the questionnaires of ELM and ELS to 540 participants from 6 different majors in City Institute, Dalian University of Technology. The returned rate for all the participants was 100 . Among them, 500 questionnaires were valid. Other 200 questionnaires were discarded as invalid, for those were with the same answers or uncompleted. Thus, the researcher had 340 valid questionnaires for data analysis. The participants are in 6 different majors in City Institute, Dalian University of Technology. They are Software Engineering major、Automation major、Communication Engineering major、Logistics Management major、Business Administration major、Art major. They are from all the three grades ranging from Grade 1 to Grade 3. Among them, 212 participants are males, accounting for 62.3 ; 128 participants are females, accounting for 37.6 .For simplicity of presentation , the information concerned is displayed in Table 3.1 to give a detailed account. Table 3.1 Information about SubjectsPersonal informationNo. of subjectsPercentage ()GenderMale21262.3 Female12837.6 GradeOne13238.8 Two11232.9 Three9628.2 MajorSoftware Engineering6318.5 Automation5616.4 Communication Engineering5415.9 Logistics Management5817.1 Engineering Cost7421.8 Art3510.3 3.3.2 Instruments The questionnaire is composed of two parts. Part A is all about ELM and Part B is similarly for ELS. The 30 items in Part A are developed by consulting English Learning Motivation questionnaire of SchmidtWatanabe (2001), Schmidt(1996c), Noels et al. (2001), and Gao Yihong et al.(2003). Other the 30 items in Part B are based on Oxfords Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL)(1989) ,Cheng (2002) and Wen(1996).In order to avoid language barrier, all the items were translated into Chinese. These 60 items are all calculated by a 5-point Likert scale:1=totally disagree; 2= usually disagree; 3= not sure; 4= usually agree; 5= totally agree. Some items in Part A are negative statements, so they are reversely scored. On the basis of ELM and ELS theory reviewed in chapter two. Part A researches ELM in four subscales, namely, Integrative motivation（Q1-8）, Instrumental Motivation（Q9-20）, Extrinsic Motivation（Q21-25） and Achievement Motivation（Q26-30）.As for ELS, Part B investigates it, based on the classification of Oxfords ,this scale consist of six subscales: Memory Strategies(Q1-4), Cognitive Strategies(Q5-10), Compensation Strategies(Q11-15), Met -cognitive Strategies(Q16-21), Affective Strategies(Q22-25) ,Social Strategies(Q26-30).This scale is also based on a 5-point Likert Scale. In order to revise the questionnaire and check the reliability of it , a primary research was first conducted in Apr.2nd,2013. There were six different majors students from City Institute, Dalian University of Technology involved in this primary research and put forward their valuable suggestions. According to this primary research, it measured that the Cronbachs alpha of the entire questionnaire reaches 0.84. That is to say, the questionnaire has a high level of internal consistency reliability, which can achieve a reliable result.3.4 Data Collection and Data Analysis3.4.1 Data Collection The questionnaire was formally conducted in Apr.2nd,2013. With the help of researchers classmates and friends , 540 questionnaires were distributed to each student. The researcher and her friends distribute the questionnaires to non-English major students in their dormitory buildings one room by one room at night when most of students were free. Because the researcher had written the requirements in paper, so the researcher only told the subjects to answer the questionnaires according to their self-situation accurately. Based on the primary research, the time for finishing each questionnaire is about 10 minutes. So, the questionnaires were collected after 15 minutes by the researcher one room by another. After eliminating the invalid ones which are with the same answers or uncompleted. 500 questionnaires were used as the final samples.3.4.2 Data AnalysisOn the basis of the research questions, the researcher utilized Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Chinese version 18.0 to complete the data analysis of the study in quantitative method. First, to understand the characteristics of the respondents in English Learning Motivation scale and English Learning Strategy scale, the researcher performed descriptive statistics, such as frequency, percentage, means and standard deviations, to summarize and analyze the obtained data to indicate frequency distribution and percentage situations.Second, in order to answer research questions, the researcher will use Person product-moment correlation to investigate the relationship between ELM and ELS among non-English major students. The researcher calculated test, and one-way analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA) to explore the difference on ELM and ELS among the participants with different individuals background variable.Third, to answer the research questions, the research calculated Person product-moment correlation to investigate the relationship between foreign language learning motivation and foreign language learning strategy among non-English majors.Fourth, the researcher conducted one-way ANOVA to analyze the different use of ELS among the participants with different levels of ELM. If ELM and ELS are highly correlated, then in order to discover the deep correlation between ELM and ELS, the researcher will further adopt linear regression method to build a linear regression quotation about ELM affecting ELS.Chapter Four Findings and DiscussionIn order to give answers to the research questions addressed in this study, this chapter offers the results from the data collection and data analyses. This chapter mainly consists of three parts ,that are, the descriptive statistics of ELM; the descriptive statistics of ELS and the statistics analyses of the research questions.4.1 Results from English Learning Motivation Questionnaire4.1.1 General Analysis of ELMThe ELM questionnaire consists of 30 items which can be used to measure the participantsintegrative，instrumental, extrinsic motivation and resultative motivation for learning EnglishAll of these items are measured by a 5-point Likert scale，among which Ql-7and Q10-11 range from l point “never, or almost never true of me ”to 5 points “completely true almost completely true of me” but the negative Q89 and Q 1 2 are on the contrary, ranging from 5 points completely true almost completely true of me to 1 pointnever or almost never true of me”Each choice can be used to investigate the studentsELM extent，through which means and standard deviations can be got to illustrate the frequencies and extent of ELM.Table 4.1 Descriptive Statistics of ELM Scores (n=340)SubscaleMaximumMinimumMeans(overall)StandardDeviationNo. ofItemsMeans(items)Integrative Motivation351723.75.8983.12Instrumental Motivation512134.873.56123.65Extrinsic Motivation20715.314.7053.22Achievement Motivation241015.485.7953.07Overall1305589.3619.94303.23Note: No. of Items Q1-8 in Integrative Motivation subscales; items Q9-20 in Instrumental Motivation subscale; items Q21-25 in Extrinsic Motivation subscale; items Q26-30 in Achievement Motivation From table 4.1,we can see that the overall motivation scores vary between 55 and 130 ,with the item means of the ELM scores for all the participants is 3.22 and the standard deviation is 18.74. Usually, all the participants show