北京理工大学珠海学院20##-20##学年第2学期课程论文

《英语教学法理论》

题    目： An analysis on College

            English Learning Strategies

专业学院：      外国语学院        

专业班级：    20##级英语10班    

学生姓名：         林颖怡        

学    号：      141002103028     

课程论文诚信承诺书

本人郑重承诺：我所呈交的学期课程论文An Analysis on College English Learning Strategies是在课程指导教师的指导下，独立开展研究取得的成果，文中引用他人的观点和材料，均在文后按顺序列出其参考文献，论文使用的数据真实可靠。

承诺人签名：                

日期：     年    月   

CONTENTS

Introduction.............................................................................................................. ....1

1  The Basic Contents of Learning Strategies.......................................................... 2

 1.1  Definition of Learning Strategies....................................................................... 2

 1.2  Classification of Learning Strategies.................................................................. 3

2  Research on The English Learning Strategies..................................................... 5

 2.1  About The Excellent English Learner................................................................. 5

 2.2  The Factors Affecting Application of English Learning Strategies.................... 5

3  The Training of English Learning Strategies....................................................... 6

 3.1  The Training of Students’ English Learning Strategies....................................... 6

  3.1.1  Two Stages on The Training........................................................................... 6

  3.1.2  Three Areas on The Training.......................................................................... 6

  3.1.3  Five Strategies on The Training...................................................................... 6......

 3.2  The Training of Teaching English Learning Strategies........................................ 7

Conclusion.................................................................................................................... 8

References..................................................................................................................... 9

Introduction

  It is said that “ Give a man a fish, you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and you have fed him for a lifetime”. With the rapid development of China’ s social economy, higher improving degree of opening to the outside world, the contacts and exchanges between countries are even more frequent. English, the most widely used language in international communication, is clearly important. In the 1970s, the research of foreign language teaching turn into how to learn from how to teach. And it also focuses on paying attention to teach students how to learn English. Therefore, it is very important to analyze the learning strategies of College English.

1  The Basic Contents of Learning Strategies

1.1  Definition of Learning Strategies

  The language learning strategies are referred to various strategies which aim to achieve better learning effects. They include the strategies to which a learner resort in order to better complete learning activities or tasks, the macro-strategies that the learner take in his learning objectives, learning process, learning plans, regulations and controls, as well as some recognition of foreign language learning.

  Until today, there is still no agreed-upon definition. Reviewing the literature on learning strategies, one may be shocked by the wide range of definitions being used to describe it. There are various definitions proposed by researchers:

  Stern (1975) describes that a strategy is best reserved for general tendencies or overall characteristics of the approach employed by the language learner, leaving techniques as the term to refer to particular forms of observable learning behavior.

  Weinstein and Mayer (1986) refer to learning strategies as the behaviors and thoughts that a learner engages in during learning, and that are intended to influence the learner’s encoding process.

  Chamot (1987) thinks learning strategies are techniques, approaches, or deliberate actions that students take in order to facilitate the learning and recll of both linguistic and content area information.

  Rubin (1987) points out learning strategies are strategies which contribute to the development of the language system which the learner constructs and affect learning directly”.

  Oxford (1989) defines language learning strategy is the behavior or act that learner adopts for making learning more successful, more independent and more pleasant”.

  Wen Qiufang (2003) regards learning strategy as measures which the students take in order to study more efficiently.

1.2  Classification of Learning Strategies

  Different researchers hold different views about the issue and they make classifications from different aspects:

  Rubin (1987), there are three types of language learning strategies: learning strategies, communication strategies, and social strategies.

  O’Malley & Chamot (1990), classify learning strategies into metacognitive, cognitive and affective or social strategies.

  Cohen (1998), classifies language learning strategies into language learning strategies and language use strategies.

  From the existing research, there are four types of language learning strategies: learning strategies、integration strategies、communication strategies and social strategies.

  Oxford (1990) classification method is more reasonable. According to the relationship between strategies and language materials, he classified learning strategies into two parts: direct and indirect strategies. Each kind has its subitems. (See Figure 1.2.1)

                                      Memory strategies

                 Direct strategies       Cognitive strategies

    Learning                           Compensation strategies

   Strategies                           Meta-cognitive strategies

                 Indirect strategies       Affective strategies

                                      Social strategie

Figure 1.2.1: Astrategy System: Overview (Oxford 1990)

   In English learning strategies, the employment of direct strategies has direct connection with target language.

  Inside, Memory strategies help students accumulate knowledge and catch new message. Cognitive strategies make student understand and output new language through each way. Compensation strategies can let student use language across the language barrier. (See Figure 1.2.2)

   

                       A. Creating mental linkage

      1. Memory         B. Applying images and sounds

       Strategies         C. Reviewing well

                                           D. Employing actions

                        A. Practicing

      2. Cognitive        B. Reviewing and sending messages

        Strategies        C. Analyzing and reasoning

                                           D. Creating structure for input and output

      

      3. Compensation    A. Guessing intelligently     

       Strategies         B. Overcoming limitations in speaking

                          and writing

Figure 1.2.2 Direct strategies

  The employment of indirect strategies has no direct connection with target language, but provides indirect support for language learning. It can divide into three kinds: Meta- cognitive、 Affective strategies、 Social strategies. (See Figure 1.2.3)

l  Metacongnitive strategies are different from the ordinary cognitive strategies, and which provide a way for learners to coordinate their own learning process.

l  Affective strategies are refers to Language learner can gain control over the affective factors through affective strategies.

l  Social strategies mean that language is a form of social behavior or communication.

       

                            A. Centering your learning

        1. Metacognitive      B. Arranging and planning your learning

          Strategies          C. Evaluating your learning

                            A. Lowering your anxiety

         2. Affective         B. Encouraging yourself

          Strategies          C. Taking your emotional temperature

                            A. Asking questions

         3. Social            B. Cooperating with others

          Strategies          C. Empathizing with others

Figure 1.2.3 Indirect strategies

2  Research on The English Learning Strategies

2.1  About The Excellent English Learner

  After 1980s, scholars began to contrastively analyze the difference in strategies using between excellent English learners and non-excellence. After the research, Ellis (1994) pointed out there are five differences: excellent English learner

l     Pay attention to the form of language, are good at learn from the mistakes.

l     Pay attention to language meaning, manage to express their own ideas.

l     Actively participate in activities which benefit to language learning, and setting

      up environmental to learn language by themselves.                  

l     Have high awareness, can control and adjust the learning process.

l     Will be based on the actual then appropriate to chose learning strategies.

2.2  The Factors Affecting Application of English Learning Strategies

  There are many factors that affect the application of strategies in foreign language learning, they can be divided into two parts in the rough. They are:

  1) Environmental factors, including cultural background、learning conditions、 teaching environment、learning tasks ,etc. All of these factors affect the choice of foreign language learning strategies in different ways.

  2) Learners factors, mean people learn in different ways influence obviously on the use of learning strategies, mainly reflected in age、learning potential、learning style、learning motivation、personality、personal experience etc. Different people have different learning styles.

 

 

3  The Training of English Learning Strategies

3.1  The Training of Students’ English Learning Strategies

3.1.1  Two Stages on The Training

  Two stages for learner training which involve preparation for language learning and skills training.

  The former aims to raise awareness about oneself and different language learning strategies which serve as psychological preparation.

  Skill training, aims to give learners the knowledge and practice of different learning strategies.

3.1.2  Three Areas on The Training

  Dickinson and Carve (1980,cf. Ellis and Sinclair, 1989:7) identify three areas for preparing learners to become autonomous and these three areas can be used for considering contents and procedures for learner training. They are:

l  Psychological preparation, e.g. activities to build confidence

l  Methodological preparation, e.g. Activities to help learners understand and use metalanguage (language for describing language and language learning) and to become aware of the rationale behind classroom activities.

l  Practice in self-direction, e.g. activities which provide learners with opportunities to make choices about their learning.

3.1.3  Five Strategies on The Training

l  Seeking and take advantage of learning environment to actively participate in the learning process.

l  To establish the ideology of language.

l  To establish the consciousness as method in communication;

l  Accepting and properly handle the emotion in the process of English learning;

l  Strengthen your foreign language system through the idea of prove

3.2  The Training of Teaching English Learning Strategies

  1) Involve students in an overview of the textbook at the beginning

  At the beginning of the course, it is useful for the teacher to guide students through the content page for them to get an overall idea about what is to be learned. By doing this, students have the opportunity to get an overall view about the book.

  2) Involve students in finding out about themselves

  Helping learners to gain a better idea about themselves as learners is the first step in guiding them to take responsibilities for their own learning.

  3) Introduce students to a number of different learning strategies

  The teacher needs to demonstrate from time to time what strategies are available and how to use them for different purposes. The study also finds that different strategies have different effectiveness for different students.

  4) Help learners set up their own learning goals and make their own plans

  At the end of a unit or a period, we need to ask students to selfassess if they have managed to keep their resolutions or plans.

  5) Share lesson aims with students in class and review them by the end of the lesson.

  In fact, with junior and senior high school students, it is helpful for them to know the lesson aims so that they can take responsibility for their own learning by trying to achieve the aims of the lesson and become aware of areas that they may need more work after class.

  6) Use learner diaries as a way to help student reflect on their learning

  7) Guide student to make plans for learning

  8) Use portfolios to promote more autonomous learning

  It gives them the chance to learn to organize their work and self assess their learning.

  9) Help students learn to use resources

    Ryan (1997) suggests three steps in helping learners learn to use resources.

  ① The first step is a consciousness-raising discussion of available resources.

  ② Then the teacher will model by presenting and practicing some techniques to

    exploit resources.       

  ③ Finally, the teacher can introduce the theoretical assumptions underlying the

    selection of resources and techniques.

Conclusion

  The requirement of globalization is becoming higher and higher for the using ability of foreign language, and the most important factor that the learner’ s learning strategies in numerous factors that affect the foreign language learning. In college English teaching, it should become the important topic of the current college English teaching study that understand and grasp the student’ s language learning process, finding the learning characteristics, and according to the actual situation to practice the effective teaching of learning strategies and training.

  With regard to the study of learning strategies, we should not only just keep studying in the learning theory level, but also should connect the learning, teaching and training practice, which is the transformation that the theoretical research toward the teaching practice. Pay more attention to the cultivating strategy, empirical research and develop the students’ innovation, so that could make the student to yield twice the result with half the effort in foreign English learning.

References

［1］ 王蔷.英语教学法教程［M］.北京：高等教育出版社，2000.

［2］ 程晓堂.英语学习策略［M］.外语教学与研究出版社，20##-08.

［3］ 文秋芳.英语学习策略理论研究［M］.陕西：陕西师范大学出版社，2004.

 [4]   刘振钱.外语学习策略研究 [M］.山东：山东大学，20##-08

［5］ 郑红霞.学习策略在英语教学中的探究［EB/OL］.［20##-03］.访问路径.

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