AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF CULTIVATING STUDENTS AUTONOMOUS LEARNING CAPACITY IN COLLEGE EN.doc

ANEMPIRICALINVESTIGATIONOFCULTIVATINGSTUDENTSAUTONOMOUSLEARNINGCAPACITYINCOLLEGEENGLISHTEACHINGAbstractThis paper is a two2year empirical investigation of cultivating students autonomous learning capacity inCollege English teaching at Shanxi University of Finance and Economics (SUFE).The goal of the study is to optimize students language learning and to find a new direction of teaching innovation. The paper analyzes the current teaching context and presents a critical review of the literature on learner autonomy. The author explores understanding of learner autonomy in Chinese context and produces an autonomous learning model in the experimental study. The paper presents some strategies f or fostering autonomy such as instructing students how to learn, level2based teaching and collaborative learning. It was found that only by encouraging greater learner autonomy can students raise their English learning effectiveness.Key wordsTeaching English as a f foreign language; learners autonomy; teaching innovation1. IntroductionIt is true that after studying English for over ten years, most university students continue to find reading English books a difficult task. Understanding oral English, especially English spoken by native speakers, is considered an even tougher t ask than reading aloud. But, even more difficult, is the job of expressing themselves clearly and fluently in spoken English. Many students who are able to pass the upper2level English examinations wit h high grades are frequently poor at using t he language .Especially since 1999, university enrollment across the country has been expanding annually. This has plunged college English teaching into a new series of problems including: particularly severe shortages of teachers, increased class sizes and a widening gap in t he English proficiency levels of university students. The best way to make students lea r n both actively and effectively in such a situation is to challenge the traditional methods that have proved insufficient.In order t o meet the requirements of work places wit h t he intention of raising the quality of English teaching , Shanxi University of Finance and Economics called on the staff t o reform the cur rent teaching model of college English. By careful studying the modern theories of language teaching and learning of West countries, the author found that cultivating students autonomous learning capacity in college English teaching might be an effective and efficient way. Therefore, the author produced an autonomous learning model of college English and put it into teaching p practice. The paper reflects t he outcomes of the two year teaching experiment of learner autonomy conducted at the university.2. Current Teaching ContextSince opening the door to the outside world, college English teaching in China has made great progress. Indeed, remarkable changes and achievements have been made across the country. However, the developments at each university in China are of ten quite different from each other. Chinese students English proficiency is commonly rather limited. Unfortunately, teaching English as a foreign language in China still leaves much to be desired (Zhou Liuxi 2003) .2. 1 The goal of English teachingThe teaching goals of the traditional syllabus demonstrate an emphasis on a reading for comprehension based pedagogy, and the document nominates a basic amount of vocabulary that students were required to master. When tuition was focused on the emphasis in the syllabus the staff who delivered it regarded reading, writing and translating as the basis of scholarly endeavor and they tended to ignore it he cultivation of students list ending and speaking ability. Both are now recognized as essential to the requirements of the international business community. As a result, it is understandable that some teachers place considerable emphasis on the students passing the examinations and spend much time in dealing with students examination competence. Therefore, students may demonstrate a capability to remember many words by sight but are, all too frequently, neither able to understand nor say them. Such students may well have acquired a basic vocabulary but have not mastered the techniques of applying it in acts of communication.2. 2 The most recent model of English teachingThe English language teaching model, as it has been recently practiced in Chinese tertiary institutions, generally comprised a teacher, students, text books and the blackboard. This equipment has been used in a class room with students sitting in rows listening to a teacher who stood in front of them. Some classes occasionally used computers but that use has generally been very limited. Normally there are around 55 students in each class, and it is clearly impossible f or the teacher to instruct students individually in such a situation . The teacher will talk about grammar, do some translation, explain the text and ask students to do some written exercises. The teacher must deal with a wide range of student competencies. Many students come from the countryside while others are from large cities. The very large gap between the levels of students English proficiency does pose a real challenge to teachers.2. 3 The methodology of English teachingThe Grammar-Translation Method has had a dominant place in college English teaching and it has had a long lasting influence on TEFL practice in China. Indeed, many teachers still feel more comfortable with the traditional “chalk and talk” techniques that deliver information in a pre digestible format. Teachers primarily pay attention to t he linguistic points of English and do not address aspects of teaching concerning learning strategies. All too frequently teachers have tended to structure classes in such a way that students regard the teacher as the provider of knowledge and the student as the receiver. In class, students are used to listening to the teachers and taking notes, but not anticipating a request for information from the teacher. Even if the answer is known, generally only a small percentage of students will become involved in answering the teachers questions. There is generally no exchange of information (Yang Xuanyan , 2003) .2. 4 The impact of Chinese cultureMost students in China would be considered introverted when compared to similar cohorts in Western countries and this is due to the impact of Chinese culture. China is bound by a powerful adherence to Confucian values with a strong emphasis placed on co-operation, the preservation of face” (dignity and honor) and self-effacement. Each of these concepts has had enduring implications for the language teaching class room. Self-effacement and “face” saving may account for the reason why few students are so reluctant to speak in open response to the questions from the teacher; self-effacement reflects the societys need for modesty and balance, and appears to be counter-productive for encouraging critical self-awareness.3. Learner Autonomy in Language LearningSince Henri Holecs work “Autonomy and Foreign Language Learning” was published in 1981, autonomy in language learning has been a topic of widespread discussion in the West. Just as and “authentic” were the catchwords of the 1980s, learner autonomy had fast become one of the new EL T buzzwords by the 90s (Broady & Kenning 1996; Little 1990). Great progress has been made in the exploration and implementation of t he concept of autonomy. However, much less concern has been shown and “little formal academic discussion about learner autonomy” (Wu Hongyun 2001) has been held in China.Many researchers and theorists define learner autonomy in many different ways. One of the earliest advocates of autonomy in language teaching, Holec (1981: 47), has defined it as the “ability to take care of ones own learning”. This point is developed further by Wenden (1991) who summarizes the issue: In effect, successful or expert or intelligent learners have learned how to learn. They have acquired the learning strategies, the knowledge about learning and the attitudes that enable them to use these skills and knowledge confidently, flexibly, appropriately and independently of a teacher. Therefore, they are autonomous .Dickinson ( 1995 ) considers aut onomy as“bot h an at titude t owa rds lea rning and a capaci ty f orindependent lea r ning” . He elaborat es t he at titude as resp onsibili ty t he lea rner is p repa red t o t a ke f ordecision2ma king about his lea rning a nd capacity f or critical ref lection and decision2making in t he lear ningp rocess . That is ,“t hey ca n identif y , f ormulat e and change goals t o suit t hei r own lear ning needs a ndint erests a nd are able t o use lea rning st rat egies a nd monit or t hei r own lea r ning”(p . 43) .Lit tlewood (1996 : 12) sees aut onomy mainly as“lear ners ability and willingness t o make choicesindependent ly”and goes on t o a rgue t hat : t he ability dep ends on p ossessing bot h knowledge about t he alt er natives f rom which choice have t obe made a nd necessary skills f or car rying out what ever choices seem most app rop riat e . Willingnessdepends on having bot h t he mot ivation and conf idence t o t ake resp onsibility f or t he choices requi red.It is also emp hasized by Lit tlewood ( 1996 ) t hat t he capacity and int ent ion t o engage f reely willusually depend on students motivation a nd conf idence , just as much as it does on t hei r knowledge a ndskills .Anot her major inf luence on t he concept of lear ner aut onomy has been t he Soviet psychologistVygotsky. Cent ral t o his ideas is t he imp ort ance of social relationships t o t he development of ment alabilit ies a nd lea r ning. A cent ral t erm in his t heory is t he“zone of p roximal development” . The zone ofp roximal development is “t he dist ance between t he actual development al level as det ermined byindependent p roblem solving a nd t he level of p ot ential development as det ermined t hrough p roblemsolving under adult guidance or in collaboration wit h more capable peers”(Vygotsky 1978 :86) .Kelly (1996) discussed t he imp ort ance of t he envi ronments where lear ning t akes place . He said t hatif mat erials a nd class rooms are considered separat e entities f rom personal experience and t he immediat eapplication of what is lear ned , t hey will not af f ect overall p ersonal const ructs . Cambor ne ( 1988 : 33)argues t hat when students a re t ot ally immersed in t he lea r ning envi ronment a nd f ully engaged in t he t askt hey a re bet ter able t o int er nalize t he meaning of what is being lear ned. Individuals must be enabled t oconst ruct t hei r own p rivat e lear ning spaces according t o t hei r needs and f ill t hem wit h personallymea ningf ul lear ning mat erial .In t he t heoretical lit erature t here is broad agreement t hat lear ner aut onomy grows f rom t heindividual lea r ner s accept a nce of resp onsibility f or his or her own lear ning ( e1 g1 Holec 1981 ; Lit tle1991) . The t erm aut onomy has come t o be used in at least f ive ways (Benson & Voller 1997 : 2) :Si t uat ions in which lea rners study enti rely on t hei r own ;A set of skills which ca n be lea rned and applied in self2di rect ed lear ning ;An inborn capaci ty which is supp ressed by institutional education ;The exercise of learners resp onsibili ty f or t hei r own lear ning ;The right of lear ners t o determine t he di rect ion of t hei r own lea r ning. (Adapt ed f rom Benson &Voller 1997 :2)7 4CEL EA J ourna l 67 1994-2009 China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House. All rights reserved. The general social , p olitical , economic and cultural cont exts and f eatures of China are dif f erent t ot hose in West er n count ries . In keeping wit h t his underst a nding , t he accept ed objectives of t eaching arealso dif f erent and t he descriptions of lear ner aut onomy of West er n count ries do not exactly ref lect t hesituation of most Chinese students . Nevert heless , in t he design p hase of t his investigation , a wide rangeof West ern lit erature concer ning lear ner aut onomy was examined. Consideration was t hen given as t o howt his could be applied wit hin English t eaching p ractice in Chinese cont exts . The aut hor considers t hatlear ner aut onomy in TEFL in China should involve t he lea r ners in :t aking cha rge of t hei r own lear ning ;set ting realistic goals and plan p rogrammes of wor k ;using lea r ning st rat egies ef f ectively a nd developing st rategies f or coping wit h new situations ;creating and making good use of study envi ronments ; andevaluating a nd assessing his/ her own lea rning p rocess .As Mcdevitt (1997 :34) points out :“The end product of education is an independent learner”and thatcultivating a learner s independence or autonomy should be regarded as the ultimate goal that teachers oreducators t ry to pursue. Many educators believe that developing some degree of autonomy is essential if learnersare to become effective language users (Littlewood 1996 ; Nunan 1997 ; Breen 1984)4. The Shanxi Universi ty of Fina nce and Economics Inves t igat ionThe Foreign L anguage Faculty of Economics and Trade orga nized t he investigation t o examine t heef f ect iveness of aut onomous lea r ning in EFL at t he Shanxi University of Finance a nd Economics (SU FE) .Two t eachers a nd 220 students were involved in t he investigation , over a two2yea r period out usingqualit at ive observations t o supp ort t he dat a .4 . 1 Hypot hesisIn t he int ensive reading course of college Englis h t eaching , t he t eaching model of aut onomouslear ning arouses students interest a nd lea rning init iative , imp roves students lea r ning ef f ectiveness a nddevelops students aut onomous lea rning cap acity compared wit h t he t raditional t eaching model .4 . 2 Investigational designThe design of t he investigation adopts Ca ndy s (1991 : 270) concept of const ructivism , which“leadsdi rectly t o t he p rop osition t hat knowledge ca nnot be t aught but only lear ned ( t hat is , const ruct ed)” ,because knowledge is somet hing“built up by t he lear ner”( von L agerf eld & Smock 1974 : xvi , cit ed inCandy 1991 : 270) .Figure 18 4An Emp i r i c a l Inve s t i ga t ion of Cul t iva t ing S t ude n t s Aut onomous L e a rning Cap a c i t y. . . Guo Na i zhao 1994-2009 China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House. All rights reserved. The aut hor , t a king into account t he const ructivist lear ning t heory , and exploring t he relations hipsbetween t eachers , students , t eaching cont ent and resources , creat ed a visual model of aut onomousclass room t eaching ( Fig. 1) . This was done t o emp hasize t he imp ort a nce of a clea r f ocus f or t eaching a ndlear ning and t o p rovide f eedback on t he p ractices in t he classroom. The f act ors of“objectives”a nd“evaluat ion”have been included. L ea rner aut onomy has been placed in t he model because bot h t hep roduct a nd source of t he actual lear ning occur wit hin t he class room.This model has been designed t o help lear ners develop t hei r communicative compet ence . Teachersare t he organizers of t he t eaching p rocess and it is t hei r t ask t o act as inst ruct ors , or , more imp ort a nt ly ,t hey should become f acilit ators f or imp roving lear ner aut onomy. This change of role by t eachers willenable students t o become more active const ruct ors of knowledge ; t he cha nged cont ent will t hen p rovidet he subst ance of t he students active const ruction of new mea ning.4 . 3 Roles of teachers and studentsIn t his investigation at SU FE , f rom t he very beginning , t he t eacher s roles a nd students roles wereint roduced to t he students . It was recognized t hat t eachers must f i rst p rovide students wit h app rop riat et ools and wit h opp ortunities t o p ractice using t hem , i . e . t eachers have t o f acilit at e t he cha nge . Thep resupp osition here is t hat t eachers a re willing t o cha nge and s hif t t hei r roles in t he class room f rominf ormation p roviders t o f acilit at ors , s hif ting f rom“t eaching knowledge2based”t o“sup ervising studentslear ning2based” , f rom“a p rot agonist”on t he st age t o“a di rect or”behind t he scenes , becoming studentsdi rect or of knowledge2const ructivism.If t he class room is a st age in a t heat re , t he students a re t he act ors . According t o const ructivistlear ning t heory , la nguage lear ners are not passive receivers of knowledge ; t hey a re recognized as activeconst ruct ors of knowledge st ructures by f inding p roblems , by p roducing hyp ot heses , by conf i rminghyp ot heses a nd solving p roblems and by f inding new p roblems . In t he p rocess of recycling , one const antlybuilds up a knowledge st ructure . Students become active const ruct ors of knowledge t hrough exp erienceand opp ortunities t o discover and enqui re . This implies students s hould become co2lea rners , usingavailable knowledge t hrough int eraction wit h ot hers in socially signif icant t asks of collaborative wor k.Teachers are not t he only source of inf ormation a ny more , but act as f acilit at ors so t hat students canactively int erp ret a nd organize t he inf ormation t hey a re given , f it t ing it int o p rior knowledge (Dole et al .1991) . Students have become active pa rticipants in lea r ning and are encouraged t o be explorers a ndcreators of la nguage rat her t han passive recipients of it .4 . 4 The t hree panels of t he teaching processThe p rocess of t he new t eaching model can be divided int o t hree pa nels . Th