浅析新课改下初中学生英语学习主动性

【摘要】初级中学时期是帮助学生掌握英语的一个重要阶段，随着新课改的大力推进，怎样培养学生的英语学习主动性成为一个重要话题。但目前初中生学习的主动性，尤其是英语学习主动性仍显不足，大大削弱了英语学习的有效性。作者使用调查问卷的方法，对绵阳游仙区慈济实验学校100名初一学生的英语学习主动性进行调查，发现目前学生在英语学习上主动性较弱，而影响学生学习主动性的因素主要有兴趣、自信心、教学方法、学习资源以及对课堂的评估，因此为了提高学生英语学习主动性，教师和学生都应该从这些因素中入手，充分发挥积极因素的作用。本文分为四部分：第一部分，簡要介绍中学新课改的背景以及要求；第二部分，阐述英语学习主动性的定义和特征，分析中学生英语学习现状；第三部分，根据调查问卷分析影响初中学生英语学习主动性的因素，最后一部分根据新课改的要求，作者向学生和老师提出了一些建议，以期提高初中学生英语学习主动性和学习效率。

【关键词】新课程改革；英语学习主动性；初中学生

Abstract：The period of junior middle school is an important stage to help students to master English. With vigorously advancing in the new curriculum reform， how to develop the student's initiative has become an important topic in English teaching. But at present， there still exist some deficiencies in junior middle-school students learning initiative， especially in English learning initiative， which greatly reduces the effectiveness of English learning. The author of this paper investigates 100 junior middle school students of grade one in Mianyang Ciji Experimental School about their English learning initiative by questionnaire， and finds that their English learning initiative is weak. The main factors affecting the English learning initiative include interest， confidence， teaching methods， learning resources and evaluation of class. In order to improve their English learning initiative， both students and teachers should learn from those factors， and play the role of positive factors efficiently. This paper is divided into four parts. The first part briefly introduces the research backgrounds and requirement of new curriculum reform of junior middle school. The second part describes the definitions and characteristics of English learning initiative， and also introduces the current situations of junior middle school students English learning. The third part analyzes factors affecting English learning initiative under the new curriculum reform. The last part in accordance with the requirements of reform， the author gives students and teachers suggestions to improve the students English learning initiative and learning effectiveness.

Key words：New Curriculum Reform；English learning initiative；junior middle school students

Since 1960s， there has been a shift of emphasis on language teaching from teacher-centeredness to student-centeredness. The new curriculum reform was fully implemented in Sichuan province in 2010. The roles of teachers and teaching behavior have kept changing with the deepening of reform. In China， school educators have done some teaching attempts to develop students English learning initiative， and made a certain achievement， but there are still many issues left to be resolved. The purpose of this paper is to explore how to apply new curriculum reform to English learning initiative for junior middle school students. By elaborating the English learning initiative and effect factors， the author wishes to make use of new curriculum so as to improve English learning initiative in accordance with the data analysis of the questionnaire study， also， improve students English level from interests， confidence， teachers， atmosphere of class and learning resources.

1. New Curriculum Reform

In the new round of curriculum reform， the syllabus for decades gradually faded， and replaced by national curriculum reform standards.

New Curriculum Reform has the following characteristics：

1） Cultivating the students comprehensive ability of using language based on the cultivation of basic literacy， such as language knowledge， language skills， emotion and attitude， learning strategies and cultural awareness.

2） Optimizing students English learning style， giving full play to their learning potential by observation， experience and exploration， developing the English learning initiative， and improving their English level.

3） Paying attention to students emotion， and improving their cultural literacy.

4） Laying emphasis on evaluation of process， and promoting students development.

2. English Learning Initiative of Junior Middle School Students

Every stage of students has their own characteristics in English learning. So， how about junior middle students English learning initiative？ The author introduced the two parts of following thesis.

2.1 Definitions and Characteristics of English Learning Initiative

In our daily teaching， the initiative which we usually talk about mainly refers to the students' learning initiative， which is an important factor that affects learning.

2.1.1 Definitions

Gardner regarded initiative of foreign language learning as a combination of four components： goal of learning language， desire to achieve the goal， and the favorable attitude towards learning the language. Only the four parts are united， the learners have a genuine strong initiative （Gardner 79-80）.

2.1.2 Characteristics

It is regarded as the important factors in foreign language learning at present. The most important characteristics of English learning initiative is motivation. They desire to integrate into the English-Speaking countries and be a member of them （Lv. Jing 51-52 ）. The main characteristic of instrumental initiative is selective and not-long-lasting. Motivation will disappear when they attain to the goals （Xia Xiaohua 33-34）.

2.2 Current Situations of English Learning Initiative

The globalization of information and economic activities in social life has made foreign languages， especially English， become an important tool for China's opening up and international communication.

For students：

Students have no clear purpose of learning. Most students learning English just as a course to learn， learning is just to meet the test results.Students do not have to develop good study habits in the course of English learning. Without the scientific method cannot master the language skills， such as text and words by rote， there is quite a lot of students don't even know the phonetic symbol， and they can't pronounce new words. They also have litter ability to master the rules of the word memory. The process of how to remembering new words just a simple mechanical learning to recite.

For teachers：

Firstly， some teacher's teaching methods are a little obsolete and backward. The quality of teaching is not enough. The examination components are relatively heavy， the current lack quality training in the countryside and city. Teachers pay attention to theoretical knowledge and books restrictions to inculcate in the teaching. This led to widespread "high scores and low abilities" phenomenon. Teaching English is more prominent in the show： students can recite an article fluently， and to the real the occasion of the use of English， has become a "dumb".

3. English Learning Initiative of New Curriculum Reform

So， under the New Curriculum Reform， junior school students how to make use of this opportunity to develop their English learning initiative？ And teachers can take advantage of new learning resources to stimulate students initiative. Next analysis will give some findings and advice to elaborate the questions.

3.1 Questionnaire

The author selected 100 junior middle school students of grade one in Ciji school to do questionnaire about their English learning initiative. So the author divided these students into two group， one is Active-class， which is also the experimental class and there are 50 students. And the other students are set as Negative-class， which is also the controlled class and there are 50 students.

From the data analysis， 60 percent of students have high scores above 80 in Active-Class， 34 percent of students have scores， which is from 60 to 80， and only 6 percent of students have low scores under 60. However， it is not the same with the negative class， where about 23 percent of students have high points， 55 percent of students have points of 60-80， and even 22 percent of students have low points under 60.

The research of data analysis shows students often have high initiative in learning English in active-class， such as setting goals and self-rewarding. About 36 percent of students would often be interested in English， and make a relative planning， 58 percent of students sometimes are interested in them. But in the negative class， only 6 percent of students often have intrinsic interests， almost half of students never have interests in learning English. In the active class， about 98 percent of students like teachers English teaching methods， whose props and multimedia are been used successfully in class. The active class ordinarily have high evaluation for their class， while in negative class， only 12 percent of students like their class. In addition， students， no matter what kind of class they are in， have a high initiative for learning resources especially with pictures and sound.

The author of this thesis also finds another phenomenon during her internship in this school. But this questionnaire survey also has its flaws. The author only chooses two classes， so the number of students is limited. And the research object of this paper is students in Grade One of junior middle school students， but different grades may have different characteristics.

3.2 Findings

This questionnaire was administered on January 11th in 2016. The questionnaire was distributed in a total number of 100， and all of the questionnaires were collected and the data validity reached 100%.

3.3 Factors Affecting English Learning Initiative

From above analysis of questionnaire， the author can find some different data in different class. So， next， there will be the conclusion of factors causing these differences.

3.3.1 Internal Factors Affecting Learning Initiative

From above data analysis and according to the source of initiative， initiative can be described in two broad categories. Cognitive psychology emphasizes that human instinct has desire to learn new things and will explore its meaning constantly and understand related things（Jia Guanjie 20）.

From above data analysis， first， students interest for English learning and students initiative have a great relationship. Secondly， the self-confidence of the students also affects the initiative to improve. Some students are born to be relatively self-contemptuous， who dont want to communicate with others and dont like to answer a question or inquiry problems.

3.3.2 External Factors Affecting Learning Initiative

In foreign language teaching， English teachers should mobilize students' inner initiative and stimulate students English learning initiative.

Finally， effecting English learning initiative factors still includes students evaluation for English classroom， and students with high marks like their class， like competitiveness and questionnaire obviously.

4. Suggestions

Through the interviews with teachers and students， it is very clear for us to understand the students' foreign language learning initiative better. It is very important that we can have the specific guidance for the interview objects.

4.1 Suggestions for Students

4.1.1 Building Students' English Learning Interest and Confidence

In English learning， an appearance， an action or a word from teachers may be able to change a student's view and interests of learning English. In English teaching， students should correct themselves when teachers point out their shortcomings sincerely and friendly. For some students who lack of confidence， classmates should encourage or support them， which may be more effective than other teaching methods.

4.1.2 Mastering Learning Situation

When a test is finished， most of students are eager to know their scores. Actually， this is the performance of students who want to know their progress of learning. It is a huge impetus for English learner and it will be arousing students' willingness to learn in further. At the same time， students can also change their learning methods to help themselves fulfill their tasks now and then.

4.1.3 Being Active in Class

The atmosphere of class is also important for students. On the one hand， students should pay attention to competition with classmates. But more importantly， students should set up a goal for their learning process， and learn from the excellent students in English learning to participate in the competition. Then hold a regular basis English competition assessment to promote a good learning atmosphere.

4.1.4 Using Learning Resources Efficiently

Under the new curriculum reform， more and more books are designed with colorful pictures. Students can make use of these efficiently. On the other hand， students should listen to the video or other sounds from ordinary foreign languages to improve their sensitivity of language.

4.2 Suggestions for Teachers

4.2.1 Teaching through Lively Activities

Various teaching methods and activities can make the atmosphere in English class actively and get the students listen to teacher energetically. As Confucius said， "the one who knows is not better than the one who knows with interest； the one who knows with interest is not superior to the one who wants to know with pleasure."

4.2.2 Creating English Learning Situation to Stimulate Students' Interest

According to Mallow （29-30）， only when the low-level needs are satisfied， the growing needs can be motivated by individual's behaviors. Apparently， the need to follow and self-actualization need belong to category of learning initiative. The former is caused by inducement of surroundings， but the latter originates from individual's internal needs. However， the internal learning initiative can last for a longtime， and students' interest in English belongs to the category of internal initiative， so teachers ought to help students maintain their learning interest.

5. Conclusion

To develop junior middle school students English learning initiative， according to the requirement of reform and questionnaire， the author find and elaborate the five parts interests， confidence， learning resources， teaching methods and class. The initiative is combined by endeavor and desire of realizing learning target （Jia Guanjie 22-24）.

Firstly， the internal interest of English has an obvious influence on junior middle school students English achievement and learning initiative.

Secondly， most students who are tested want to be prized and inspired by teachers and get timely feedback from their English teachers when having homework or a test. So confidence for students are also very important.

Thirdly， the teaching methods also have a great influence on students' academic performance. Under the new curriculum， according to the characteristic of reform， learning resources become colorful.

Fourthly， according to the new curriculum reform， some fresh learning resources are also very important to develop students English learning initiative.

Fifthly， many students want to participate class instead of receiving knowledge， which also reflect how important the atmosphere of class is.

This thesis only researches one school and one grade， more works also need to improve.

6. Acknowledgments

In the end of finishing this paper， I appreciated that my teachers who have given me hands in the process of my writing this paper. Whoever gave me criticism or praise， I still remember your love for me.

First and forest， Id like to take this opportunity to my supervisor， Associate Professor Zou Can， who has given me so much useful advice on my writing and has tried her best to improve my paper.

secondly， I appreciate myself that I tried my best to do everything I should do and I want to do in college.

7. Appendix

新課改下中学生英语学习主动性情况问卷调查表

同学，你们好！迈过了年少无知，欢迎大家来到人生的新阶段，一个青春活力个性张扬的时期，相信大家都有了自己的小小决心和梦想。所以，在这里，我们为了了解同学们在新的课程改革下的学习主动性情况做一个调查，来为同学们的英语学习提出更加有效地建议，我们保证你的隐私不被泄露。所以请如实作答，谢谢合作，不需要签名。谢谢你的合作！

1、我所在的班级是：A. 积极实施新课改的班级 B.未积极实施新课改的班级

2、我的英语成绩是：A. 80-100分 B. 60-80分 C. 60分以下

A：完全符合/总是 B：偶尔/有时 C：完全不符合/从不

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【作者简介】

杨茹（1993—），女，四川江油人，单位：成都欢乐颂学行教育咨询有限公司，研究方向：英语教学、教育学。