Fostering StudentsAbility of Autonomous Learning in English Class.docx

Fostering StudentsAbility of Autonomous Learning in English Class.docx

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FosteringStudentsAbilityofAutonomousLearninginEnglishClass

Fosteringstudents'abilityofautonomouslearning

inEnglishclass

Abstract：

Autonomouslearninghasbecomeahotissueinoverpasttwentyyears.Autonomouslearningisofgreatsignificanceinthestudents'lifelongdevelopment.Butasamateroffact,mostofourEnglishclassroomteachingarestill"transmission"teachingwhichemphasizesonteachingEnglishlanguagepointsratherthandevelopingthestudents'abilitytolearn.Thistraditionalteachingmodelcannolongeradapttothedevelopmentandrequirementofqualityeducationinnewsituations.Autonomouslearningisnotonlythewayofeffectivelearningbutalsothegoalofteaching.Somoreandmoreattentionis.laidonfosteringautonomouslearningabilityinthenewcurriculumstandardandpractice.AutonomouslearningcanberegardedastheimportantfactorofpromotingChineseforeignteachingreformandisirreplacableinpresentforeignteaching.

KeyWords：

autonomouslearning，cooperativelearning,Englishteachingandlearning;

I.Introduction

Inrecentyears,withtheglobalizationoftheeconomicalculturedevelopment,languagelearninghasbecomemoreandmoreimportanttothepeopleintheworld.However,mostChinesestudentsareaccustomedtoteacher-centeredpassiveeducation.Fromprimaryschooltocollege,boundtotheteacher-centered,exam-orientededucation,theyarealwaysencouragedtoobeyteachers'instructions,butdiscouragedtoarguewithteachersaboutwhatisbeingtaught,letalonetoformtheirownoriginalideas.Thepassiveeducationalpatternhascausedmanyproblemsandproducedalotofsideeffects.First,asstudentstendtofollowthebeatentrackanddarenotchallengewhatisconventional,theygraduallyformthepassivewayofthinking.Tomakethingsworse,astheyaresodependentonothers,mostofthemlacktheabilitytosolvepracticalproblems.Worstofall,suchpracticeputsoutanysparksofinspirationintheirmindsandrendersthemtohavenocreativityatall.Admittedly,itwilldogreatharmintheirfuture.

InChina,thereisasimilarproverb,"Ifyougiveamanafish,youfeedhimforaday.Ifyouteachamantofish,youfeedhimforalifetime".Tomeetthechallengesoftheinformationageandkeepupwiththedevelopmentofsociety,learnersatschoolshouldbeequippedwithanabilitytotakechargeoftheirownlearning,andfurnishedwithanabilitytodothings,individuallyandindependentlysothatwhentheyenterthesocietytheycantakeactivecontroloftheirownprofessionalandpersonaldevelopment.Therefore,moreandmoreteachershaverealizedthatitisanurgenttaskinthefieldofeducationtofostertheautonomouslearningability.

II.Definitionsandnecessitiesoffosteringstudents'abilityofautonomouslearning

2.1.Thedefinitionsofautonomy

Therearevariousdescriptionsofthedefinitionofautonomouslearning.OneoftheearliestandmostfrequentlyciteddefinitionsofautonomyisgivenbyHolec（1981：

3）inthefoundationdocumentfortheCouncilofEurope.Itcanbeseenas"theabilitytotakechargeofone'sownlearning"（Holec）,asituationinwhichthelearnerissolelyresposibleforalldecisions（Dickinson）.ButBenson&Vollerthought,"Teachershaveacrucialroletoplayinlaunchinglearnersintoautonomouslearningandinlendingthemaregularhelpinghandtostayafloat.OneofthedefinitionsofautonomyinCollinsanddevelopmentCobuildEnglish"Theabilitytomakeyourowndecisionsaboutwhattodoinfluencedbysomeoneelsetoldwhattodo."

Thusthelearnercanbecomea'producerofhissociety'bybecomingpartofandcontributingtothesocietythatisformedbyusersoftheInternet.Sheerin（1997：

56）describesageneralbeliefamongeducators（e.g.Nunan：

1997,Littlewood：

1981,Ur：

1988）that"learningismoreeffectivewhenlearnersareactiveinthelearningprocess,assumingresponsibilityfortheirlearningandparticipatinginthedecisions.

2.2Necessitiesoffosteringabilityofautonomouslearning

Anumberofstrandsseemtobeconvergingatthecurrenttimetopromotethevalueofindependentlanguagelearning.Theycanbesummarisedasfollows：

1）Currentlanguagelearningtheoriesfocusonthesocialaspectoflearningandplaceteachersinafacilitatingrole;

2）Learner-centeredpedagogicsseeknowledgeacquisitionasaprocess（notjustasanendinitself）andstresstheimportanceofkeylearningskillsandstrategies;

3）Itisonesolutiontolargeclassesandreducedteachercontacttime;

4）Theflexibilityofindependentlearningmethodologiescoincideswithapoliticalagendatopromotelifelonglearningandwidenaccesstonon-traditionallearners;

5）Technologicaladvancements一themultimediacomputer,high-speednetworksandinteractivedigitalTV一providearichlearningandteachingenvironment;

6）Financialconstraintshaveledtothemanagementviewpointthattechnologicalandself-accesssolutionsarefinanciallyadvantageous.

III.Themethodsoffosteringabilityofautonomouslearning

Inalanguageclassroomthatfocusesonmeaningfulinteraction,thereiscertainlyroomfordealingwithautonomy.Ehrman（1998：

102）statesthatithasbecomeincreasinglyevidentthatthepurposeofclassroomlearningisnotonlytoconveycontentinformation.Inthisteachingaconcernfor"deeperaims"forreachingcertainalsoeducatelearners"languagegoals"purposeofclassroomlearningisnotonlycontext,hespeaksofbringingtolanguage，forpursuingnew"lifegoals"notjust.Asteachersteachthelanguage,theycantolivemoresatisfyinglivesandofsociety.Attentiontoautonomycanimprovelanguageteachingandlearning,buttheclassroomcan,inturn,contributeinaverysignificantwaytoeducatinglearnersaffectively.（王亚丽,2005）Fosteringlearnerautonomyfromtheclassroomcanproducepositiveresultsinthedevelopmentofbothautonomyandlanguagelearning.

3.1Themethodsofcooperativelearninginclass

Littlewooddefinescooperativelearningas"agroup-orientedformofreactiveautonomy."Thedefinitionofcooperativelearningclearlyindicatesthatitiscenteredonstudentsworkingtogetherandisbasedongroupwork.Itpromoteslearnerinterdependencebyencouragingstudentstolearnfromeachother,notjustfromtheteacher.Thissectionshalldealwiththeapplicationofthecooperativelearningintoclassroom-basedteaching.Basedontheresearchers'andeducators'suggestionsandthepractice,specificwaysandactivitieswillbeillustratedinordertoshowhowtodeveloplearnerautonomythroughcooperativelearning.

Theadvantagesofcooperativelearningoverthelearningintraditionalclassroom,wemaylistthefollowingbenefitsofthecooperativelearning：

a.Academicachievementcanincrease.

b.Studentscanenhancetheirsocialskills

c.Therecanbemoreindividuationofinstruction.

d.Studentparticipationcanincrease.

e.Anxietycandecrease.

f.Motivationandpositiveatitudetowardclasscanincrease.

g.Self-esteemandself-directioncanincrease.

3.1.1Preparingstudentsforcooperativelearning

SincemostofthestudentsinChinaareaccustomedtotraditionalclassroomwithteacherresponsibleformostpartoftheteachingprocedure,theywouldbecomeanxiousiftheydonotunderstandtherationaleforcooperativelearning,anewkindofclassroomexperience.Therefore,ifateacherwantsthestudentstoreactpositivelytotheirfirstexperiencesincooperativelearning,he/shemustexplainclearlywhytheyaredoingthiskindofthingsdifferentfromwhattheydidintheirpastlearning.Withtheknowledgethatcooperativelearning,thenewlearningmethodtothem,hassomanyadvantagesandhasbeenproveneffectivebymanyresearchersinthisfield,students'confidenceincooperativelearningwillboost.Fewpeopleinthefieldofsecond/foreignlanguageteachingwilldenythatcooperativelearningprovidestheopportunityforstudentstomaximizetheirownandeachother'slearning.Helpingstudentstoseethebenefitofcooperativelearningcanserveasthementalpreparationforacceptingthisnewlearningandteachingmethodpositively.

3.1.2GroupOrganization

Groupworkisthebasicapplicationofcooperativelearningintheclassroomteaching.Threefactorsshouldbeconsideredwhenformingthegroups.Theyarethesize,personalcharacteristicsofthegroupmembers,andthetimethegrouplasts.

Asforthesizeofthegroup,almostalltheexperiencedteacherknowthatthesmallerthegroup,themoreeachmembertalksandthelesschancethereisthatsomeonewillbeleftout.Also,smallergroupsrequirefewergroupmanagementskillsandcanusuallycometodecisionsfaster.Throughexpertssuggestions,Ifindthatinclassesofunder40students,agroupof4isverysuitable,whileinclassesofover40,agroupof6studentsisadvisablebecausestudentscaneitherworkinpairs,ortwo/threesetsofthesepairsinteractasafoursome/sixsomeWhenthegroupsareformed,eachstudentinthegrouphashis/herownfixednumberfrom1to4/6.Ingettingthestudentstopresenttheirgroupwork,theteachercancallanumberfromonetofour/six,andthepersonwiththatnumberpresentstheworkforthegroup.Inthisway,theteachercanavoidtheproblemthatsomestudentswithlowerproficiencytendtokeepquietwhentheyaredoingthegroupwork.Whenformingthegroups,anotherfactorthatshouldbeconsideredispersonalcharacteristicsofthegroupmembers,includinglanguageproficiency,gender,anddiligenceofthemembers.Cohen（2000）pointsoutthatteachersmustcreategroupsthatareequitablesothatallstudentsparticipatefullyandusemultiple-abilitystrategiesifcooperativelearningistowork.I