OnEnglishLearningStrategiesofNursingMajorsinChangshaHealthSchool長沙衛(wèi)校護理專業(yè)學生英語學習策略研究

1、on english learning strategies of nursing majors in changsha health school長沙衛(wèi)校護理專業(yè)學生英語學習策略研究 研 究 生 姓 名 指導教師姓名、職稱 教授 學 科 專 業(yè) 高師碩士 研 究 方 向 英語課程與教學論 湖南師范大學學位評定委員會辦公室 二o一o年九月on english learning strategies of nursing majors in changsha health schoola dissertationsubmitted to foreign studies college of hu

2、nan normal universityin partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of teachers in the subject ofenglish language teachingbychang nian under the supervision ofprofessor changsha, hunanseptember, 2010abstractthis study aims to investigate how the nursing majors employ learning st

3、rategies in their english learning. the study involves an analysis of the current english teaching in changsha health school and explores the factors affecting the use of language learning strategies. according to oxford (1990), language learning strategies are behaviors or actions used by learners

4、to make language learning more successful, self-directed and enjoyable. chamot (1987) stated that learning strategies are techniques, approaches or deliberate actions that students take to facilitate learning. ellis (1994) believed that strategy choice can affect learning outcomes, which in turn can

5、 influence strategy uses. nunan (1999: 63) suggested that strategy training does make a difference in several key areas. first, it had a significant effect on student motivation. it also gives the students the knowledge of the strategy, which significantly affects their appreciation of their use of

6、strategies in their own language learning. wen qiufang(1996) claimed that learning strategies have direct influence on the results of learning and that the adjustment of learning strategies is the key factor in successful learning. previous researches showed that learning strategies contribute direc

7、tly to learners learning results. the college english curriculum requirements of china (ministry of education, 2007) also emphasized the acquisition of effective learning strategies.however, research on language learning strategies in china is still in its early stage. almost all the previous resear

8、chers took english majors as their objects, but the majority of efl learners in colleges and universities are non-english majors, such as nursing majors. it seems necessary and reasonable to survey them. it is imperative to help them become aware of successful language learning strategies and acquir

9、e them. based on previous researches, the data was computed and analyzed by means of descriptive analyses, one-way analysis of variance, pearson's correlation analysis and a multiple regression analysis. the findings of this study were as follows.1.the nursing majors are good at using metacognit

10、ive strategies but they are not good at using cognitive strategies. students tend to use social strategies the most often.2. the study of the relationship between learners with higher proficiency and those with less proficient learners found that the employment of learning strategies had statistical

11、ly significant correlation with language learning results.3. generally, the nursing majors are introvert and shy. they are not creative in strategy application, either. anxiety is also a big obstacle to the nursing majors english learning.4. nursing curriculum is boring and abstract. heavy assignmen

12、t of study made nursing majors anxious. it is not easy for them to learn english well as long as dealing with the professional courses.findings from this research suggest that both the knowledge about english itself and the knowledge about learning strategies are important and they should gain equal

13、 weight in learning and teaching. some pedagogical implications based on the results of the study are provided in the following: 1. english teachers should enable the nursing majors to realize that effective strategies can enhance language learning. 2. english teachers should encourage learners to c

14、ultivate their strengths and overcome their weaknesses. students should try to practice learning strategies that are appropriate and benefiting to them.3. learning strategy training should not be limited to the classroom.lastly, and the most important, learning strategies are not all-purpose althoug

15、h they may contribute significantly to learning. they shall never take the place of the learning process itself. only when strategies are based on diligence will success in english learning be gained. therefore, teachers should always train strategies following the right orientation and prevent stud

16、ents misconception of taking shortcuts in english learning.key words: nursing majors; metacognitive strategies; cognitive strategies; social/affective strategies摘 要本研究旨在通過以下兩個方面的探討: 護理學生使用英語學習策略的總體情況, 護理學生學習策略的使用與英語成績是否存在相關性，來發(fā)現(xiàn)護理學生在英語學習中常使用的學習策略和缺乏使用的學習策略，以期英語教師在教學中能給護理學生以明確的學習策略指導和訓練，提高學生的策略意識，使他們

17、學會選擇合適的策略來實現(xiàn)學習目標，提升英語考試成績。oxford指出，學習策略是指學習者在語言學習中所采取的能促使學習更成功、更有針對性的一些具體行為。chamot 認為，學習策略是學習者在語言學習中所采用的能促進學習的技巧、方法及有意識的行為。ellis 指出，策略的選用會影響學習的結果，而學習的結果對策略的使用有反作用。nunan 通過研究得出，學習策略的訓練很重要，它不但影響學生的學習動機，還影響學生對學習策略的認識及使用。文秋芳指出，學習策略直接影響到學習的結果，不斷調整學習策略是成功的語言學習的關鍵因素。我國教育部在2007年頒布的大學英語課程教學要求中也明確指出學習策略是學生綜合語

18、言運用能力的一個重要組成部分，是提高學習效率、發(fā)展自主學習能力的保證。然而，語言學習策略的研究在中國尚處于起始階段。幾乎所有前人的研究都是以英語專業(yè)學生為對象，但是實際上大學中大多數(shù)學生為非英語專業(yè)學生，比如護理專業(yè)生。對于他們的調查尤為必要。提高他們對語言學習策略的認識并學會運用已迫在眉睫。在前人研究成果的基礎上，本研究通過實地聽課觀察、問卷調查、師生訪談及對兩次測試成績的分析，對長沙衛(wèi)校護理專業(yè)學生在英語學習過程中的學習策略應用情況進行了研究，得出了以下結果：1. 總的說來，護理專業(yè)學生更善于使用元認知策略和社會/情感策略，但是他們不善于使用認知策略。 護理專業(yè)學生最常使用的語言學習策略為

19、社會策略。2. 通過對成功的英語學習者與非成功英語學習者的對比研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，英語學習策略的使用與英語學習結果呈正相關。3. 護理專業(yè)學生普遍內向、羞怯，不大喜歡開口，并且對策略的應用不太靈活，缺乏創(chuàng)新，但他們刻苦、學習動機強。4護理專業(yè)課程枯燥、抽象, 學習任務重,護理學生對學習容易產生焦慮和厭倦感。在應付繁重的專業(yè)課程的同時要學好英語, 實非易事。上述研究結果表明：元認知策略和社會/情感策略在學習的過程中起著重要的作用，然而，只有當把它們與認知策略結合起來使用時才能取得最佳的效果，英語語言本身的知識及學習策略方面的知識在教與學當中同等重要。因此，教師應當培養(yǎng)護理專業(yè)學生優(yōu)化學習策略的意識，并在平

20、常的教學中重視英語學習策略方面的指導和訓練，幫助他們獲得良好的學習策略并養(yǎng)成良好的學習習慣。而且學習策略的訓練不應只限于課堂。最后要說明的是，盡管學習策略有助于提高學習效率，但它畢竟不是萬能的，它最終還是不能取代語言學習本身，因此，英語學習要取得成功，除了會應用有效的學習策略外，首要是自身的勤奮努力，教師在向學生說明學習策略的重要性及進行策略訓練時要正確引導，以防學生形成走捷徑的心理。 關鍵詞：護理專業(yè)學生；元認知策略；認知策略；社會/情感策略 contentsabstractii摘 要vcontentsviiilist of tablesxlist of figuresxichapter o

21、ne introduction11.1 introduction to the study11.2 definitions of terms21.3 statement of the problems41.4 rationale of the study51.5 objectives of the study71.7 significance of the study81.8 organization of the study9chapter two literature review112.1 introduction112.2 definitions of learning strateg

22、ies122.3 categories of language learning strategies (lls)142.4 approaches used in language learning strategy research202.5 good language learner studies222.6 summary25chapter three application of english learning strategies theories to teaching practice283.1 introduction283.2 reasons fornursing majo

23、rs to learn english in china283.3 application of lls of nursing majors in changsha health school303.4 the training of lls given by teachers in changsha health school323.5 summary37chapter four methodology384.1 introduction384.2 specific research questions384.3 participants394.4 sampling404.5 instrum

24、ents414.6 data collection procedures444.7 data analysis464.8 summary48chapter five results and findings495.1 introduction495.2 general analysis of language learning strategies495.3 the comparison of the results of the students mock examinations of pet 3 before and after the research505.4 results and

25、 findings after a years learning strategy training515.6 results and discussions about the qualitative research615.5 summary64chapter six conclusion656.1 introduction656.2 major findings from the current study656.3 implications676.4 limitations of the study and suggestions for future researches70bibl

26、iography錯誤！未定義書簽。appendix 177appendix 284appendix 3 individual interviews for students90appendix 4: individual interviews for teachers92list of tables table 2.1: definitions of learning strategies13table 2.3: oxfords (1990) framework of language learning strategies18table 2.3: strengths and weakness

27、es of strategy assessment methods (oxford, 1993)21table 5.1: a table for checking questionnaire items50table 5.2: a table for examinations results51table 5.3: mean and standard deviation of 6 strategy categories54table 5.3: the correlations between the categories of strategies55table 5.4: the mean s

28、core and standard deviation of different cognitive basis on 6 strategy categories56table 5.5 mean score and standard deviation of different grades on 6 strategy categories57table 5.6 the result and analysis of the two grades by means of the sill59table 5.7: summary of part one : background62table 5.

29、8: summary of part two: beliefs63table 5.9: summary of learning difficulties63list of figuresfigure 2.1: interrelationship betrween direct and indirect learning strategies (oxford. 1990.p.15)17figure 5.1:the diagram of the average of the six strategies of the two grades59figure 5.2:the diagram of th

30、e average of the six strategies of the two grades60chapter one introduction1.1 introduction to the study the study aims to investigate how the nursing majors employ learning strategies in their english learning in changsha health school. the study involves: an analysis of the present teaching of eng

31、lish in changsha health school, an analysis of the nursing majors cultural background and an investigation on the strategy application of the nursing majors. a detailed analysis is also to be given to illustrate what the strategies are that they fail to use or cant use them effectively. a discussion

32、 is to be conducted to explore the relevance between their learning strategies and their learning results. moreover, it tries to explore the main difficulties that exist in their english learning. it is expected that special characteristics of the nursing majors in english learning will be revealed.

33、in this study, face-to-face interviews, classroom observations and a five-point scale questionnaire are to be conducted to test the nursing majors. the research is based on the assumption that the nursing majors application of learning strategies is closely related to their english proficiency, alth

34、ough there may be many other factors influencing students learning results in english learning. on this basis, the nursing major learners should be given sufficient concern on the guidance and training of effective learning strategies. meanwhile, their cultural background, personalities and the diff

35、iculties in learning are taken into consideration. 1.2 definitions of terms language learning strategies: language learning strategies are the procedures learners use in facilitating their learning processes to achieve the goal of learning target languages. sill: sill stands for the strategy invento

36、ry for language learning, which was developed by oxford (1990), and it was based on the six categories of learning strategies derived by oxford from the studies of language learning strategies used by good language learners. memory strategies: memory strategies are the strategies learners use to get

37、 information into memory and to recall memory. these fall into four sets of strategies: creating mental linkages, applying images and sounds, reviewing well, and employing actions. cognitive strategies: cognitive strategies are the strategies through which learners directly use the new language, pra

38、cticing naturally, analyzing contrastively, and summarizing. these include four sets of strategies: practicing, receiving and sending messages, analyzing and reasoning, and creating structure for input and output. compensatory strategies: compensatory strategies are the strategies learners employ to

39、 overcome knowledge limitations. two sets of strategies are included: guessing intelligently in listening and reading, and overcoming limitations in speaking and writing. metacognitive strategies: metacognitive strategies are the learning strategies through which language learners manage their own l

40、earning process. oxford (1990) concluded that the metacognitive strategies include three sets of strategies: centering one's own learning, arranging, planning one's learning, and evaluating one's learning. affective strategies: affective strategies are the strategies learners use to cont

41、rol their emotions and attitudes. three sets of strategies exist: lowering anxiety, encouraging oneself, and taking one's own emotional temperature. social strategies: social strategies are the strategies learners use to work with others to learn a target language. three sets of strategies are i

42、ncluded: asking questions, cooperating with others, and empathizing with others. motivation: motivation refers to the desires students currently hold associated with the learning of english.1.3 statement of the problems1.3.1 the special background of nursing majorswith the shifting of medical model

43、and the pattern of medical education, nursing should meet the modernization, the world and the future. new nurses who know not only nursing but also english must be developed. enhancing the quality of skillful nursing staff, and promoting their ability in foreign languages are imminent. boring and a

44、bstract nursing curriculum, and heavy learning task, bring nursing majors anxiety and boredom. it is not easy for them to learn english well as long as dealing with the professional courses therefore, the study on nursing majors application of learning strategies help to make more nursing students n

45、ot only improve the standard of english, but also create a good english learning method to promote their english language ability. the process of nursing majors to study and work abroad will be accelerated; meanwhile, it enriches the language learning strategies and brings a certain inspiration on e

46、nglish teaching of the health care field.1.3.2 the present situation of english language teaching for the nursing majors in changsha health schoolas mentioned in chapter three, changsha health school is a secondary vocational school. most of the nursing majors here are from junior middle school, at

47、the age of 1518. they got poor result of english learning before they came to this school. but nursing is a very good major at present time. nursing majors will achieve a successful professional career in the future. furthermore, if they have high proficiency in english learning, they may work or ge

48、t further study abroad. thus, the objective of english teaching in changsha health school is to development international nurses. any approaches that can enhance nursing majors english learning are practically used by us teachers. language learning strategies are less often used by nursing majors. a

49、s precious researches claimed, they can help the learners achieve the goal of english learning more effectively. therefore, teachers in changsha health school, leading by the researcher of this study, carried out the investigation of learning strategies as well as employ language learning strategies

50、 training.1.4 rationale of the studyenglish learning strategy study began in the 1970s, but came 10 years late in china. some studies focused on the successful (good) and unsuccessful (slower) english learners (rubin, j. 1975; omalley et al .1985). some paid attention to the use of learning strategi

51、es and its effects on english language proficiency. the results revealed that learning strategies have a very close relationship with english proficiency. the studies showed that gender, age, nationality, and the number of strategies used affected english proficiency. from the research conducted to

52、date, it is evident that all language learners use language learning strategies of some kinds. however, the frequency and variety of use vary between different learners and depend on a number of variables (chamot & kupper, 1989). in general, it is agreed that the use of language learning strateg

53、ies is positively related to language proficiency. it appears that good language learners orchestrate and combine their use of particular types of strategies in effective ways (chamot & kupper, 1989; o'malley and chamot, 1990; oxford, 1993). research has also shown that factors other than la

54、nguage proficiency exert influence on the strategies that the language learners select and use. for example, cultural background, was one factor that has been explored by many researchers (oxford & burry- stock, 1995).as mentioned in reports in the internet. language learning strategy (lls) rese

55、arch has repeatedly shown that the lls use pattern of chinese esl learners is different from those of the western country (wu). findings of past research on the lls use of chinese esl learners have contributed to the stereotype of chinese learners as rote-learners who tend to use a limited range of

56、lls in their learning. for example, biggs (1996) suggests repetition and memory-based strategies are important in facilitating understanding because of the high value placed on effort and perseverance in confucianism. however, with the proliferation of research, chinese esl learners were found to us

57、e a variety of learning strategies (goh & foong, 1997). besides, more and more research seems to provide evidence which is contrary to the earlier conclusion that chinese learners are rote learners. bedell and oxford (1996) found that compensation strategies were the most frequently used lls amo

58、ng 353 secondary and tertiary students in china. surprisingly, memory strategies were found to be the least frequently used lls. more proficient chinese esl listeners were found to use planning, monitoring, self-evaluating, which are meta-cognitive strategies more frequently than other cognitive and social lls (wang, 2002). in the hong kong context, peacock and ho (2003) investigated the lls use of tertia