A Study On Self-regulation In English Linguistic Thinking

Linguistic thinking which is an implicit mental activity and the internal operation mechanism of language signs might be influenced by other types of thinking and psychological factors (Yang Min 2004). Lin Chongde (2005) puts forward that thinking has a three-edged structure, and there is a self-regulation structure existing on the top of thinking structures, which plays an important role in the process of thinking. It is individuals'self-awareness and its functions are mainly for direction, control, and adjustment of individuals'thinking activities. The function of self-regulation determines one's level of thinking which may affect the results of thinking and lead to individual differences in intelligence. As a way of thinking, Linguistic thinking must also be influenced by self-regulation.Based on the previous studies, the author proposes an assumption that there is a separate part in linguistic thinking that affects language learning and a survey is made to support it. This research has two related goals which can verify the reasonableness of the assumption. One is to investigate senior high school students'English linguistic thinking and self-regulation ability in English studying process. The other is to find out the interrelationship within English linguistic thinking, English achievement and self-regulation by investigating senior high school students. The thesis hopes to do some basic work and provide some new directions for the study of foreign language teaching and learning. This study is divided into five parts.In the first part, the author reviews the origin, development, concept, characteristics of linguistic thinking and self-regulation, and the research questions of the thesis are put forward through analyzing the achievements and limitations of previous studies. The second part introduces the theoretical background:Linguistic thinking, Metacognition, Multiple intelligence and the structure of thinking, Krashen's Monitor Theory, and with special emphasizes on English linguistic thinking, the definition and classifications of self-regulation. The third part is concerned with a survey about English linguistic thinking and self-regulation, and collected data is analyzed by descriptive analysis, Pearson correlation analysis, and two-factor analysis of variance, and the results and discussion based on data analysis are presented in part three as well. Part 4 comes up with some implications. The conclusion and limitations of the paper is in the last part.Results of the analysis reveal findings as following: (1) Senior high school students'English linguistic thinking has formed initially, but the level is comparatively low. The mean frequency of self-regulation preferences is in medium level. (2) There is significant correlation among self-regulation, English linguistic thinking and achievement. (3) Significant differences do exist in the English achievement among high-score, medium-score, and low score students in self-regulation and English linguistic thinking.Since there is significant correlation among self-regulation, English linguistic thinking and achievement, while senior high school students'English linguistic thinking and self-regulation remain to be improved, the integration of self-regulation and English linguistic thinking into English language teaching and learning should be necessary. Meanwhile, there is a need to carry out further researches on English linguistic thinking and self-regulation and identify other factors that may account for the variation in English linguistic thinking and achievement. The author hopes that the results of this study can provide a new perspective for both foreign languages teaching and learning.