| Autonomous learning has become a hot issue in educational field over the past twenty years. The English Curriculum Standard has set "stimulating the interest, building the confidence and improving the learner's autonomy in English learning..." as goals of Junior English teaching. But how to promote learner autonomy is still a question. This thesis is an attempt to help junior middle school students to develop learner autonomy through learning training in English reading classes.The thesis is divided into four chapters. The first chapter reviews the studies on learner autonomy in China and aboard. It is necessary to focus on the autonomy of the rural junior school students because fewer studies on junior students have been conducted in China. The theory guiding this study is presented in the second chapter, which is composed of the autonomy definition, meto-recognitive, the basis of reading and the aims of reading in English Curriculum Standard. The third chapter centers on the experiment. Two classes in Grade 8 were chosen to make the experiment, Class 6, Grade 8 being the experimental class, and Class 7, Grade 8 being the control class. Based on the theory of meto-recognitive and reading strategies, the author makes a survey, which showed that the level of autonomy is low and significantly correlated to academic performance. After a term's training, the students'learning autonomous awareness has improved. Students in the experimental class use strategies more frequently, and they can organize their time more effectively, and the training activities also help students upgrade their learning achievement. Chapter Four lists the findings and the limitations of the experiment. The result shows the students in the experimental class have better autonomy awareness and higher scores than those in the control class. However, the study leaves much room for further research and the author is expecting guidance from experts in this field.
|
PDF Full Text Request