A Research On High School Students' Applying English Learning Strategies Based On The Mediation Theory

Since 1970s, language researchers have paid more and more attention to English language learning strategies. Many researches proved that language learners could improve their learning effectiveness if they could use appropriate learning strategies during their learning process. At the same time, with the English teaching development, the role of teachers has changed. The teachers aren't merely knowledge transmitters or providers, but the guiders, cooperators, supervisors and trainers. Teachers should play the role of mediation during their teaching progress to introduce learning strategies to students and help students master these strategies which can improve students'learning effects.According to the learning strategies written by language scholars abroad as well as in China, especially, Oxford (1990) and Wen Qiufang, along with the mediation theory provided by Feuerstein, a psychologist and educator in Israel, the author has researched 105 students in Baoding No.3 High School of Hebei province by means of giving research questionnaires and interviews. The questions were as follows:1) What are teachers'perspectives of the importance of the twelve features of mediation?2) What are teachers'perspectives of the frequency of the twelve mediation tools they use in the language classroom?3) What is the situation of students using learning strategies during their language learning process?4) What are the effects of students applying learning strategies to learn language under their teachers'guidance as mediators?The results showed that:1) Most of the teachers generally took a positive attitude towards the importance of mediation tool used in ELT2) Although language teachers thought highly of the importance of the mediation tools, they did not always practise them in the ELT classroom.3) In terms of the frequency of use of the category of strategies, the students employed a variety of language learning strategies with moderate frequency.4) Guidance from teachers'mediation has significant effects on the students'learning during the students'learning process.The results showed that it is necessary to play the teachers'mediation role completely during the teaching process. Firstly, the teachers'function as mediators should be more highly strengthened. Secondly, more attention should be paid to the students'training of learning strategies during the teaching process.