A Study On The Application Of Portfolio In Promoting Senior High School Students' Learning Autonomy

New curriculum standards state that the general English goals are to develop students' autonomous learning ability and form effective learning strategies. Autonomous learning has become a legitimate and desirable goal of language education. It is widely recognized that learning to learn is more important than knowledge. Consequently, promoting autonomous learning has great significance in language teaching and learning.Nowadays people pay more and more attention to formative assessment, which not only highlights the learning process, but also students'affection, interest, learning strategies, students'weakness and strengths, make students experience the joy and happiness of learning and success and build self-confidence in their learning process.Although large amounts of researches have been carried out related to autonomous learning and formative assessment respectively, only a few studies has been done on autonomous learning which will be promoted through portfolio. The writer tries to make such kind of attempt. Portfolio, one of the important formative assessment tools, is built on systematic and continuous base. New curriculum standards show that students should form effective learning strategies and the assessment should be geared to cultivating students' autonomy in learning. Portfolio helps learners plan, control, direct and evaluate their learning in the process of learning, which is in accordance with the connotation of autonomous learning in self-monitoring, self-directed learning and students take responsibility for their own learning. Gardner and Miller (2002) stated that learning portfolio is an ideal tool to promote autonomous learning. According to this, the following hypotheses are posed in this study:1. learning autonomy can be promoted through portfolio;2. Students'English achievement can be improved through portfolio;3. Students'met-cognitive strategies can be cultivated through portfolio.One semester study has been made to test the above hypotheses in Lin Zhang No.2 Senior High School. Two classes attend the experiment, one is the experimental class and the other is the control class. At the beginning of the experiment, autonomous learning and met-cognitive questionnaire are administered to the subjects as pretest in the two classes respectively and the date collected are keyed into SPSS 17.0 to do independent samples T test and descriptive statistics. Students'entrance scores to senior high school are made the same statistical analysis. All the results in the SPSS show that before experiment the subjects have no significant differences in learning strategy, autonomous learning and English achievement. In the process of experiment, portfolios are utilized to record, monitor, and control the students'learning process in the experimental class, while routine English teaching and learning is still performed in the control class without portfolio. At the end of the experiment, questionnaires about autonomous learning and met-cognitive strategies are also administered to the two classes respectively. The statistical results in the SPSS 17.0 revealed that the students in the experimental class are obviously superior to the students in the control class. The students'final-exam scores as posttest in the SPSS 17.0 also shows that the students'learning achievement in the experimental class is far surpassed the students in the control class. An interview is conducted in the experimental class at the end of the students. Most students think portfolio construction can greatly promote their autonomous learning ability and English achievement. They will use portfolio in their future learning. Consequently, conclusion can be made that portfolio integrated into learning in the learning process can greatly improve students'learning autonomy ability, met-cognitive strategies and learning achievement. In other words, Students are the real masters of learning.