The Beliefs About English Learning Held By Senior High School Students

As one of the controllable factors, beliefs about language learning play an important role in the process and the outcome of language learning. Beliefs about language learning affect the choice of learning strategies, and negative beliefs about language learning result in anxiety. However, under the pressure of exam-oriented education system, English teachers are engaged in delivering the knowledge of language without attention paid to the development of beliefs about language learning. What’s more, students will resist the instructional activity if it fails to coincide with their beliefs.As a result, in order to know the language learning beliefs held by senior high school students and to identify negative beliefs, the author conducted a survey. It is expected that the results can throw light on future teaching design and the refinement of negative beliefs, which will facilitate English teaching and learning.237senior two students participated in the study. Both questionnaire and controlled interview were adopted. The questionnaire assesses beliefs about language learning from three areas, namely expectations about English learning, the nature of English learning and strategy beliefs. As a complement to the questionnaire, a controlled interview about English teaching and learning was carried out.The research findings show that the students consider English learning at a medium level of difficulty. They have moderate levels of self-efficacy and motivation, even though the instrumental motivation is higher than the integrative motivation. As for the nature of English learning, the students show high level of agreement with the related statements.Among the strategy beliefs, they show the highest level of approval of functional practice belief and the lowest level of approval of mother tongue reliance belief, leaving formal practice belief stand in neutral. Compared with students in high score group, those in low score group consider English easier to learn, they are more confident with their own capacity of learning English, and maintain higher instrumental motivation. As for the strategy beliefs, students in high score group hold lower mother tongue reliance belief and higher functional practice belief than those in low score group.Based on the findings of the present study, some implications about English teaching were put forward. First, create an English-speaking environment. Second, design activities at different difficulty levels to meet the demands of students at different proficiency levels. Third, provide more timely and positive feedback through out the whole process of English learning.