A Study On The Relationship Among English Learning Motivation, Learning Strategies And Language Performance Of Non-English Majors

Along with the focus of learner factors, foreign language research stresses more on the features which learners present in learning process and some factors’ influences on learning. English learning motivation refers to learners’intention for learning and also affects learners’ efforts. To some extent, it can predict the final achievement that learners can reach. English learning requires adopting different learning strategies to adjust and guide the whole learning process, thus English learning strategies play a critical role for learners’learning methods and learning efficiency. Proper learning motivation and strategies are the keys to learn English well.Learner factors also perform a crucial part in English teaching. Since more than three decades, Chinese researchers have carried out a series of studies from fundamental to comprehensive, theoretical to empirical. As social backgrounds change, researches of different times can provide some instruction for that period’s English teaching. Based on English learning motivation and strategies, this thesis hopes to explore the features of contemporary non-English major students’ English learning motivation and strategies, and the relationship among motivation, strategies and CET-4scores which attempts to offer certain hints for college English teaching.113non-English major students are involved in this study. By applying Gao Yihong’s Questionnaire on English Learning Motivation of Chinese Undergraduates and Oxford’s Strategy Inventory for Language Learning, this thesis investigates their English learning motivation and strategies and carries out analyses via SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). The study indicates non-English majors’ motivation is at intermediate level and external motivation outweighs internal one with most students lacking interests in learning English. The use of strategies is also at intermediate level, especially for communicative strategies, which is seldom used by the subjects. For students from liberal arts and science, there is no significant difference in their learning motivation and strategy use. But correlation can still be found among motivation, strategies and CET-4scores with correlation coefficients in different levels.It is necessary for English teachers to notice learners’ different features and requirements in daily teaching activities to make class more colorful and enhance cultivating learners’ learning interest which can better promote learning. Meanwhile it is also necessary to include strategy training and provide guidance in our teaching. Related practice should be included in classroom tasks too. Finally for the characteristics of the era to which learners belong, teachers need to keep pace with times to make their teaching methods meet learners’ particular needs.