An Investigation On The English Learning Power Of College Students

"Learning power" is a newly emerging concept in the field of education. It refers to a form of consciousness about oneself as a learner, which can be recognized in particular behaviors, beliefs and feelings in his learning activities. This study investigates, through the instrument of questionnaire, the current state of the English learning power of college students in China.Based on a literature review of researches home and abroad, a theoretical framework is constructed taking into consideration the particular characteristics of English learners, their English learning process, and English as a subject in school. This framework is capable of analyzing all the dimensions of English learning power of college students and supplying ways to measure them. With this framework, a questionnaire is designed to examine college students’English learning power.513 college students are questioned as respondents of the questionnaire, including 161 students from Beijing Foreign Studies University (a key university of foreign languages),179 from North China Electric Power University (a key university of science and engineering) and 173 from Beijing University of Agriculture (a university of science and engineering).The results of the study show:(1) The dimensions of the English learning power are interrelated, and the power can be developed as a whole. (2) College students’ critical/creative thinking and strategies are closely related. They are not well-equipped with metacognitive strategies and lack critical/creative thinking. (3) Learning motivation and persistence of college learners are relatively positive correlated. Most college students are with strong external/resultative motivation and can realize the importance of perseverance, but they lack persistence in overcoming problems. (4) College students are aware of their affective anxiety in English output, but only some of them can take effective measures to relieve it consciously. (5) Most college students are of "visual" and "individual" type of learning style, but few of them know their own learning style and take advantage of it.Based on the above conclusions, the author put forward some suggestions:(1) College students should nurture critical/creative thinking when they develop their learning strategies. (2) College students’ learning perseverance can be improved by making proper plans and practicing in pairs. (3) It’s necessary for college students to use learning motivation rationally and avoid affective anxiety at the same time. (4) College teachers should improve students’ability in supervising their own English study through some lectures, tests and training programs. (5) Output tasks can be arranged step-by-step and more guidance should be offered for developing students’ability of self-regulation. (6) Proper assistance can be provided in promoting students’efficient learning with various materials and in different learning environment.