An Empirical Study On The Correlation Between Motivation And Learner Autonomy Of Higher Vocational Non-English Majors

In today’s China higher vocational college education, English learner autonomy has been attached great importance with training high-qualified professional and technical personnel. English learner autonomy can be influenced by many factors and motivation should be identified as an important one on it. In recent years, domestic researchers have picked up the pace with present foreign research tendency on motivation and learner autonomy, and also empirically explored the correlation between these two variables. However, few researchers have tried to conduct teaching experiments for stimulating motivation in order to enhance learner autonomy, let alone to study the higher vocational college students instead of those in general universities. In that case, the author bases himself on the practical situation in China higher vocational college English education and tries to explore an adequate approach of inspiring motivation in order to improve learner autonomy.In the current research, the author takes self-determined motivations (identified regulation, IM-Achievement, IM-Knowledge and IM-Stimulation) as powerful variables affecting learner autonomy and regards basic psychological needs (competence, relatedness and autonomy) as supportive conditions fostering these motivations in the light of Self-determination Theory (SDT). The author initiates the correlation research in Qingdao Vocational and Technical College of Hotel Management, with 84 freshmen from 2 parallel classes, majoring in Accounting and Auditing Management. The author puts forward two research hypotheses as:1) The fulfilling of basic psychological needs can help inspire students‘ self-determined motivations.2) The inspiring of self-determined motivations can help enhance students’autonomy in English learning. Later, an investigation through questionnaire and interview has been taken first to understand the status quo of motivation and learner autonomy for higher vocational non-English majors in pre-test. Through the analysis of the results with SPSS 13.0, the author finds out that most of the investigated students’motivation (3.1619) and learner autonomy (3.1891) do need improving. Among different motivation types positively correlated to learner autonomy, identified motivation (r=0.537),IM-Achievement (r=0.674), and IM-Knowledge (r=0.685) are highly influential in current research.Based on what has been investigated, the author then selects experimental group and control group, and initiates the training program for one semester, including 1) developing students’foreign language learning strategies; 2) establishing a harmonious atmosphere for classroom activities; 3) shifting students’concept in foreign language learning. By comparing the results in pre-test and post-test, the author finds out that self-determined motivations, especially identified regulation, IM-Achievement and IM-Knowledge in experimental group have been remarkably enhanced, which shows the effectiveness of fulfilling basic psychological needs can help inspire self-determined motivations. Learner autonomy has been also greatly improved with the inspiration of these motivations. Students from experimental group begin to positively make use of autonomous learning skills and become independently responsible for their own learning. Therefore, it can be statistically concluded that the training program, to some extent, can fulfill students’basic psychological needs, and effectively inspire self-determined motivations to advance their learner autonomy in higher vocational college English learning.