Tracking Study On English Learning Interest Development Of Vocational School Students

Interest development is supposed to be an objective law in learning interest research field. Interestdevelopment of vocational school students experiences a conversion process from situational interest toindividual interest in like manners. While to vocational students, the internal and external factors influenceon interest development, the time span and of the conversion process will has its distinctions influenced bythese students’ age, psychological feature and environment. Currently, the main task and prime target ofvocational education is to develop students’ learning ability, technical ability and to cultivate talent.Vocational English education need to achieve the change from teacher-oriented learning model tostudent-oriented model.As the starting point, the thesis analyzes the current situation of vocational English teaching. Based onthe four-phase interest development model, the thesis demonstrates influencing factors on interestdevelopment, the relationships among them and their predictive effect on interest development.Emphasizing environment and teaching conditions in experimental class in different phases, the thesis findsout their effect on interest development. Combined with theory and research evidence, the thesis proposesmeaningful teaching goals and strategies on vocational English teaching.Firstly, the thesis presents vocational school students’ negative reactions on English learning. They arelack of confidence, perseverance and learning interest, leading to short attention time, slack, and lackingwillpower in class. Develop students’ English learning interest becomes more important than knowledgeteaching and teaching task completing, which supposed to be focus on vocational English teaching.Followed by are two researches. The first research aimed to trace185vocational students’ interestdevelopment in one term. It gained the correlativity among initial interest, self-efficacy, vividness oflearning materials, students’ engagement in class and task values. Also gained the conclusions that initialinterest has a predictive effect on triggered situational interest; vividness of learning materials is a predictorto maintained situational interest; students’ engagement in class predicts individual interest. The secondresearch apply vividness of learning material, engagement in class and task values on students ofexperimental class, so as to compare the differences of interest development between experimental classand control class. The research shows that students’ initial interest of both class are undifferentiated. In thefirst phase, experimental class received stimulations of vivid learning material in variety of presentations.The subsequent measurement shows the much higher triggered situational interest of experimental class. Inthe second phase, students in experimental class participated frequently in pair work, team work, role playand answer questions. The subsequent measurements shows maintained situational interest of experimentalclass is a litter higher than that of control class. In the third phase, teacher emphasized the value of Englishlearning in the class and out class talking. The subsequent measurement shows much higher individualinterest of experimental class.Lastly, combined with the result of research one and two, the thesis proposes four strategies onvocational English teaching reform.1. Apply appreciation education to raise students’ confidence. Let students to treat English learning in a new way and raise initial interest to a higher level.2. Applysituational teaching method to triggered and maintain situational interest.3. Combine basic and technicalknowledge; achieve conversion from situational interest to individual interest.4. Realize personaldevelopment, and develop lifelong English learning interest.