A Study On The Relationship Among Tolerance Of Ambiguity, Language Learning Strategy And English Learning Achievements Of Senior High School Students

Ambiguity is one of the main features in foreign language learning process, during which learners will inevitably come across novel, foreign, unstructured or vague linguistic and cultural phenomena. Tolerance of ambiguity is one of the most important learner differences which will influence language learning outcomes to some degree. In language learning, the use of learning strategies is another learner characteristic that is closely related to tolerance of ambiguity. This thesis, based on previous researches, hypothesizes that English learning strategy serves as the intervening variable between tolerance of ambiguity and English learning achievements.The thesis puts forward the following five research questions. (1) What is the current state of senior high school students’tolerance of ambiguity level and the use of English learning strategies? (2) What is the relationship between senior high school students’tolerance of ambiguity and their English learning achievements? (3) What is the relationship between senior high school students’tolerance of ambiguity and their English learning strategies? (4) What is the relationship between senior high school students’English learning strategies and their English achievements? (5) What is the relationship among senior high school students’tolerance of ambiguity, their English learning strategies and their English learning achievements?In order to answer these five questions, the research targets at 111 senior high school students in No.1 Senior High School, in Yunmeng, Hubei Province. The software SPSS 13.0 is used to process the collected data and make quantitative analysis. Through the descriptive analysis, the research investigates the first research question. Through Pearson’s correlation analysis and independent-samples T-test analysis, it explores the second, the third and the fourth research questions. Through the multivariate linear regression analysis and path analysis, it explores the fifth question.Based on the data analysis and discussion, five major findings are summarized as follows:(1) senior high school students’tolerance of ambiguity level is moderate and the frequency of using English learning strategies is medium. Students’ tolerance of ambiguity in listening and vocabulary is higher while their tolerance of ambiguity in speaking and grammar is lower. Generally speaking, their input tolerance of ambiguity is much higher than their output tolerance of ambiguity. With respect to the use of English learning strategies, they use compensation strategy and cognitive strategy most while they seldom use memory strategy and social strategy. (2) overall tolerance of ambiguity, tolerance of ambiguity in listening, reading, grammar, vocabulary and input are positively correlated with English learning achievements while there does not exist significant correlation between English learning achievements and tolerance of ambiguity in speaking, writing and output. (3) The correlations between tolerance of ambiguity and each category of English learning strategies are quite positively significant, except the correlation between tolerance of ambiguity and affective strategy. (4) English learning achievements are positively significantly correlated with all the six categories of English learning strategies. Students with higher English achievements use English learning strategies more frequently. (5) Cognitive strategy and compensation strategy serve as the intervening variables between input tolerance of ambiguity and English learning achievements, which verifies the hypothesis that English learning strategy is the intervening variable between tolerance of ambiguity and English learning achievements.Finally, some implications have been put forward for English teaching and learning in senior high schools on the basis of this study and the author’s teaching practice.