A Research On Learner Autonomy Of Non-English Majors In English Learning

With the promotion of quality-oriented education, people-oriented education and lifelong education, learners are the dominate roles in the learning process and their initiative has been greatly concerned. Therefore, more and more attention has been drawn to learners. Learner autonomy has been a topic hotly discussed in the field of foreign language education in recent years. To cultivate college learners’ autonomous learning capacity has become an important task in the field of foreign language education in China. This paper, based on the theoretical framework of learner autonomy, attempts to recognize the current situation of learner autonomy among Non-English majors. The goals of this research are to propose constructive suggestions to improve the quality and effectiveness of English learning of college learners and to bring some enlightenment for college English teaching.One hundred and thirty freshmen and sophomores of Non-English major learners in Chengdu University of Technology are chosen to participate in this research. In the questionnaire survey and interview questions, the subjects’ autonomous learning capacity is tested. Lin Lilan’s Autonomous English Learning Scale(AELS) has been revised and used in this research. The research is designed to answer the following questions: 1) What is the current situation of learner autonomy in English learning among non-English majors in Chengdu University of Technology? 2) What is the learners’ performance in each section of the questionnaire? 3) Are there any statistically significant differences between freshmen and sophomores in each section of the questionnaire?Data analysis indicates that the situation of learner autonomy in Chengdu University of Technology is far beyond satisfaction. First, learners have proper belief and attitudes towards learner autonomy, but they lack actions in reality. Second, learners have strong instrumental and integrative motivation, but their intrinsic motivation is weak. Third, learners lack knowledge of learning strategies. They are unconscious of using learning strategies in learning process. Besides, learners do not make good use of college facilities, such as libraries and self-access centers. They are not in favor of cooperative learning. To some extent, learners are over dependent on their teachers. Finally, freshmen have stronger motivation in English learning and perform better in using college facilities than sophomores.Based on the findings of this research, some implications for developing learner autonomy are presented as follows: 1) raising learners’ awareness of learner autonomy; 2) stimulating learners’ intrinsic motivation; 3) conducting learning strategy training; 4) creating learning environment; 5) recasting teachers’ role.