Impact Of Learning Beliefs Of English Majors On Oral English Learning From The Dynamic Systems Theory

In recent years,Dynamic System Theory(DST)provides a new perspective for the research of development of Second Language Acquisition(SLA).As a dynamic system,the development of oral English learning beliefs is complex and nonlinear,which is easily affected by various factors.Therefore,the dynamic system theory provides a good perspective for the study of oral English learning.From the perspective of DST,the present study takes 28 English majors as research subjects,using a combination of quantitative and qualitative research.The dynamic development of their oral English learning beliefs was followed with a period from October 2019 to October 2020,for a total of a year,making a tracking study of the development of learning beliefs on oral English to examine the factors affecting the development of oral English learning beliefs.Four research questions are explored in the study:(1)What are the initial learning beliefs of English majors in oral English learning?(2)What learning beliefs of oral English changed after a year?(3)Are the different oral English learning beliefs related to achievements of English majors? If yes,what is the impact of oral English learning beliefs on their achievements?(4)What factors lead to changes of English majors’ oral English learning beliefs?Major findings of this study are as follows:(1)English majors are mostly interested in learning English and they have positive feelings towards oral English learning.It is found that the overall conditions of English majors’ oral English learning beliefs lies at a medium level.The standard deviation(SD)of motivations and expectations is the highest one meaning that there is the largest difference lies in it.(2)The study demonstrated a developmental tendency during one year of these English majors’ oral English learning beliefs,with a presentation of some remarkable changes in their oral English learning beliefs,especially in the aspect of learning strategies,learning difficulty and motivation,which conformed to the theory of dynamic systems.(3)The results of this study demonstrated that there is a significant positive correlation between English majors’ oral English learning beliefs and their achievements.Therefore,it can be inferred that English majors with positive and strong oral English learning beliefs have better oral English achievements.(4)Among all the influencing factors,curriculum setting,language proficiency,learning strategies,teacher’s beliefs,and peers pressure play an important role in the development of their oral English learning beliefs.In general,the present study confirms the feasibility and validity of applying DST approach to the research of oral English learning beliefs for English majors.Meanwhile,this research provides some implications based on the findings,which is beneficial for teachers to help students form a positive language learning beliefs.