| English learning beliefs,as an ideology,will directly influence students’ attitudes and learning behaviors in English learning.The English Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education(2022)emphasize fulfilling the task of fostering virtue through education and teachers should help students establish correct ideological beliefs and views on English learning.Reasonable English learning beliefs will have a continuous positive effect on learners’ English learning.Therefore,this study investigates the current situation of English learning beliefs among junior high school students and analyzes the proficiency differences in students’ English learning beliefs,hoping to provide some effective and practical suggestions for teachers and students.In this study,a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were adopted as the research instruments,and students from two middle schools in Huizhou city were taken as the research subjects.The questionnaire was based on Horwitz’s(1985)Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory(BALLI),and integrated the content of core competency from English Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education.The BALLI consists of the following five parts: the difficulty of language learning(DLL);the foreign language aptitude(FLA);the nature of language learning(NLL);the learning and communication strategies(LCS);the learner motivation and expectations(LME).The semi-structured interviews were designed based on the results of the questionnaire,and the interviewees were four students and two teachers,aiming to explore the reasons influencing the different junior high school students’ English learning beliefs.The research aims to respond to the following three questions:(1)What is the current situation of junior high school students’ English learning beliefs?(2)Are there any differences between high and low proficiency groups in terms of English learning beliefs?(3)What are the reasons that cause differences on English learning beliefs of junior high school students?The research results show that:(1)Junior high school students’ English learning beliefs are at a mediate level,with the highest level of learning and communicative strategy beliefs,followed by beliefs of learning motivation and expectations,the nature of language learning,foreign language learning ability,and the lowest level of language learning difficulty beliefs.(2)There are academic differences in junior high school students’ English learning beliefs,with high proficiency group holding more positive English learning beliefs than low proficiency group,and the most significant difference exists in the difficulty of language learning belief.(3)There are four main reasons that lead to differences in junior high school students’ English learning beliefs: different educational experience and interests;lack of thirst for knowledge and learning strategies;positive teaching beliefs of teachers;unstable family background.Based on the research results,in order to help junior high school student to improve their English learning beliefs and promote learning behaviors,this paper proposes several practical suggestions from the perspectives of students and teachers respectively.For learners,they should review and reflect on English learning beliefs and experiences.For teachers,they should(1)motivate learner’s learning motivation and practice learning strategies;(2)change and improve beliefs about teaching and learning;(3)satisfy students’ different needs and cooperate with parents. |
