An Empirical Study Of The Effects Of Chinese College English Teaching On Students’ Classroom Engagement From The Perspective Of Fredricks’s Three-dimensional Framework

Student engagement has attracted increasing attention from researchers and has become one of the most popular research topics in the 21 st century.However,most previous studies have focused on student engagement in the classroom in primary and secondary school contexts rather than in higher education.Meanwhile,there was a lack of research on student engagement in terms of Fredricks’ s three dimensions(behavioural,cognitive,and cognitive engagement).In addition,most studies tended to use quantitative methods rather than mixed methods(combining quantitative and qualitative methods).Furthermore,it is common for students to skip classes in Chinese universities,and achieving the desired results is difficult.Therefore,exploring students’ engagement in College English classes and the characteristics of College English teaching in China makes improving the teaching effect and promoting students’ engagement easier.Thus,providing some instructional practices for English teaching in Chinese universities is conducive.This study mainly focuses on two main questions:(1)Does College English teaching promote students’ behavioural,cognitive,and emotional engagement in the classroom? If yes,what type(s)of these engagements?(2)What features of College English teaching contribute most to fostering these three types of engagement,and how?The study used mixed methods to examine 286 undergraduate students and 3 College English teachers.Data were collected through questionnaires,classroom observation(classroom observation scale and note-taking),and semi-structured interviews with teachers and students.Questionnaires data using SPSS and classroom observation data revealed students’ passive behavioural,low cognitive,and negative emotional engagement in College English classes.At the same time,through classroom observation and semi-structured interviews with teachers and students,CET-4 and CET-6 related teaching content would promote students’ behavioural and cognitive participation,a small class size environment would trigger students’ behavioural engagement,and translanguaging practices would enhance students’ behavioural and emotional engagement.In addition,this study also finds that students’ social engagement and a new mode of co-learning in the classroom.Thus,the findings are likely to contribute to promoting students’ engagement in English classes in Chinese universities and improving the quality of College English teaching.It is of great significance to improve the quality of English language teaching and promote the quality of talent in Chinese universities.