关于理工科大学英语学习者学习风格的研究

【作者】 李玉先；

【导师】 张伊娜；

【作者基本信息】 南京师范大学 ， 英语语言学， 2004， 硕士

【摘要】 自上世纪六十年代以来,外语教学研究的重点逐渐从对教学方式和教材的探讨转移到对学习者个体差异的研究上。学习风格是学习者个体差异的重要因素之一,它吸引了越来越多的研究者的注意。 学习风格这一概念于1954年最初由哈伯特·塞伦提出,它指学习者持续一贯的带有个性特征的学习方式,是稳定化的学习策略,对教育刺激的偏好和学习倾向的总和。 对学习风格,西方学者做了大量的实证性研究。但在中国,对这一因素的探讨多局限在理论介绍阶段,实证性研究相对较少。有限的一些实证性研究研究的对象多局限于英语专业学习者,而对于占全国大学外语学习人数绝大多数的非英语专业学习者却很少有人涉及。 鉴于此,本研究在前人研究的基础上,利用Oxford(1993)的学习风格测量量表调查了44名理工科大学英语学习者的学习风格,试图回答下列问题: (1) 理工科大学英语学习者的总体学习风格倾向是什么? (2) 理工科大学英语学习者的学习风格与性别是否有差异? (3) 理工科大学英语学习者的学习风格与学习成绩有何关系? (4) 理工科大学英语学习者的学习风格在大学两年的学习过程中是否有调整以适应大学英语的学习? 针对以上几个问题,本研究得出了以下发现: 第一,理工科大学英语学习者总体更倾向于感觉型特别是视觉型学习风格,倾向于外向型,直觉型和综合型学习风格。也就是说,在学习的过程中,他们喜好教学内容的多种感觉的综合输入特别是视觉的输入,喜欢亲自参与语言游戏和讨论,他们喜欢注重大体而不是细节,更依赖直觉而不注重观察,他们不喜欢分析,而喜欢利用猜测,意译,同义替换等策略。 第二,研究数据表明,理工科大学英语学习者的学习风格与性别没有差异,男生和女生基本上有着相同的学习风格倾向。 第三,通过对学习风格与外语学习成绩的相关分析,发现九项学习风格中仅有一项即动手型学习风格与外语学习效果有着显著的负相关。动手型学习风格的学习者在英语四级考试中的成绩偏低。 第四,本研究发现理工科大学英语学习者的学习风格在大学两年的学习过程中没有显著性的调整。这一发现也证实了学习风格是相对稳定的说法。 最后,作者对外语教师提出了一些具体的建议,如调整教学策略来适应学习者的学习风格,培养学习者学习风格的灵活性等。 总而言之,作者期望本研究将有助于提高对学习风格的重视程度,加深对学习风格的理解度,期望本研究能充实当前的个体差异研究,并且能够给当前的外语教育带来一些启示。更多还原

【Abstract】 The focus of the foreign language learning research has gradually been shifted from the exploration of the teaching method and the teaching materials to the individual differences (ID) of the learners in the West since 1960s. Learning style is one of the significant factors in ID and it attracts more and more researchers’ attention.The concept learning style was originally put forward by Herbert Thelen in 1954. A learning style refers to an individual’s natural, habitual, and preferred ways of absorbing, processing, and retaining new information and skills which persist regardless of teaching methods or content area, which includes the learning strategies that have been stabilized within a learner, the preference of some teaching stimuli and the learning tendency.Abundant researches on learning style have been conducted in the west. In China, however, most of the studies are restricted to the theoretical discussion and there are just relatively few practical studies. Most of the practical studies that have been administered choose English majors as their subjects.Hence, based on the former studies, the current study studies the learning styles of college students majoring in science and technology and seeks to provide answers to the following questions:(1) What kind of learning style preferences do non-English majors at the university level have?(2) Are there some possible links between gender and learning style preferences?(3) Is there any significant relationship between learning style preferences and language learning achievements?(4) Do their learning style preferences change during the first and second year of the university?In a search for answers to the four questions above, the current study has some major findings as follows:Firstly, the data from the current study indicate that the learners are more or less oriented to perceptual learning styles especially visual learning style and they prefer extrovert, intuitive and global learning styles.Secondly, there is no significant difference between gender and learning style preferences. That is to say, male and female learners nearly have the same learning style preferences.Thirdly, in the investigation on the correlation between variables of learning style construct and the foreign language learning achievement, it is found that hands-on learning style correlates with the foreign language achievement negatively. A hands-on learner is likely to get a low mark in CET 4.Finally, the data show that the learners’ learning style preferences don’t change during their study in the university. This finding verifies the hypothesis that learning styles are relatively stable.In the end of the study, pedagogical suggestions are put forward for adjusting to the learners’ learning style preferences and fostering more flexibility of learners’learning styles.In brief, it is hoped that this study will help arouse the awareness of learning styles and deepen the understanding of the learning style construct, enrich the current research in the ID domain and shed some light on the current foreign language education.更多还原