【作者】 魏玲；

【导师】 饶振辉；

【作者基本信息】 江西师范大学 ， 课程与教学论， 2009， 硕士

【摘要】 随着二语习得研究的发展,研究者的兴趣从寻找提高教学的方法转到探索学习者在语言学习中的个性差异。在二语习得所有对学习者个性差异的研究之中,歧义容忍度引起了国内外研究者的广泛关注。然而,综观这一领域的研究,目前已有的研究大多针对中学生或大学生的,很少有对高职学生的歧义容忍度进行的研究。考虑到这一因素,我试图调查高职学生在英语学习是如何受到歧义容忍度影响的。通过了解这些学生在英语学习中的歧义容忍度,才能发现他们在英语学习过程中普遍存在的问题,然后找到合适的教学策略以克服这些问题。基于上述研究目的,我提出了三个研究问题:(1)高职学生在英语学习过程中歧义容忍的程度如何?(2)男生和女生在歧义容忍度上有差异吗?如有差异,在哪些方面有差异?(3)学习成绩好和学习成绩差的学生的歧义容忍度是否存在差异?150个被试参与这次研究,他们是从一所高职学院中随机抽取的。研究的调查工具使用了ELY(1995)的歧义容忍度量表。数据分析采用了社会学统计软件SPSS14.0。为了回答上述问题,分别运用描述性统计学、独立样本T检验和方差分析的统计学方法分析数据。本文主要取得以下研究结果:(1)在英语学习中,中国高职学生的歧义容忍度中等。学生不能容忍在英语口语和写作中不能清楚正确地表达自已的意思,而学生能容忍在英语听力和阅读中的不确定因素。(2)女生和男生在整体歧义容忍度上存在显著差异,女生的歧义容忍度明显高于男生。女生在语音、口语、阅读和写作方面的歧义容忍度明显高于男生,但在听力、语法、翻译、词汇学习和猜测词义方面不存在显著差异。女生和男生都具有中等歧义容忍度。(3)成绩好的学生的歧义容忍度明显高于成绩差的学生。英语成绩好的学生在听力、口语、阅读、写作、语音和猜测词义方面的歧义容忍度显著高于英语成绩差的学生。但在翻译、语法和词汇方面没有发现显著差异。本研究对高职英语教学予有益的启示:首先,英语教师应该使学生具有歧义容忍度的意识,然后帮助学生以积极的态度对待英语学习中不确定性,其次培养学生适中的歧义容忍度并且创造以学生为中心的课堂。只有这样才能帮助学生提高英语学习效率。更多还原

【Abstract】 With the development of research on second language acquisition, there is a shift of research interest from finding ways to improve teaching to exploring the individual differences in language learning. Of all the studies on individual differences in second language acquisition, research on tolerance of ambiguity (TOA) has drawn researchers’attention both abroad and at home.Nevertheless, a quick look at the literature in this research area shows that most of previous researchers have examined TOA in language learning by students from universities and middle schools, and little research has been done to investigate TOA in language learning by vocational college students. Considering these factors, I intend to investigate how vocational college students’English learning is affected by their TOA. It is assumed that, by understanding this group of students’TOA in English learning, I will be able to reveal some problems shared by all the students in the process of their English learning, and then find out some teaching strategies, in one way or another, to overcome these problems.With this purpose in mind, I will address the following three research questions: (1) To what degree do vocational college students tolerate ambiguity in the process of their English learning? (2) Are there any differences in tolerance of ambiguity in English learning between males and females? In what aspects are they different? (3) Are there any differences in TOA between students of high achievement and those of low achievement?150 subjects were asked to participate in this study. They were randomly selected from a vocational college. The instrument used for this research was Ely’s (1995) second language tolerance of ambiguity scale. The data were analyzed by SPSS 14.0. To answer the three research questions, I employed Descriptive Statistics, Independent Sample T-test and an analysis of variance (ANOVA) respectively.The study has yielded several findings: (1) vocational college students in this study exhibit neither high tolerance nor high intolerance in their English learning processes. They can’t tolerate the fact that they can’t express themselves clearly and exactly when speaking and writing English, but they are willing to tolerate some uncertainty in English listening and reading. (2) There are statistically significant differences by gender in TOA. Females are significantly more tolerant of ambiguity than males on the whole. Specifically, females are much more tolerant of ambiguity than males in pronunciation, speaking, reading and writing. However, in terms of listening, grammar, translation, vocabulary learning and guessing of lexical meaning, there are no significant differences between males and females. Both females and males have intermediate TOA. (3) High achievement students have a significantly higher overall tolerance of ambiguity than low achievement students. High achievement students are significantly more tolerant of ambiguity than low achievement students in listening, speaking, reading, writing, pronunciation, and guessing of lexical meaning. However, there are no significant differences in TOA between high and low achievers in terms of translation, grammar, and vocabulary development.Several implications for English teaching and learning in vocational colleges can be drawn from this study. First, English teachers should try to arouse students’awareness of TOA, and then they should help students set up a positive attitude toward uncertainty in English learning. Next, English teachers should help students cultivate optimal TOA, and create a“student-centered”classroom teaching. Only in this way will teachers be able to help their students improve their English learning efficiency.更多还原