Open AccessThe Effect of Chinese ESL Learners’ Beliefs and the Implications for their Autonomous Learning
Author(s) -
Qunyan Zhong
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
sisal journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.178
H-Index - 2
ISSN - 2185-3762
DOI - 10.37237/010305
Subject(s) - learner autonomy , psychology , recall , context (archaeology) , autonomous learning , pedagogy , mathematics education , autonomy , language acquisition , language education , cognitive psychology , comprehension approach , paleontology , political science , law , biology
What beliefs do Chinese learners hold about language learning? What is the effect of these beliefs on their autonomous learning? These are the two questions that this study aims to address. I employed naturalistic inquiry (Lincoln & Guba, 1985) to investigate five Chinese ESL learners’ beliefs about language learning and their learning behaviour. A number of instruments (interviews, classroom observations and stimulated recall, learning logs) were used to collect triangulated data over a 12-week period. Following standard procedures of qualitative data analysis, I identified five categories of learners’ beliefs. The results revealed that the beliefs that the learners held were context-specific, reflecting their learning experiences. Some of them were conducive to learning autonomy while others were not. The beliefs influenced the level of the learners’ autonomy. The study suggests that educators should take into account learners’ beliefs when promoting autonomous learning.