大学英语分层次教学背景下的写作焦虑实证研究
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摘要
2003年起,教育部启动了新一轮的大学英语教学改革,根据《大学英语课程教学要求》中提出的“分类指导、因材施教”的教学原则,很多高校开始在大学英语教学中开展分层教学。很多学者已经对分层教学情况做过相关研究,但对不同层次学生语言学习中情感因素的研究却并不多见,而语言学习本身就是认知与情感相互作用的过程。写作焦虑作为一种情感因素近些年来受到更多学者的关注,Krashen等人研究发现,与本族语学习者相比外语学习者在写作过程中会体验到更多的焦虑。相关研究也证实写作焦虑关系着学生外语写作的成败。但是,目前关于我国学生外语写作焦虑的研究还很少,特别是对大学英语分层教学背景下的不同层次学生写作焦虑的相关调查与研究就更为稀少。
     本研究基于Krashen情感过滤假说和Tobias语言输出焦虑等理论,采用Y-S Cheng于2004年编制的《二语写作焦虑量表》(SLWAI),对来自重庆大学英语教学三个层次的251名非英语专业大学生的外语写作焦虑进行了研究。本研究用定量研究的方法来确定不同层次学生是否存在写作焦虑,揭示其焦虑的主要表现,调查不同层次学生的写作焦虑是否存在差异,探索其写作焦虑与写作成绩之间的关系;用定性研究的方法调查引起写作焦虑的可能原因,并根据其结果探索一些有利于降低写作焦虑的方法。结果显示,三个层次的学生都有中等程度的写作焦虑体验,主要表现在写作回避行为上。对不同层次学生写作焦虑差异的统计分析显示只有第一层次和第三层次学生的写作焦虑呈现显著差异,但是三个层次学生的作文成绩却差异显著。写作焦虑与写作成绩在三个层次上都呈负相关,即写作焦虑越高,成绩越低。定性研究揭示了不同层次学生写作焦虑产生的可能原因,显示学生掌握的语言知识和写作技巧不足﹑认知焦虑﹑考试焦虑及对英语写作的错误认识都是学生写作焦虑产生的主要原因。
     此次调查的意义在于它有助于了解在大学英语分层次教学背景下我国学生英语写作焦虑的情况,并且提供了一些有助于降低学生写作焦虑并提高写作水平的方法,例如增加语言输入﹑运用过程教学法﹑给予积极评价﹑进行适当练习等等。
Since 2003, the Ministry of Education has started a new reform of college English teaching, and highlighted the principle of providing different guidance for different groups of students according to College English Curriculum Requirements. Thus, many universities have adopted college English teaching at different levels. Many researchers have investigated students’English learning in this context, but few have given enough thought to affective factors which may exert quite different influences on students at different levels. Writing anxiety, as one of the affective factors, has drawn more attention these years. Krashen’s study showed that writing in foreign/second language provokes more anxiety than using one’s native language. Other researches have proved that writing anxiety was one of the factors affecting students’writing performance. However, researches on foreign language writing anxiety with Chinese students have been rare. Particularly, there exist no studies about foreign language writing anxiety of Chinese college students in the context of college English teaching at different levels.
     The present study, supported by Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypothesis and Tobias Theory, employs Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI) made by Cheng to conduct the research on students’English writing anxiety with 251 non-English major undergraduates from Chongqing University as the subjects. In quantitative study, the following three questions are under discussion: (1) Do Chinese non-English major undergraduates at respectively the basic (Level 1), intermediate (Level 2) and advanced (Level 3) levels experience anxiety when writing English compositions? If yes, where is their writing anxiety embodied? (2) Are there significant differences in writing anxiety among the students of all the three levels? (3) What is the relationship between writing anxiety and writing achievement of the students at each level? And the qualitative study is conducted for the purpose of exploring the potential sources of students’English writing anxiety, and the pedagogical suggestions in light of their anxiety conditions, different learning habits, attitudes, and strategies.
     The results show that (1) the Chinese EFL students at three levels experience moderate degree of writing anxiety, which is mainly reflected in their avoidance behavior; (2) there are only significant differences in writing anxiety between the students at Level 1 and Level 3, with no such differences found between Level 1 and Level 2, or Level 2 and Level 3. However, the differences in writing scores of the students at different levels show statistical significance; (3) foreign language writing anxiety is negatively correlated with students’writing achievement.
     The present study is helpful to deepen the understanding of foreign language writing anxiety under the circumstance of teaching English at different levels in China, and provides some suggestions to alleviate writing anxiety and improve writing proficiency.
引文
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