Chapter 1 Introduction
1.1 Background of the research
As a Western concept, autonomy has gained rapid development. The term was formallyproposed by Henri Holec (1981) to second language pedagogy. In adult language learningcontext, it was used as a conceptual tool which is an alternative of the established languageteaching tradition. After that, substantial researches on learner autonomy have hence been carriedout and turned out to be fruitful. Fifteen years later, Gremmo (1995) observes that work in the1980s and 1990s has shown autonomous learning to be a fruitful approach in all aspects oflanguage learning theory and practice. The gist of learner autonomy is that a learner develops theability to take charge of his or her own learning. Boud (1988) think that the fundamental purposeof education is assumed to develop individuals' ability to make their own decisions about whatthey think and do. Autonomy thus has become a valid goal for educators. However, autonomylearning is sometimes perceived to be a unsuited topic in non-Western contexts with differenteducational traditions, for instance, China. Therefore, in Chinese context, studies to investigatehow learners act in autonomous learning in middle schools are few, let alone, how to develop theautonomous English learning of the students in junior schools.
…………
1.2 The objective of the research
Referring to the law of individual development, students in high school have a relative poorlevel of self-control abilities and problem-resolving power so many enclosed high schools wereset up in expectation to nurture students' autonomous learning ability. Those enclosed schoolsintend to construct an atmosphere in which students can avoid being influenced by badatmosphere, decadent ideas, and some temptations out of school. They create a mode ofmanagement to benefit unified management as well as the overall planning of the school, hence;it can normalize students from learning, living, acting and being educated. In this sense, enclosedschool management is not equal to the absolute isolation from the rest of the world, contact ofthe society, and wild vision, but a unified management, standardized behavior and cultivation ofindependence which may be essential to form autonomy in learning. Furthermore, all studentsbeing in school creates a favorable atmosphere so that they are able to focus mind on learningand this will be helpful to reduce the occurrences of misconducts and improve their learningquality. In general, by living in school together, students can refrain from the negative influenceof society, avoid security incident and cultivate good habit. Additionally, it's convenient forteachers to carry out activities, training students' interests, developing students' potential. Inenclosed school where teachers are available for help whenever needed, students can receive thesame level of education without extra tutoring. It can be said that how hard they work determineshow good their performance is. However, the reality cannot be denied that enclosed junior highschool provides students a confined environment a little like the army. Students spend most oftheir time within a narrow area which make their social contact less, thought narrowing,experience simple. Students have their own characteristics, but this kind of education do hassome effect on students' individual chara，英语论文题目，英语论文
|
