Abstract: With the fast development of globalization, English language learning has become an unavoidable trend. Nowadays, students of high school gradually become the main body of teaching and learning research, and therefore, learning beliefs about English Foreign Language learning have been a heated issue. An appropriate analysis of students’ beliefs about language learning can win a broad way for how to learn the second language well for learners, and for how to explore the study of this respect. To make sure that the paper explains clearly, we make a sample survey between good and poor high school EFL learners. The purposes are to state the differences and the similarities of EFL learning beliefs between good and poor learners, whether learning beliefs are correlated to classroom performance, and whether National English Curriculum makes some differences on learning beliefs or not.  

  The research methods adopted in the research include interviews and questionnaires. The questionnaire is based on BALLI (Horwitz, 1988), and the subject of questionnaires is 112 students at Grade one of Deyang NO. 5 Middle School and the subject of the interview is some of them. From what we have mentioned to conclude, the similarities of learning beliefs are five. Firstly, lack of learning system is one of the problems, secondly, English is not independent of Chinese, thirdly, They do not set a designed goal of learning, fourthly, that English benefits a lot is accepted well, and in the meanwhile they feel patriotism when they learn English. Finally, they should focus on learning methods. As for the differences between good and poor learners are their knowledge about learning strategies. That is, good learners are equipped with strategies of reflection on knowledge, learning plan, definition of different subjects, while poor learners are in great lack of these skills. Secondly, in the view of good learners, learning assessment is a good tool to develop their learning ability. Finally, good learners do not merely focus on passing examination. By all of these study contents, we can figure out that compared with good learners, poor language learners lack a comprehensive and systematic view about language learning.        

Key words: beliefs about learning, good learners, poor learners, influencing factors

Contents

Abstract

摘要

I. Introduction-5

1. 1 Research purposes and contents-6

1. 2 Significance of the study-6

1. 3 Definition of key concepts-7

1.4 Structure of the thesis -8

Ⅱ.Literature review-9

2. 1 Definition, features of learning beliefs-9

2. 2 Related research of learning beliefs-10

2. 3 Factors to affect learning beliefs-11

Ⅲ.Methodology-13

3. 1 Research questions-13

3. 2 Participants-15

3. 3 Research methods-15

3.4 Methods of data analysis-16

Ⅳ.Findings and discussion-16

4. 1 Analysis of EFL learning beliefs between good and poor learners-16

4. 2 Differences and similarities of EFL learning beliefs between good and poor learners-23

 4. 3 Differences on learning beliefs between National English Curriculum of 2013 and language learners-40

4. 4 The factor causing the difference between good and poor learners-42

Ⅴ.Conclusion-46

5.1 Implications-46

5. 2 Limitations and Suggestions for future research-47