A Study on the Effectiveness of Affective Education
in Vocational Colleges English Teaching
Abstract
As the humanistic psychology is developing, emotional factors in language teaching and
learning get more and more attention. And learners' emotional factors play an important part in English learning, learners' emotional status directly affects their learning behavior and learning results. In recent years, due to the popularization of higher education and enrollment expansion of colleges and universities, which promotes the number of art college students have risen rapidly in China. English teaching of art school students has become an important part of college English teaching. However, most art students to value than their main course in English, which led to their English language skills shortage and college English teaching in an embarrassing situation. Unluckily, this problem has long time to be ignored by researchers. So as to solve this issue, we should attach importance to affective factors of art students and adopt affective teaching means in English teaching.
In view of humanism theory and affective filter hypothesis, by art students in Chaoyang
teacher training colleges for the study, this study examines three research questions:
1) What are the emotional factors affecting the art students' English learning?
2) How does affective teaching affect the art students? emotional elements? 3) How does affective teaching affect the art students? learning outcome?
The means utilized in this research are 3 ways: experiment, questionnaire and the last one is interview. Experimental subject were researched and tested before and after the experiment severally. The subjects are from Chaoyang Teachers? College with total 80 students in two classes and they are all freshmen. These two classes are split up into 2 groups, one is control class and another is experimental class. During the process of the study, the author used 2 methods into 2 groups, emotional teaching method for experimental class and the traditional teaching method for control class. Based on the show of experimental results and statistical analysis software SPSS.22, there is a big influence using affective teaching on art students? English learning in Vocational College, which is conducive to increasing students? learning interest students? learning confidence and reducing students? anxiety. When affective teaching experiment finishes in one semester, the result is that experimental class students go ahead and it also shows their academic scores was greatly higher than that of another group-traditional class. This indicates that positive affective teaching will help the students form positive and healthy affection, at the same time it will be benefit to reinforce the English
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teachers? emotional consciousness in their teaching and boost the English teaching?s quality in vocational college.
In a word, affective factors are at work in each element of English learning. Teachers and researchers should attach importance to the affective factors of students and adopt valid means to cultivate affection in art English teaching, so as to solve the affective issues of art students and to aid reinforce both students? academic accomplishment and development in an all-around way.
This research is consisted of five chapters: Chapter One outlines the background of art students for affective teaching. Chapter Two introduces a literature review on the theory of affective teaching. Chapter Three shows the method of research and procedure of the research. Chapter Four makes an analysis of the outcomes and provides a lot of usage of English affective teaching in Vocational College. Chapter Five makes a conclusion and the presents some limitations of this research.
Key Words：affective teaching; affective factors; English learning; art students
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Contents
Abstract in Chinese ..................................................................................................................... I Abstract in English .................................................................................................................... II Contents ..................................................................................................................................... V Chapter One Introduction…………………………………………………………………...1 1.1 Background of the study ……………………………………………………………..1
1.2 The Purpose and significance of the study .................................................................... 2 1.3 Structure of the Thesis .................................................................................................. 2 Chapter Two Literature Review ............................................................................................ 3
2.1 A General Introduction to Affect .................................................................................. 3 2.2 Definition of Affective Education ................................................................................. 3 2.3 Main Affective Factors in Foreign Language Education .............................................. 4
2.3.1 Motivation ........................................................................................................ 4 2.3.2 Anxiety ............................................................................................................. 4 2.4 Affective Factors and Language Teaching ................................................................ 5 2.5 Studies on Affective Teaching Abroad and in China ............................................... 5 2.6 Theoretical Bases …………………………………………………………………......7
2.6.1 Humanism .................................................................................................................. 7 2.6.2 Krashen?s Affective Filter Hypothesis ...................................................................... 7 2.6.3 Constructivism Approaches ..................................................................................... 8 Cheaper Three Research methodology …………………………………………………...10 3.1 Research questions ………………………………………………………………… 10
3.2 Subjects ..................................................................................................................... 10 3.3 Instruments ............................................................................................................... 10
3.3.1 Questionnaire .................................................................................................. 11 3.3.2 Test ................................................................................................................. 11 3.3.3 Interview………………………………………………………………….…11 3.4 Procedures ................................................................................................................ 11 3.5 Data Collection ......................................................................................................... 13 Chapter Four Results and Discussions .................................................................................. 15
4.1 Affective changes ..................................................................................................... 15
4.1.1 The Comparision of Affect between Experimental Class and Control Class
Before the Experiment ............................................................................................... 15 4.1.2 The Comparison of Affect between Experimental Class and Control Class After the Experiment ........................................................................................................... 16 4.1.3 The Comparison of Affect in Experimental Class Before and After the
Experiment ................................................................................................................. 18 4.2 Achievement changes ............................................................................................. 19
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4.2.1 The Comparison of Achievement between Experimental Class and Control Class Before the Experiment ...................................................................................... 19 4.2.2 The Comparison of Academic Achievement in Experimental Class Before and After the Experiment .................................................................................................. 19 4.2.3 The Comparision of Academic Achievement in Control Class Before and After the Experiment ........................................................................................................... 20 4.2.4 The Comparision of Achievement between Experimental Class and Control Class After the Experiment ........................................................................................ 20 4.3 Research Discussions ............................................................................................. 21 4.3.1 Discussions of the affective factors in the art students? English learning……..21
4.3.2 Discussions of the influence of affective teaching on art students? affective
factors………………………………………………………………………...22
4.3.3 Discussions of the influence of affective teaching on students? learning
achievements………………………………………………………………...22
4.4 Pedagogical Implications and Suggestions .............................................................. 23
4.4.1 Emphasizing on Students? Affective Factors ................................................. 23 4.4.2 Promoting Cooperative Language Learning .................................................. 24 4.4.3 Establishing Harmonious Teacher-student Relationship ............................... 25
Chapter Five Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 26
5.1 Major Findings ......................................................................................................... 26 5.2 Limitations ............................................................................................................... 28 5.3 Suggestions For Further Research ........................................................................... 28 Appendix A The English Learner Affect Questionnaire ..................................................... 31 Appendix B The Scores of Pre-test and Post-test ............................................................... 32 Appendix C The Results of Affect in Experimental Class and Control Class Before the Experiment ............................................................................................................................... 33 Appendix D The Results of Affect in Experimental Class and Control Class After the
Experiment ............................................................................................................................... 34 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. 35
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