CUENCAS HIDROGRAFICAS

The final version of the questionnaire (Appendix 1) consists of the following four parts: Part A (Participants’ demographic information), Part B (BLL), Part C (MLL), and Part D (LLS). The structure of the questionnaire is listed in Table 3.1.

Table 3.1 Structure of the Questionnaire for the Current Study

Construct Sub-categories Number of Items

Part A Demographic Information 9 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 Part B

Beliefs

Difficulty of language learning 4 B1, B2, B7, B13 Nature of language learning 6 B3, B4, B5, B6, B8, B9 Autonomy in language learning 5 B10, B11, B12, B14, B15

Total 15 B1-B15 Part C Motivation Intrinsic interest 2 M1, M2 Immediate achievement 2 M3, M4 Going abroad 2 M5, M6 Individual development 3 M7, M8, M9 Information medium 2 M10, M11 Important others 2 M12, M13 Learning situation 6 M14, M15, M16, M17, M18, M19 Total 19 M1-M19 Part D Strategies Memory Strategies 5 S1, S2, S3, S4, S5 Cognitive Strategies 6 S6, S7, S8, S9, S10, S11 Compensation Strategies 3 S12, S13, S14 Meta-cognitive Strategies 8 S15, S16, S17, S18, S19, S20, S21, S22 Affective Strategies 4 S23, S24, S25, S26 Social Strategies 4 S27, S28, S29, S30 Total 30 S1-S15 Part A is about the participants’ background information. This part is designed to elicit demographic information about the research participants. It includes the following items: gender, age, major taken at the EMI University, family background, hometown, length of years spent learning English, types of high school graduated from, English score on the National Matriculation (Gaokao), and overseas experiences. It was anticipated that this information would help the author better understand the results of the findings in this study.

Part B, comprising 15 items, is about the students’ BLL. It covers the following three areas: 1) the difficulty of language learning; 2) the nature of language learning; and 3) learner autonomy in language learning. Items B1, B2, B7, and B13 concern the participants’ beliefs about the difficulty of learning English and specifically of learning different language skills. Item B1 assesses the general difficulty of learning English. The participants were required to respond to this item, using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from a very difficult language (1) to a very easy language (5) as follows: 1) a very difficult language; 2) a difficult language; 3) a language of medium difficulty; 4) an easy language; and 5) a very easy language.

Item B13 asks the participants’ belief about the length of time needed to learn English well. They were asked to respond this item, “If someone spent one hour a day learning a language, how long would it take them to speak the language very well?” using a 5-point scale as follows: 1) less than one year; 2) 1-2 years; 3) 3-5 years; 4) 5-10 years; and 5) You can’t learn a language in 1 hour a day. Responses at the higher end of the scale, such as 4 or 5, reflect the participants’ belief that it takes a longer time to learn to speak English well.

Item B2 relates to the respondents’ difficulty with participating in group activities and Item B7 determines whether the students think reading and writing to be more difficult than speaking and listening in English. The participants were required to respond to these two items using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). These two items are all stated in the direction from the easiest to the most difficult. Responses at the higher end of the scale, such as 4 or 5, mean that the students believe there to be a large degree of difficulty.

e.g., B2 It is difficult for me to take part in group discussion in English. 1 2 3 4 5 (1Strongly disagree; 2 Disagree; 3 Neither agree nor disagree; 4 Agree; 5 Strongly agree) Items B3, B4, B5, B6, B8, and B9 include a wide range of issues related to the participants’ beliefs about the nature of language learning, including the importance of practice and repetition (Item B3) extensive reading (Item B5) and pronunciation (Item

B9), the role of vocabulary and grammar (Item B4) and language immersion (Item B8) in language learning. The participants were asked to respond to these items using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). Responses at the upper end of the scale indicate a high level of agreement with these statements. e.g., B4 The most important part of learning English is learning vocabulary and grammar. 1 2 3 4 5

Items B10, B11, B12, B14, and B15 address the participants’ beliefs about their autonomy in language learning, including their level of responsibility for their own learning of English (Items B10 and B14) and the role of their teachers in their learning of English (Items B12 and B15). The participants were required to respond to these items using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). Responses at the upper end of the scale, such as 4 or 5, mean a large degree of preparedness for autonomous study.

e.g., B11 I should be responsible for my own English learning instead of relying on teachers. 1 2 3 4 5

Part C concerns the students’ MLL. A total of 19 items were included in this part. It encompasses the following seven subcategories: 1) intrinsic interest; 2) immediate achievement; 3) going abroad; 4) individual development; 5) information medium; 6) important others; and 7) learning situation. All the 19 items followed a 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). Responses at the upper end of the scale, such as 4 or 5, reflect strong motivation.

e.g., M3 I learn English mainly for obtaining high scores in exams. 1 2 3 4 5 Part D measures the students’ LLS. It contains six categories of learning strategies: 1) memory strategies; 2) cognitive strategies; 3) compensation strategies; 4) meta-cognitive strategies; 5) affective strategies; and 6) social strategies. These 30 items use a 5-point Likert scale ranging from I never do this (1) to I always do this (5).

Responses at the upper end of the scale, such as 4 or 5, reflect students’ high frequency of use of learning strategies.

e.g., S1 I memorise new words by looking up the meanings of new words in dictionaries

like online dictionaries. 1 2 3 4 5