Revista Argentina de Clínica Psicológica 2020, Vol. XXIX, N°2, 1468-1473
DOI: 10.24205/03276716.2020.389 1468
M
ENTAL
S
TATE OF
E
NGLISH
L
EARNERS AND
I
TS
I
NFLUENTIAL
F
ACTORS
Na Xie
Abstract
During language learning, English learners may suffer from a huge psychological pressure, which may negatively affect their mental state. To improve the mental health of English learners, this paper mainly explores the mental state of these learners and identifies its influencing factors. The research data were collected through a questionnaire survey on a high school in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China, and subjected to a systematic statistical analysis. The results show that most English learners lack long-term learning objectives, and their poor performance is closely related to improper learning plans; most learners cannot make flexible use of knowledge, fully utilize classroom notes, or summarize learning strategies; the learner’
anxiety about English has much to do with examination anxiety, which comes from their poor English proficiency; the teachers should motivate the enthusiasm and confidence of students in classroom teaching. The research provides a new way to improve the mental state of English learners.
Key words: English, Mental state, Foreign language learning, Teaching.
Received: 19-03-19 | Accepted: 02-10-19
INTRODUCTION
With the rapid development of society and economy, the pressure of middle school students in entering a higher school, learning, psychology and other aspects is increasing. As a result, students' weariness of learning, dropping out of school and other psychological problems are becoming more and more complicated, which brings new challenges to both schools and society (Brady, Reeves, Garcia et al, 2016; Goebel, 2010). English education in China started late. With the deepening reform of English teaching in middle schools in recent years, the teacher-centered teaching mode is changing to the new student-centered teaching mode (Nicholes, 2016; Swanson, Orosco, Lussier et al, 2011). The new teaching mode requires students to be the main body of teaching and learning and the carriers of controlling knowledge and abilities, which requires understanding the psychological
School of Foreign Languages, Fuyang Normal University, Fuyang 236037, China.
E-Mail: xiena1976@163.com
changes of students in the process of English
learning. It’s essential to understand students' psychological needs, improve teachers' teaching mode and raise students' positive initiative in learning for a higher English education level in China (Brown, Jimerson, Dowdy et al, 2012; Dörnyei, 2006).
In recent years, although some scholars have
studied the relationship between teacher
intermediary and student development, the research subjects are mainly college students, and few on the mental status of high school students and the high school English education (Haidara, 2016; Templeton, 2012). English education in middle schools are for a huge number of individuals, and most of the teaching is basic. In the middle schools, students are prone to bad psychological problems such as lack of learning methods, negative mental state to learning English, and fear of English learning (Genesee, Rogers, & Holobow, 2006; Setter, Stojanovik, & Martínez-Castilla, 2010; Rieg & Paquette, 2009). Although teachers and families are aware of these problems, they only have perceptual understanding and take some sporadic remedial measures (Nakata, 2008; Boakes, 2003; Grose-Fifer, Helmer, & Zottoli, 2014). A clear and comprehensive
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understanding of the causes of students' psychological conditions in English learning and the relationship between these causes and their academic performance can help to systematically formulate corresponding teaching strategies, and explore the hidden deep-seated and complicated causes for further analysis in the process of practice from the superficial phenomenon of students' "poor performance".
From the perspective of psychology, based on the relevant theories of English education at home and abroad, this paper analyzes the mental state of students in the process of English learning, and provides some suggestions for students to improve their learning methods, raise their English scores
and improve teachers’ teaching methods, as well as
reliable theoretical basis for English education in middle schools.
PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS OF ENGLISH
LEARNERS
Psychological disorders of English learners Teenagers' English learning is mainly promoted by their own willpower and subjective initiative. The study found that under the same learning environment, students from information-developed areas have better English performance and attitude towards English than those from remote areas, and students with weak foundation will lack confidence due to their low starting point. In face of learning difficulties, many students lack self-confidence and have poor performance in learning English due to the lack of correct support and encouragement and accumulation of difficulties for a long time, thus giving up the idea of learning English. Some students have made great efforts in English learning, but they have achieved little and no improvement in performance, thus causing inferiority mentality and even giving up English learning.
English learning involves listening, speaking, reading, writing, grammar and other aspects of ability training, and needs to learn a great deal of knowledge to constantly consolidate and improve the level of learning. Because students start learning English late and there is no English learning environment, most students learn English by rote, and cannot really apply English, which makes them feel boring in learning English. With the improvement of school age, the multiplication of learning pressure, the increase of knowledge difficulty and some unfavorable factors in the learning process, students are prone to fear difficulties and give up the idea of continuing to
improve after reaching to a certain level. There are also some students who have not achieved satisfactory results because of incorrect learning methods, improper teaching methods and other factors. Too much pressure they suffer from finally leads to gradual loss of patience and perseverance. As a result, they retreat from difficulties, lack self-confidence, and suffer from weariness of learning and rebellious mentality, which eventually leads to giving up learning.
The conditions for English learning are limited in China, where there are few opportunities for English practice. Students are too shy to express in the process of English learning, with strong timidity. Some students are even ashamed to consult and lack the courage to express themselves, so they only learn English in the text context. Even if students have the opportunity to face up to foreigners, they are ashamed to express themselves in front of outsiders, so it is easy of them to produce a vicious circle and their English scores cannot be improved for a long time. For the environment lacking English exercise, students' learning of English is seriously unrelated to social needs. Without interest and encouragement, students only want to obtain graduation certificates or qualification certificates by learning English. There are few opportunities to apply foreign languages in practical work, and the difficulty of foreign language learning does not match the actual application, which is also one of the factors for terminating foreign language learning.
Roots of English learners' psychological disorders
Students' demand for English learning begins with the development of society, but they have different English foundation due to the differences in family, society and school environment. Objectively speaking, the differences in economic level, regional culture and educational abilities in different regions of China make the teenagers have essential differences in their understanding of English and regional differences. From a subjective
point of view, teenagers’ academic performance is
closely related to their learning interests and environment. Most students have psychological disorders in English learning because of their poor foundation. Some students have a positive learning mentality, but they have not made progress in learning because of their poor foundation. With the increasing pressure of social competition, they have the idea of abandoning themselves and choosing to escape and give up.
MENTAL STATE OF ENGLISH LEARNERS AND ITS INFLUENTIAL FACTORS 1470
systematic subject, which requires long-term unremitting learning. In the absence of an English
environment in China, it’s necessary to guide
students to have self-confidence and cultivate their interest. English is a comprehensive course, which requires students to make more efforts to achieve certain results. With the development of social economy, the life of the new generation has undergone essential changes. Thanks to the improvement of economic conditions, some young students lack the perseverance to bear hardships and stand hard work. Under great pressure, they are prone to shrink back and give up. The pampering of their families has increased students' indulgence in laziness, resulting in students' lack of motivation to learn English.
Under the modern education system, academic performance represents everything. Therefore, no matter the requirements of school education or society or family, academic performance is taken as the standard to measure students' ability. English, as a language tool for communication, has serious deviation between education and practical application for its application and practical purpose. English education should return to its essence. Schools should carry out practical teaching around students' examination-oriented education to increase students' English application and practical ability. Learning English should not be only limited to textbook knowledge, but also extend to social application. Students' thoughts and psychology cognition of learning English are only superficial, with weak awareness of social needs. More students stop learning English after completing their studies, and English learning has become a phased behavior.
ANALYSIS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS
AFFECTING ENGLISH LEARNERS
Setting and distribution of questionnaires In order to study the bottlenecks and difficulties encountered by English learners in the learning process, this paper makes an analysis from the perspective of psychology and adopts the form of questionnaire survey. Questionnaire is about the psychological quality of high school students in English learning, with a total of 25 questions, which
involve the aspects of high school students’ mental
state, motivation and attitude of English learning, and the degree of harmony with teachers and classmates.
This survey is aimed at a high school in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province. 425 questionnaires are distributed and 412 questionnaires are
recovered, of which 400 are valid, with an effective rate of 94.12%. The basic information of the respondents is shown in Table 1 and Figure 1. It can be seen that the proportion of the students surveyed in terms of gender, age and subject category is relatively balanced. Judging from the educational level of parents, most of the students' parents is junior college or below, accounting for 53.5%.
Table 1.
Basic information of respondents
Project Sub item Number Proportion
Gender Male 213 53.25%
Female 187 46.75%
Grade
Senior 1 132 33.00%
Senior 2 126 31.50%
Senior 3 142 35.50%
Category Liberal arts 192 48.00%
science 208 52.00%
Parents' education
level
Above
undergraduate 74 18.50%
Undergraduate 112 28.00%
Junior college and
below 214 53.50%
Figure 1
.
Gender distribution of students in
different grades
0 20 40 60 80 100
69 68
76
63
58
66
Grade 2
N
u
m
b
e
r
Male Female
Grade 1 Grade 3
Figure 2 shows the results of a survey on students' objectives and plans in learning English. As can be seen from the figure, the scores of the students are generally around 3 points, and the completion of the short-term objectives is higher than that of the long-term objectives, which shows that the students lack long-term objectives in the process of learning English, and the unsatisfactory results are closely related to the imperfect plans. Only a small number of students have made clear plans and objectives. However, those who make learning plans and objectives are not very ideal for
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the completion of the objectives. The reason is mainly related to the way of education. For a long time, English teaching has been teacher-centered, and students are learning in a "task-based" way. Lack of independent opinions, students are in urgent need of learning plans and objectives formulated by teachers or parents.
Figure 2
.
English learning objectives and
plans
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0
S
c
o
re
Achieve goals Short term
goals Long term
goals
Learning plan
Figure 3
.
Self supervision in English learning
0 1 2 3 4 5
Preview consolidation
S
c
o
re
Adjustment plan Classroom
notes
learning strategy
Autonomy in learning English is one of the methods of self-supervision. The inspection of the implementation of the plan is supervision. The rationality of the inspection plan, the scientific nature of time allocation and the personal learning will be reflected in all stages of learning. Figure 3 shows the survey results of self-supervision behavior in the process of English learning. It can be seen from the figure that students seldom preview before class, consolidate after class, and are not good at using English learning strategies. With inflexible learning plans, they have lower score in classroom
notes, which shows that although students can record their classroom knowledge well in the process of English learning, they do not use classroom notes flexibly and are not good at using classroom notes.
Students generally have less than 3 scores in self-summary and reflection, as shown in Figure 4, indicating that students lack self-summary and reflection, do not have correct review methods, and are not good at summarizing the knowledge they learnt. However, the higher score in the summary and analysis of the examination shows that the students have done a better job of reflection and analysis of their weaknesses after the examination, but they have not done enough for timely review and remedial measures. Students attach more importance to their academic performance, and teachers do not pay enough attention to them in normal classes. Therefore, students especially hope to prove themselves through examination results and they often attach great importance to the results after examinations, but do not make a systematic summary of their learning efficiency and learning strategies in classroom.
Figure 4
.
Self summary and Reflection on
English learning
0 1 2 3 4
S
c
o
re
Review method
Error review
Examination analysis
Learning summary
Analysis of students' psychological status The change of students' psychological status in the process of English learning is often prone to be ignored by teachers and parents. Mental state is often an important factor that determines students' English learning. Therefore, the analysis of students' psychological status is of far-reaching significance for improving English scores and guiding teenagers to grow up healthily and happily. Figure 5 shows the results of a survey on students' motivation and attitude towards learning English. Judging from the
MENTAL STATE OF ENGLISH LEARNERS AND ITS INFLUENTIAL FACTORS 1472
statistical results, students are more concerned about English performance, can better complete the tasks assigned by teachers, have a better attitude
towards English learning, and have high
expectations for their own English learning. However, the results of survey on English learning time show that students generally spend less time in English learning. In the course of the survey, the interview with the students finds that the students' learning in English class is still passive and they do not fully participate in the classroom. With the growth of students' grades, the state of students' listening to lectures in classroom shows an obvious downward trend. Students are full of interest and self-confidence in English when they are in the first year of high school. However, with the increase of course difficulty, students obviously have less interest and lower self-confidence in English learning.
Figure 5
.
Motivation and attitude of learning
English
0 1 2 3 4
S
c
o
re
Attitude Confidence
Interest Time
The results of the survey on students' mental state in learning English are shown in Figure 6. The smaller the value in the figure is, the more obvious the corresponding psychological characteristics of the students are. It can be seen that the worries about English is closely related to the anxiety of the examination. The anxiety of the students over the examination mainly comes from the lack of confidence in their ordinary study, profound English skills and solid foundation. More than half of the students are afraid of speaking in classroom, being laughed at by their classmates and being criticized by their teachers. Teachers need to constantly motivate students in classroom teaching to increase their confidence in English learning by satisfying their hearted needs.
Figure 6
.
Mental state of English learning
0 1 2 3 4
S
c
o
re
Learning anxiety
Fear of exercises
Fear of ridicule
Examination anxiety
The results of the survey on the degree of harmony between students and the people around them are shown in Figure 7, which shows higher scores in the degree of harmony between students and teachers, classmates and parents, indicating that the relationship between students and them is still very harmonious. The harmonious interpersonal relationship of students will promote their studies. Teachers can thus inspire students and promote their English learning. Judging from the frequency of criticism, the frequency of students being criticized is relatively low. As some students with poor performance fail to attract the attention from teachers in class, they do not dislike teachers' appropriate criticism, which may give students some vigilance. English teachers should pay more attention to students who do not perform well in class and give them affirmative evaluation so that students can feel valued and then study hard.
Figure 7
.
The degree of harmony between
students and people around them
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
S
co
re
Rela tions
hip
with clas
smat es
Rela tions
hip
with par
ents Freq
uenc y
of cr itici
sm
Rela tions
hip
with teac
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CONCLUSIONS
This paper uses the method of questionnaire and mathematical statistics to make a statistical analysis of the mental state of English learners, studies the key factors that affect the mental state of English learners, and provides suggestions and opinions for improving the mental state of English learners. The main conclusions are as follows:
(1) The unsatisfactory results of English learners are closely related to their imperfect learning plans, and most learners cannot make efficient use of course learning notes and knowledge taught in class. Lack of the ability to learn and use knowledge flexibly, they should improve their ability to summarize knowledge and learn systematically.
(2) The anxiety of the students over the examination mainly comes from the lack of confidence in their ordinary study, profound English skills and solid foundation. Teachers need to constantly motivate students in classroom teaching to increase their confidence in English learning by satisfying their hearted needs.
(3) The harmonious interpersonal relationship of students will promote their studies. Teachers can encourage or motivate students to cultivate their interest in English learning. Moreover, English teachers should pay more attention to students who do not perform well in class and give them affirmative evaluation so that students can feel valued and then study hard.
Acknowledgements
The study was supported by “Youth Research Fund of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, China (Grant No.15YJC740104) and “The Major
Teaching Research Project of Education
Department of Anhui Province, China (Grant No. 2016jyxm0759).
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