探討學習者的語言學習信念之動態本質：兩位英語教學所碩士生的個案研究 - 政大學術集成

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(1)國立政治大學英國語文學系碩士班碩士論文. 指導教授：招靜琪博士 Advisor: Dr. Chin-Chi Chao. 探討學習者的語言學習信念之動態本質：兩位英語教學所碩士生的個案研究. 立. 政治大. Focusing on the Dynamic Nature of Learner Belief：. ‧ 國. 學. A Case Study on Two TESOL MA Students. ‧. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. 研究生：洪郁閔撰 Name: Yu-Min Hung 中華民國 101 年 04 月 April, 2012.

(2) Focusing on the Dynamic Nature of Learner Belief： A Case Study on Two TESOL MA Students. A Master Thesis Presented to Department of English. 立. 政治大. National Chengchi University. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. In Partial Fulfillment. Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts. by Yu-Min Hung April, 2012.

(3) Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Chin-chi Chao, who is a competent, encouraging, and patient guide that helped me hurdle all the obstacles in my arduous thesis journey. This thesis would not have been possible unless she supported me along the way. I am also greatly indebted to the committee members, Dr. Chen-kuan Chen and Dr. Yi-ping Huang, whose encouraging words and insightful advice enabled me to better refine my thesis. Next, my heartfelt thanks go to Xiu-ru Chang, for she helped me code the data. 政治大. and provided me with useful suggestions during the completion of my thesis. I would. 立. like to extend my gratitude to my participants, Brian and Lily. The thesis would have. ‧ 國. 學. remained a dream had it not been for their generous sharing of their learning stories.. ‧. Last but not least, I would like to give the warmest thanks to my family. It is their unflagging love and support that give me the strength to move on during the thesis. y. Nat. n. al. er. io. sit. writing process. I am indeed blessed to have them as my dearest family.. Ch. engchi. iii. i n U. v.

(4) Table of Contents Acknowledgements...................................................................................................... iii. Chinese Abstract.......................................................................................................... vii. English Abstract........................................................................................................... viii. Chapter 1. Introduction.............................................................................................................. 1. Background of the Study..................................................................................... 1. Purpose of the Study............................................................................................ 3. Research Questions.............................................................................................. 3. 2. Literature Review…................................................................................................. 5. Learner Belief...................................................................................................... 5. The formation of Learner Belief.......................................................................... 8. 政治大 The Dynamic Nature of Learner 立 Belief............................................................... 10 15. Participants........................................................................................................... 15. Data Collection.................................................................................................... 16. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. 3. Methodology............................................................................................................ 21. 4. Findings.................................................................................................................... 23. Brian………………………................................................................................. 23. io. sit. y. Nat. Data Analysis....................................................................................................... er. Brian’s Language Leaning Story..................................................................... al. n. v i n Ch What English Means to Brian......................................................................... engchi U. Brian’s Learner Beliefs.................................................................................... 23 34 37. Summary of Brian’s Case ............................................................................... 39. Lily....................................................................................................................... 43. Lily’s Language Leaning Story....................................................................... 43. Lily’s Learner Beliefs...................................................................................... 51. What English Means to Lily............................................................................ 55. Summary of Lily’s Case ................................................................................. 55. 5. Cross-Case Analysis and Discussion....................................................................... 59. Research Question One and Two......................................................................... 59. Research Question Three..................................................................................... 67. 6. Conclusion............................................................................................................... 75. iv.

(5) Summary of the Study......................................................................................... 75. Pedagogical Implications..................................................................................... 76. Limitations of the Study....................................................................................... 78. Suggestions for Future Research……………………………………………..... 79. Conclusion……………………………………………………………..………. 80. References................................................................................................................... 81. Appendices. 88. A. The Protocol and Questions for the First Interview................................................ 88. B. Interview Questions for the Second Interview ....................................................... 91. C. A Supplementary Note from Lily............................................................................ 93. D. A Sample of the Written Narrative (English Version)............................................ 96. 治政大 F. A Sample of the First Interview Transcription…………………………………... 立 G. A Sample of the First Interview Transcription…………………………….......... E. A Sample of the Written Narrative (Chinese Version)........................................... ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. v. i n U. v. 98 101 103.

(6) List of Tables Tables Table 1. Background of the Participants………………………………………...……….. Table 2. Summary of Brian’s Learner Beliefs and His Relationship with English……… Table 3. Summary of Brian’s Learner Beliefs and His Relationship with English………. 16 41 58. Table 4. Comparisons of Brian’s and Lily’s Learner Beliefs in Relation to Context, Self, Identity, and English……………………………………………………..... 73. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. vi. i n U. v.

(7) 國立政治大學英國語文學系碩士班碩士論文提要. 論文名稱：探討學習者的語言學習信念之動態本質：兩位英語教學所碩士生的個案研究指導教授：招靜琪博士研究生：洪郁閔. 政治大. 論文提要內容：. 立. 本文旨在探討學習者的語言學習信念之動態本質。研究對象為兩位北部英. ‧ 國. 學. 語教學所的碩士生，研究方法主要包含半結構式訪談和研究對象自己寫的英語. ‧. 學習歷程，目的在於了解研究對象在人生各個階段的語言學習信念。資料分析. sit. y. Nat. 方式採用「整體—內容」的分析法。研究結果顯示研究對象的學習信念會依他. n. al. er. io. 們和其所在情境的互動關係而改變，而這樣的改變彰顯了學習信念並非固定不. i n U. v. 變。而是動態的。此外，研究結果發現學習信念和情境、自我、以及身分相. Ch. engchi. 關。值得點出的是，雖然學習信念會依情境而改變，但是重點並非情境本身，而是學習者如何看待和解讀情境。除了情境因素，本研究亦探討不同自我（理想自我和應該自我）與身份（核心身份和情境身份）如何影響學習者的語言信念。在所有階段，兩位研究對象都表示努力是語言學習的關鍵，而學習者和所學語言之間的關係會決定學習者願意投入多少心力在語言學習上。最後於文末提出教學和研究上的建議。. 關鍵字：學習者信念、英語學習經驗、自我、身分. vii.

(8) Abstract The study aims to explore the dynamic nature of learner belief through investigating two Taiwanese MA-TESOL students’ beliefs at different stages of their lives. The participants are two TESOL MA students in a graduate school in northern Taiwan. Data collection methods mainly include written narratives and semistructured interviews. The data collected are further analyzed using a holistic-content approach. The results of the study show that the participants’ beliefs shift in interaction with the context and thus reveal that the nature of learner belief is dynamic.. 政治大 identity. It is noted that what really 立 matters is not the context itself but how learners. Moreover, the study indicates that learner belief is connected with context, self, and. ‧ 國. 學. perceive and interpret the context. Then, the conceptions of ideal self vs. ought-to self and core identity vs. situated identity are introduced to shed light on their relationship. ‧. with learner belief. Across all stages, while both participants claimed that effort is. Nat. sit. y. critical to language learning, it is how they relate themselves to the target language. n. al. er. io. that determine how much effort that they are willing to make into language learning.. i n U. v. Finally, it is expected that the study can help educators as well as researchers better. Ch. engchi. understand the dynamic nature of learner belief. Pedagogical implications and suggestions for future research are provided at the end of the thesis. Keywords: learner belief, English learning experiences, self, identity. viii.

(9) CHAPTER 1 Introduction Background of the Study Recognizing the importance of belief in language learning, studies on learner belief have mushroomed in the SLA field over the past decades. Research indicates that learner belief can influence learning in various aspects, including learners’ proficiency (Tanaka & Ellis, 2003), motivation (Uckun, Tohumoglu, & Utar, 2011),. 政治大 strategy use (Liao & Chiang, 2004; Li, 2010; Oxford, 1990; Wenden, 1998, 1999; Wu, 立 autonomy (Cotterall, 1995; Zhong, 2010), classroom anxiety (Cheng, 2001), and. ‧ 國. 學. 2011; Yang, 1999).. While rich empirical studies have dedicated to learner belief, most of them were. ‧. conducted quantitatively with questionnaires. Although questionnaires can help. Nat. sit. y. collect data from a representative number of participants with relative low cost. n. al. er. io. (Parajuuli, 2008), they have some limitations. First, framing possible answers with. i n U. v. pre-designed items, questionnaires do not permit learners to articulate their beliefs in. Ch. engchi. their own words (Barcelo, 2003; Block, 1997; Kalaja, 1995; Pajares, 1992). Additionally, pre-established items may not incorporate some critical beliefs of the participants. Benson and Lor (1999) also pointed out that questionnaire data fail to provide an integral picture of the complex belief system. Aside from the restrictions of questionnaires, a considerable number of quantitative studies on learner belief have attempted to make broad generalizations and thus overlooked individual differences of the participants (Benson and Nunan, 2005). With different backgrounds, personalities, experiences, and learning styles,.

(10) learners will always have disparate beliefs about language learning. As Freeman (2008) stated, “Each individual thus acts as a unique learning context, bring a different set of systems to a learning event, responding differently to it, and therefore, learning differently as participating in it” (p.205). To take learners’ individual differences and their contexts into account, qualitative methods including interviews, ethnographies, diaries, narratives, autobiographies, metaphor analysis and classroom observations all serve as great tools for investigating learner beliefs. Freeman (2001) also drew attention to the need for "more holistic research that links integrated. 治政大 over time" (p.24). mechanisms and conditions of learning within different contexts 立 individual difference research from emic and etic perspectives to the processes,. ‧ 國. 學. Kalaja and Barcelos (2003) pointed out that another problem of current research about SLA is that the researchers view beliefs as “stable mental representations that. ‧. are fixed a-priori constructs” (p.2). Dufva (2003) also stated that the classic cognitive. Nat. sit. y. approach regards beliefs as representations or schema stored in the mind and thus. n. al. er. io. contextual factors are of secondary importance. From this standpoint, learner belief. i n U. v. may be less susceptible to the change of contextual influences; therefore, belief is. Ch. engchi. considered more static and stable by nature. In addition, a number of interdisciplinary studies indicate that learner belief is closely connected with self-concept, identity, personality, and other individual differences, which makes them harder to change (Bernat & Gvozdenko, 2005; Epstein, 1990). However, the view that learner belief is stable and static has been criticized by numerous researchers (Amuzie & Winke 2009; Durfa, 2003; Gabillon, 2005; Hosenfeld, 2003; Kalaja & Barcelo, 2003; Manchón, 2009; Mercer, 2011; Tanaka & Ellis, 2003). From the experience of analyzing learner belief as a cognitive phenomenon, Kalaja and Barcelo (2003) contend that belief is dynamic for two reasons. First, 2.

(11) learner belief derives from learners’ interaction with others during their life. Since the interaction is continuous, learner belief is by nature unstable and subject to change. The other reason is that belief is susceptible to contextual influences; therefore, learner belief may be modified or changed when there is a shift in context. While the dynamic nature of learner belief has been increasingly discussed (Amuzie & Winke 2009; Durfa, 2003; Gabillon, 2005; Hosenfeld, 2003; Kalaja & Barcelo, 2003; Manchón, 2009; Mercer 2011; Tanaka & Ellis, 2003.), few studies explore its changing nature across different periods of one’s life. Hence, there is a need to. 政治大. explore the dynamic nature of learner belief across various stages of learners’ language learning process.. 立. ‧ 國. 學. Purpose of the Study. ‧. The purpose of this study is to explore the dynamic nature of learner belief through investigating two Taiwanese TESOL MA students’ beliefs about language. y. Nat. io. sit. learning at different stages of their lives, including elementary school, junior high. n. al. er. school, senior high school, university, and postgraduate stages. The study mainly. Ch. i n U. v. triangulates the data with narratives and semi-structured interviews to obtain a more. engchi. intact picture of learner belief and to explore its changing nature. Research Questions 1. What learner beliefs did the two Taiwanese MA-TESOL students hold at different stages of their lives, including elementary school, junior high school, senior high school, university, and postgraduate stages? 2. How did their L2 learner beliefs change over time? 3. What are their most vital beliefs across all the stages?. 3.

(12) 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. 4. i n U. v.

(13) CHAPTER 2 Literature Review The literature reviewed in the present study includes three main sections. The first section introduces the conception of learner belief in different approaches. In the second section, the formation of learner belief is discussed. The last section focuses on the dynamic nature of learner belief. Learner Belief. 政治大 belief is difficult to define. A profusion of studies have explored learner belief from 立 As a complicated and multi-faced construct (Amuzie & Winke, 2009), learner. ‧ 國. 學. various approaches, which could be divided into three categories: normative, metacognitive, and contextual (Barcelo, 2003). The three approaches hold distinctive. ‧. perspectives on learner belief and therefore possess divergent definitions of belief.. Nat. sit. y. In the normative approach, belief is viewed as a perceived idea or a. n. al. er. io. misconception (Horwitz, 1987), which contains an underlying presumption that. i n U. v. learner belief is incorrect or inefficient. Furthermore, this approach considers that. Ch. engchi. learner belief can indicate if students will demonstrate autonomous or good learning behaviors in the future. Therefore, the studies in this approach mainly aim to categorize learner belief by using Lickert-scale questionnaires, such as the Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) (Horwitz, 1985, 1987), modified BALLI questionnaires (Mantle-Bromley, 1995), or other self-developed questionnaires (Cotterall, 1999; Mori, 1997; Sakui & Gaies, 1999). As the most common tool used in the normative approach, questionnaires make it easier for researchers to collect data at different time periods and is less intimidating compared to observation (Barcelo, 2003). However, questionnaires fail to allow learners to 5.

(14) express their beliefs in their own words (Wenden, 1987). Moreover, the beliefs listed in questionnaires are only those predetermined by researchers instead of the beliefs held by learners. There is also a possibility of misinterpretation of questionnaire items (Bernat, 2005). The second approach is the metacognitive approach. It defines belief as metacognitive knowledge, which comprises learners’ “theories in action” that assist learners to reflect on their own learning and to develop autonomous learning behaviors (Wenden, 1987). While belief is used interchangeably with metacognitive. 政治大 that knowledge is factual and objective 立 whereas belief is value-related, subjective, and knowledge, Wenden (1999) made a distinction between the two terms by pointing out. ‧ 國. 學. liable to be held more tenaciously (Wenden, 1999). Another comment made by Kalaja (1995) also differentiates the two terms by pointing out that belief can be. ‧. measured by Lickert-scale, which indicates the degree or the intensity of the belief,. Nat. io. sit. y. whereas knowledge cannot be gauged by degrees.. n. al. er. To further specify the term “metacognitve knowledge”, Flavell (1979). Ch. i n U. v. distinguished three aspects of the knowledge: Knowledge of person variables, task. engchi. variables, and strategy variables. The first deals with knowledge about how learners as individuals learn; the second is knowledge about the nature of a task and the required skills to fulfill the task; the third is the knowledge pertaining to the use of strategies. Applying Flavell’s (1979) categorization, Goh (1997) investigated 40 ESL listeners’ metacognitive knowledge with listening diaries. Results of the study are that language learners were aware of their metacognitive knowledge and could observe as well as express their listening beliefs. With the assumption that learners are able to enunciate their learning beliefs, learners’ beliefs are often explored by content analysis of learner self-report and semi-structured interviews. Some studies 6.

(15) (Cotterall, 1999; Mori, 1997; Sakui & Gaies, 1999; Yang 1999) adopt self-designed questionnaires to probe into particular aspects of the metacognitive knowledge. While the metacognitve approach contributes to an understanding of what learners think about their own learning, it has been criticized by some researchers (Barcelos, 2003; Durfa, 2003). Durfa (2003) maintains that the metacognitive approach focuses on individuality and ignores the importance of contextual factors. In the same vein, Barcelos (2003) also contends that this approach disregards how context influences learner beliefs and does not interpret beliefs from actions, but from. 政治大 the contextual approach立 is proposed to further explore the nature of learner belief and accounts of one’s intention. Due to the insufficiency of the metacognitive approach,. ‧ 國. 學. to take a clearer picture of them with contextual considerations.. ‧. Different from the first two approaches, the contextual approach does not attempt to make generalizations of learner belief; instead, it probes into learner belief. y. Nat. io. sit. in a specific context with diverse methods of data collection and data analysis. Bernat. n. al. er. and Gvozdenko (2005) compiled the data collection and data analysis methods within. Ch. i n U. v. the contextual approach: ethnographic classroom observation, informal discussions,. engchi. stimulated recalls, diaries, discourse analysis, naturalistic interviews, ranking exercises, scenario and discourse analysis. In addition, metaphor analysis is incorporated by Ellis (2002) in the approach to explore learner belief. To explore the dynamic nature of L2 learners’ writing beliefs as well as the impact on the writing instruction, Manchón (2009) investigated 15 university EFL learners’ writing beliefs in an eight-month English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course. Data were collected from a retrospective narrative written by the teacher who taught the course, an interview to the same teacher, and a retrospective questionnaire. 7.

(16) filled by participants at two time points during the course. Results revealed that the instruction influenced learner beliefs on the writing teacher’s role, the nature of writing beliefs, and most significantly, their self-efficacy beliefs. Kim and Yang (2010) also conducted a study to look into learner belief. They explored the situated belief systems of two Korean college students in study-abroad contexts. The data were gathered through autobiographies, semi-structured interviews, and stimulated recall tasks by using photos uploaded to the participants’ blogs. The findings indicated that changes in L2 learning beliefs correlate with the degree of legitimate. 治政 of learner belief is dynamic and is subject to contextual and大 other external influences. 立. peripheral participation in study-abroad contexts. Both studies showed that the nature. ‧ 國. 學. While researchers started to regard learner belief as a dynamic and complex construct (Amuzie & Paula, 2009; Barcelo, 2003; Bernat & Gvozdenko, 2005;. ‧. Manchón, 2009; Tanaka & Ellis, 2003), few studies investigate how learners’. Nat. sit. y. language learning beliefs change over time and how these beliefs interact with the. n. al. er. io. contextual factors. Barcelo (2003) suggested that future research on belief should. i n U. v. involve learners’ experiences, the learners’ interpretation of the experiences, and the. Ch. engchi. social context in which learners’ experiences are molded. Due to the paucity of studies probing into those aspects, there is a need for conducting this study to explore those dimensions of learner belief. The Formation of Learner Belief A number of studies have investigated what shapes learner belief and diversified factors have been identified: family and home background, cultural background, classroom or social peers, interpretations of prior repetitive experiences, level and. 8.

(17) language instruction, the type of language institution, and individual differences, such as gender and personality (Bernat & Gvozdenko, 2005). Apart from the factors that shape learner belief, Gabillon (2005) proposed a hierarchical classification of second Language (L2) learner belief formation, which can be categorized into three phases: social/cultural context, the general education context, and the L2 learning contexts. The first phase consists of cultural representations or cultural beliefs, like values, prejudice, attitude, and stereotypes. Reflecting the perspective of the society and working as learners’ base of belief. 政治大 learning experiences. The 立second phase comprises beliefs about learning, which are construction, those cultural beliefs are often formed before learners have language. ‧ 國. 學. constructed or reconstructed based on learners’ daily learning experiences mostly in formal educational contexts, in classrooms. Possessing some experiences of learning. ‧. other subjects before L2 learning, learners often equate L2 learning with learning. Nat. sit. y. other subjects. Hence, identifying learners’ conception about learning in general. n. al. er. io. together with learners’ perspective on L2 learning may help understand learners’. i n U. v. choices and behaviors when learners carry out language learning tasks.. Ch. engchi. The third phase is composed of the language learning context(s), learners’ cultural beliefs, and learners’ past as well as present learning experiences in general and L2 learning experiences in specific. In this phase, learners began to hold wellestablished beliefs about L2 learning self-efficacy, L2 learners’ roles, L2 language teachers’ roles, and appropriate ways of learning the second language. In his framework, Gabillon (2005) contends that L2 learner belief is (co)constructed, reconstructed, and appropriated through experiences in different phases and internalized into a fraction of the learner’s belief system. While this framework takes different contexts (cultural social context, general educational context, and L2 9.

(18) learning context) into consideration, the hierarchical and progressive perspectives on belief formation may be questionable, since context is not viewed as a background, but as a complicated system itself, linked to and interacted with other complex systems (Freeman, 2008). Therefore, Gabillon’s framework may oversimplify the connections between different contexts. To obtain a more contextualized and individualized perception of learner belief development, Mercer (2011) investigated two expert EFL learners’ language learning beliefs from their personal history with retrospective interviews and the participants’. 政治大 systems are considerably complicated; 立 the interrelated webworks of beliefs are. autobiographical retrospective narrations. Results revealed that the learners’ belief. ‧ 國. 學. responsive to diverse contexts and individual experiences. Additionally, this study challenges the conception of “negative” or “dysfunctional” beliefs. One of the. ‧. participants held some beliefs that are conventionally regarded as negative or. Nat. sit. y. detrimental to learning. These beliefs, however, did not impede her development of. n. al. er. io. proficiency. This research suggested that studies on learner belief should look into. i n U. v. learners’ belief systems with regard to suitability in their personal history, affordances,. Ch. engchi. contexts and purposes instead of making generalized judgement on specific beliefs. The Dynamic Nature of Learner Belief The traditional conception that the nature of learner belief is stable and static has been challenged. Recent studies have argued that learner belief is dynamic and variable (Amuzie & Winke 2009; Durfa, 2003; Gabillon, 2005; Hosenfeld, 2003; Kalaja & Barcelo, 2003; Manchón, 2009; Mercer 2011 Tanaka & Ellis, 2003). Attempts were made to capture belief development and to depict the changing nature of learner belief. Amuzie and Winke (2009) conducted a research on seventy L2. 10.

(19) language learners to explore beliefs and time factor on beliefs. Questionnaires administered at two time points and one-on-one interviews were used to collect the data. Results indicated that learners had undergone belief change on learner autonomy as well as the teacher’s role, and the length of contextual exposure also had an impact on the shift of learner belief. To examine the changing nature of learner belief qualitatively as well as explore the impact of belief on motivated L2 behaviors from the lens of socio-cultural theory, Yang and Kim (2011) investigated two ESL learners’ belief change during their study. 政治大 from language learning立 autobiographies, journal entries, interviews, and stimulated. abroad period, which lasted from five to nine months. Research data were collected. ‧ 國. 學. recall tasks. Then the data were further analyzed based on Strauss and Corbi’s (1998) grounded theory. The finding indicated that L2 learner belief is constantly evolving. ‧. according to the participants’ learning goals and experiences of studying abroad. In. Nat. sit. y. addition, the shift of learner belief depicts a remediation process which gives rise to. n. al. er. io. qualitatively distinctive language learning action. The study argues against the. i n U. v. popular belief that studying abroad is the best way to enhance L2 proficiency. The. Ch. engchi. data revealed that only when learners aligned their beliefs with their L2-rich environment could the environment exert positive influences on language learning. Tanaka and Ellis (2003) also investigated changes of learner belief. The researchers looked into changes of Japanese college students’ beliefs about language learning and their English proficiency during a 15-week study-abroad program. Their learner beliefs were investigated through questionnaires and their English proficiency was measured by the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The results of the study indicated statistically significant changes in the learner beliefs relevant to analytic language learning, experiential language learning and self-efficacy. The 11.

(20) participants’ proficiency also increased significantly. Nevertheless, Pearson product moment correlations between the reported learner beliefs and the TOFEL scores both before and after the study-abroad session were weak. While most studies on belief change center on diverse learner beliefs before and after the study abroad period, Peng (2011) explored learner belief change from senior high school to college study. The research investigated one first-year college student’s belief about English teaching and learning over a duration of seven months since his enrollment. Data collection methods included semi-structured interviews,. 政治大 analyzed using the qualitative content 立 analysis with the assistance of the software classroom observations, and learning journals. Then, the data collected were. ‧ 國. 學. NVivo8. The findings demonstrated a considerable change in learner belief about English learning and teaching during a transition to tertiary education. Furthermore,. ‧. the findings suggested that classroom affordances led to the emergence of language. io. sit. y. Nat. learning beliefs.. n. al. er. To further explore the nature of learner belief, Li (2007) probed into the. Ch. i n U. v. dynamic relationship among culture, identity, and beliefs about writing. The study. engchi. adopted case study methodology to investigate the change of learner beliefs and the reconstruction of writer identity in an ESL context. There are two cases in the study: Data for Case A mainly consists of written documents by and interviews with a firstyear ESL learner; data for Case B was collected through class observation of and interviews with learners and their instructor in an ESL writing class. The results of the study indicated that learners altered their beliefs to adapt to new learning contexts. Furthermore, the findings revealed that culture, identity, and beliefs are interconnected; they work together to reconstruct writing beliefs and writer identity.. 12.

(21) The studies reviewed mainly aim to investigate learners’ dynamic belief systems with only a certain period of time and thus may not be able to demonstrate the change of beliefs across different stages. Moreover, while the studies attempted to capture the dynamic nature of learner belief, less attention was paid to how learners perceive and interpret their learning contexts as well as their experiences. Although contextual factors were mentioned in those studies, few of them explored deeply how learners interact with the context and how this interaction connects to the construction of learner belief. Furthermore, most studies seeking to illustrate the shift of learner. 治政大systems may be inappropriate point. This linear way of investigating learners’ belief 立 belief still strive to compare learners’ different beliefs before and after a certain time. and insufficient to explain the nonlinear and complex language learning reality. As. ‧ 國. 學. Lemke (2002) stated, “certain events widely separated in linear time may not be more. ‧. relevant to meaningful behavior now than other events which are closer in linear. sit. y. Nat. time” (p.80). Hence, exploring learner belief change over time is needed in. io. n. al. er. researching beliefs in the current SLA field.. Ch. engchi. 13. i n U. v.

(22) 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. 14. i n U. v.

(23) CHAPTER 3 Methodology The purpose of this study is to explore the dynamic nature of two Taiwanese MA-TESOL learner beliefs at different stages of their schooling. To probe into the research topic qualitatively with rich descriptions about the participants, the study adopts case study methods. With rich descriptions about the participants, case studies may increase the depth of analysis, raise the level of readability, and help researchers better understand the nature of language learning (Duff, 2008). By using case study. 政治大. methods, it is expected that the present study can explore the nature of learner beliefs. 立. in-depth and to obtain detailed accounts of the participants’ learning experiences as. ‧ 國. 學. well their perceptions toward language learning.. ‧. The data used in the study consist of two semi-structured interviews, a news. sit. y. Nat. excerpt, a supplementary note, and existing narrative data, completed by the. io. al. er. participants while taking a course in a graduate school. Further descriptions about the. n. participants, contexts, data collection, and data analysis are as follows. Participants. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. The participants in this study are two MA-TESOL students, under the pseudonym of Brian and Lily, aged 24 and 30. They are currently pursuing their master’s degrees at a university in northern Taiwan. During their academic pursuit in this university, they took a course that invited them to tell their English learning experiences. Their English learning stories later became one of the initial data for the present study. The participants started learning or having some contact with English in the elementary school stages in informal educational settings, such as home and after-school classes. In high school, they began to receive English education at school. 15.

(24) Both participants were English majors in college and had some teaching experiences. After graduation from college, Lily taught English in a public junior high school in her hometown for four years and then took an unpaid leave from her teaching job to pursue her graduate studies. Different form Lily, Brian went straight to graduate school after college degree. Though he did not possess a formal teaching job, he took a service learning class in college and was required to teach an on-line English course in an elementary school for one year. Table 1 is a summary of the participants’ background. Table 1. 立. Background of the Participants. Second-year MA TESOL. One-year on-line teaching experience in. Third-year MA TESOL. Four-year teaching experience in a junior. y. n. Data Collection. sit. io. er. high school. al. ‧. an elementary school. Nat. Lily. Teaching Experiences. ‧ 國. Brian. Current Year of Study. 學. Participants. 政治大. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. To explore the two Taiwanese MA-TESOL students’ learner belief at different stages of their schooling, narratives of their language learning experiences, two semistructured interviews, a news report about Brian, and a supplementary note from Lily are used in the study. Existing narrative data. The study probes into two Taiwanese MA-TESOL students’ learner belief at different stages of their language learning process. Defined as “any study that uses or analyzes narrative materials”(Lieblich, Tuval-Mashiach, & Zilber, 1998), narratives allow learners the opportunities to voice themselves. To 16.

(25) explore learner belief in depth as well as have a better understanding of the participants’ contexts, the present study first used existing narratives that were created in fall 2009 to further explore the two participants’ language learning beliefs. During the course, the participants were asked to give an account of their English learning experiences in written form and uploaded their first drafts to Moodle, an online course management platform. They then discussed all the narratives with their peers. During the process of sharing language learning histories, they were inspired by others’ stories as well as reflected upon their own. Afterwards, they reconstructed. 政治大. their stories and uploaded their second drafts to the previous online platform. The. 立. next time in class, they would discuss the modified versions and made further. ‧ 國. 學. addition or revision. The interactive and reflective process went on till the end of the semester and the final versions of their language learning histories were uploaded to. ‧. Moodle. Both English and Chinese versions of the narratives were added afterwards. y. Nat. sit. so that the participants could express their experiences more freely and thoroughly in. n. al. er. io. their mother tongue. Therefore, there are multiple versions of the narrative data,. i n U. which made a trustworthy basis for the current study.. Ch. engchi. v. Semi-structured interviews. In order to address the research focus of this study, in addition to the existing narrative data, two one-on-one semi-structured interviews with the two participants were conducted respectively. Defined as “A schedule for interviews which has a partially planned framework” (Swetnam, 2007, p.129), semistructured interviews allow researchers to use pre-designed but flexibly-phrased questions to probe into the research issue in depth. With the relatively flexible framework, semi-structured-interviews offer the possibilities for new themes and. 17.

(26) issues to emerge in the process of data collection and enable researchers to clarify interviewees’ responses with follow-up questions. The framework of the questions inquired in the first interview is similar to that of the Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) developed by Horwitz (1987). In this study, it is the conceptual frame that is used, not the inventory, to design interview questions and use as initial codes. The BALLI has been widely used to investigate learner belief in relation to second or foreign language aptitude (Bernat 2007; Howritz 1988, 1989; Kern 1995; Nikitina, 2006; Siebert 2003; Tanaka & Ellis,. 政治大. 2003; Tumposky 1991; Yang 1999). It comprises thirty-four items, measured by a. 立. five-point Licker scale. The items are classified into five categories: (1) Foreign. ‧ 國. 學. language aptitude, (2) the difficulty of language learning, (3) the nature of language learning, (4) learning and communication strategies, and (5) motivations. The first. ‧. category is concerned with conceptions about special ability for language learning and. y. Nat. sit. beliefs about the characteristics of successful learners. The second one deals with the. n. al. er. io. difficulty level of learning a foreign or a second language and with the relative. i n U. v. difficulty of different language skills. The third one is mainly about learners’ beliefs. Ch. engchi. on the importance of different language skills. As for the aspect of learning and communication strategies, it concerns how to learn English and how to communicate in English. The last one, motivation, relates to learners’ integrative as well as instrumental motivations. While the BALLI is a well-established and widely-used questionnaire for researching language learning beliefs, participants’ responses are quite limited, for they can only express their degree of agreement to pre-determined items. To improve this problem, this study adapts the original items to open-ended questions to allow the. 18.

(27) participants to voice their beliefs more freely. Additionally, the adapted questions mainly investigate learners’ second language learning beliefs instead of foreign language learning in general; thus the term “foreign language” in the BALLI is replaced with the word “English”, which is the second language learned by the two participants. Furthermore, the critical beliefs subjectively determined by the participants were also explored with the intention to find out some significant beliefs that exist outside of the Horwitz’s framework. The adapted questions of language learning beliefs are attached in Appendix A.. 政治大 stages of their schooling 立with Horwitz’s framework of language learning belief. Since the study aims to investigate the participants’ learner beliefs at different. ‧ 國. 學. inventory, each participant was asked the same set of questions at different stages, including elementary school, junior high school, senior high school, university, and. ‧. postgraduate school stages. For example, one of the participants was asked about. Nat. sit. y. questions on the beliefs held in the elementary school stage and then the same set of. n. al. er. io. questions would be asked again, but this time the beliefs concerned are those held in. i n U. v. junior high school. Similar process went on until the fifth round of questions focusing. Ch. engchi. on learner beliefs at postgraduate stage.. The two semi-structured interviews were captured on a recorder. The first interview lasted from three to five hours and mainly focused on the language learning beliefs held by the participants and how those beliefs changed over time. The second interview was conducted several weeks after the first interview and lasted from one to three hours. The interval is intended to be a time for the participants to reflect upon their language learning beliefs, while the researcher can also endeavor to find some possible links between the participants’ narratives and the data obtained through the first interview (Please see Appendix B for questions designed for one of the 19.

(28) participants in the second interview). Between the first and the second interview, the researcher and a coder tentatively analyzed the narratives using Horwitz’s framework. Then, they looked into the connection between the initial analysis to generate a number of open-ended questions for the second semi-structured interview. Thus, the second interview aims to clarify, verify, and go deeper with the issues discovered after the first interview. A news report about Brian. The researcher found a news report about Brian on the internet. Since Brain won the championship at a nation-wide speech contest, he. 政治大 his English learning story. Brian 立was interviewed around March, 2011, three months. was interviewed by a News reporter about his English learning suggestions as well as. ‧ 國. 學. before he received the first interview of the present study.. ‧. A supplementary note from Lily. Around three months after the second interview, Lily emailed the researcher a supplementary note to clarify part of her. y. Nat. io. sit. narrative data and to add more information regarding the questions asked in the. n. al. er. second interview. The length of the note is around 533 words and mainly covers. Ch. i n U. v. three issues: The first issue is the impact of her learning experience on her teaching. engchi. method; the second one is the learning context in her junior high school days in comparison to that of junior high schools nowadays; the last one is to clarify her narration about how western culture influenced her. Lily’s supplementary note is attached in Appendix C. Data Analysis The two semi-structured interviews were transcribed and further analyzed using content analysis with Hortwitz’s framework of language learning beliefs. Narratives were coded with the same framework. To guard the trustworthiness of the study, a. 20.

(29) graduate student with TESOL background was invited to code the raw data with the researcher and coder check was applied. During the coding process, emerging themes outside of the existing framework were discussed. Additionally, the transcriptions of the raw data were examined by the participants, which member checking process can reinforce the trustworthiness of the research. Initial coding: Categorical-Content approach. In this study, the narratives and the transcriptions of the two semi-structured interviews were initially analyzed using content analysis, a categorical-content approach for narrative analysis. In this. 政治大 separate pieces of information 立 will be selected out, and then classified into various. approach, the themes or the categories of the research topic have to be defined, and. ‧ 國. 學. categories (Lieblich, Tuval-Mashiach, & Zilber, 1998). The narratives and the transcriptions of the interviews were coded using Horwitz’s classification of language. ‧. learning beliefs, which falls into five subcategories: foreign language aptitude, the. Nat. sit. y. difficulty of language learning, the nature of language learning, learning and. n. al. er. io. communication strategies, and motivation. After the initial coding, however, the. i n U. v. researcher had difficulty analyzing the data with the categorical-content approach,. Ch. engchi. since part of the data could be classified into different categories and thus resulted in overlapping. In addition, the framework was stiff and could not go well with the participants’ beliefs. To better analyze the data in a more flexible way, the research adopted holistic-content approach instead (Lieblich, Tuval-Mashiach, & Zilber, 1998). Coding: Holistic-Content approach. Holistic-content Approach allows the researcher to read the data as a whole and explore the data in-depth without being confined by distinctive categories. According to Lieblich et al. (1998, p.62), the steps of analyzing data from a holistic perspective can be summarized as follows:. 21.

(30) 1. Read the material several times until a pattern emerges; 2. Put the initial and global impression of the case into writing; 3. Decide on special foci of content or themes in the story; 4. Read the themes separately and repeatedly; 5. Follow each theme through out the story and note your conclusions. Following the Holistic-content Approach, the researcher found several themes, which are related to context, self, identity, and test. The relationship between these. 政治大. themes and learner beliefs is presented in the fourth and fifth chapters.. 立. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. 22. i n U. v.

(31) CHAPTER 4 Findings. This study aims to investigate two MA TESOL students’ language learning beliefs across different stages of their lives. The participants’ language learning stories are presented in this chapter to provide a big picture of their backgrounds as well as their critical learning experiences. Then, important beliefs held by the participants are advanced for further analysis. The last section discusses what English. 政治大 perceived English is closely related to his language learning beliefs. 立. means to Brian at different phases of his life, for the researcher found that how Brian. ‧ 國. 學. Brian. ‧. This section presents Brian’s language learning story and his critical language learning experiences.. sit. y. Nat. io. n. al. er. Brian’s language learning story.. i n U. v. Elementary school. Brian had his first contact with English when he was a third. Ch. engchi. grader in elementary school. His father bought him a set of video cassette tapes which taught kids conversational English. For Brian, using this English material was more like entertainment than learning. At that time, he did not take English learning seriously. When he became a fifth grader, he was sent to an after-school class by his father to study school subjects, which mainly focused on math and science. Once in a while, his teacher in the cram would teach his students English. Though Brian began his English education at this stage, he did not have much exposure to English.. 23.

(32) Junior high school. At thirteen, Brian entered a so-called “aristocratic” junior high school, which was expensive and stringent. Brian’s junior high school life was the synonym of endless tests. Fighting for his scores seemed to be his major task at school. What came along with those tests was keen competition among peers: My peers were for the most part competing with one another, trying to perform better [than others] in grades. I did not have too much interaction with them except comparing grades with them. (Interview 062311) Some of Brian’s classmates were sent to English cram schools when little to. 政治大. have a headstart and thus were expected to perform better in English. Although. 立. feeling unfair, Brian did not feel inferior to his peers. Comparing learning English to. ‧ 國. 學. saving money, Brian remarks,. ‧. If one starts to save money earlier than I do, of course he has more money.. sit. y. Nat. And I can save money afterwards to keep up with him. He just starts to save. io. al. er. money earlier than I do, but saving money earlier does not mean that he has a. n. better chance than I do to become a millionaire. (Interview 062311). Ch. engchi. i n U. v. In junior high school, as an obedient student, Brian learned whatever his teacher taught him by heart. To him, English learning was memorization. He says, I did not ponder on the most effective way of English learning. I just memorized what my teacher taught me. At that time, I thought memorization was more practical for me, and my teacher also asked us to learn by heart. (Interview 062311). 24.

(33) Though most of the time Brian only attempted to remember what was taught by his English teacher, he also explored the rules of English, but he ended up feeling frustrated. To me, English was more about memorization [than analysis]. I seldom investigated why this sentence was put this way or what the connotation of this sentence was. In terms of math, I would try to figure out how formulas were derived and I also tried to explore rules of English. But I found that the harder I tried to figure them out, the more frustrated I felt, because sometimes I could. 政治大. not use logic to explain a certain structure. (Interview 062311). 立. In junior high school, Brian had regular English classes taught by a Taiwanese. ‧ 國. 學. English teacher, and once a week he also had a conversation class instructed by a. ‧. native English-speaking teacher.. sit. y. Nat. From the learning experiences in the conversation class, Brian started to perceive. io. n. al. er. that what was taught in his regular English classes was not sufficient.. i n U. v. I thought that learning in the classroom was not enough. After I had. Ch. engchi. conversation classes, which were taught by a native English-speaking teacher, I found that real language use required more English competence and what was taught in our textbook was not sufficient for real communication. (Interview 062311) At this stage, Brian took the basic level of General English Proficiency Test (GEPT), a criterion-referenced test which measures examinees’ listening, reading, writing, and speaking abilities. The experience of taking the GEPT also made Brian aware that his English ability still left much to be desired:. 25.

(34) The test results of [the GEPT basic test] was awful. I failed the listening test. My scores of the writing test were low since I had not trained my writing skills. I passed the reading test. At that time, I found that my English was worse than I had expected. […] From then on, I started to use my GEPT test scores as one of the criteria to weigh my English proficiency level. (Interview 062311) Perceiving the insufficiency of his English ability, he, however, did not seek other extracurricular English materials during junior high school days since he was too busy dealing with other school subjects.. 政治大. I did not look for other extracurricular English materials because I had to study. 立. many subjects, not just English. I had to take care of other subjects, too. I. ‧ 國. 學. would not spend extra time on learning English except for memorizing. ‧. vocabulary and preparing for tests. As for dealing with the conversation class, I just consulted my dictionary for unknown words. That’s it. (Interview 062311). sit. y. Nat. io. er. Senior high school. The summer before entering senior high school, Brian. al. started to study Let’s Talk in English, an English learning magazine borrowed from. n. v i n C hthe magazine, he U his elder brother. In addition to reading e n g c h i also began to build a habit of listening to the English broadcast of the magazine. At this stage, he became more aware of the importance of multisensory input of English: I was motivated to learn the topics in the magazine because they were very interesting and I no longer relied on reading English only. I began to notice that learning English should involve multi-sensory processes to increase the amount of exposure in context. (Brian’s English Narrative in 2009). 26.

(35) Apart from English learning magazines, Brain would listen to English songs, for he considered that effective English learning was fun and enjoyable: At that time, I also listened to English songs. Most of time, I listened to classic songs in the sixties or seventies. I think that the most effective learning methods are [ways that make learners feel] happy. And listening to songs is very relaxing. (Interview 062311) To advance his English, he absorbed other successful English learners’ experiences from so-called “How to learn English well” books. From perusing those. 政治大. books, he observed several features of those successful learners:. 立. ‧ 國. 學. I noted that successful language learners shared some common traits: The first trait is that they devoted much effort to learning [English]; the second one is. sit. Nat. continuously. Life-long learning. (Interview 062311). y. ‧. that they have interest in English; the third one is that they learn English. n. al. er. io. To measure his English proficiency, Brian took the basic, intermediate, and. i n U. v. high-intermediate levels of the GEPT. At this stage, he also participated in speech. Ch. engchi. contests and won the second prize in a regional speech contest. Moreover, he was the only student who received a certificate of merit in every listening test at school. He also obtained high scores in other academic exams. With his excellent academic achievement, his self-confidence toward English also escalated. Contrary to his excellent performance in English, Brian did terribly on his science subjects. He reported in his English narrative 2009: When my English seemed to soar like a skyscraper, my emphasis on other subject matters decreased to a degree that I almost abandoned studying other. 27.

(36) subjects because I did not enjoy learning [them] and I saw no purpose for studying physics, math, and science and so on. Having more enjoyment and sense of achievement in English than science subjects in senior high school, Brian invested most of his time and energy in English rather than other subjects. The summer vacation before the third year of senior high school, Brian joined Toastmasters’ Youth Leadership Program. In the final presentation of the program, he was appointed as the chairperson, which was a big encouragement for him. With. 政治大. his gleeful English learning experience in senior high school, Brian decided to choose. 立. English as his major in university.. ‧ 國. 學. University. In university, Brian keenly took courses in the training of four skills,. ‧. literature, linguistics, and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).. sit. y. Nat. From his experiences of taking courses, Brian developed a deeper understanding of. io. al. n. only:. er. English and began to think that English Learning did not consist of memorization. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. I found that English is not just, as most people think, memorization, because learning English may involves many skills or abilities. For example, one can use English to read literary works, which also counts as a kind of learning. When one reads those works, he has to read their figurative meaning, not just the surface meaning.. The ability to read the figurative meaning or the. connotation cannot be trained through mere memorization. It may require some imagination or other abilities. (Interview 062311). 28.

(37) Receiving academic English training in university, Brian started to reconceptualize four skills. What he meant by reconceptualizing four skills was to broaden his knowledge of language learning and to learn more advanced language skills, such as making a summary and reading critically. He explains, To me, it’s actually a brand new way of learning. I would reconceptualize four skills. In terms of listening, as I mentioned before, one should learn how to capture the key information. As for reading, I would read critically. For example, maybe my opinion is different from that of the author or there may be. 政治大 academic. (Interview, 立 062311). flaws in the author’s reasoning. I found that the training in university is more. ‧ 國. 學. In his freshman year, from the experiences of taking literature courses, Brian. ‧. changed his reading strategy and began to place more emphasis on the comprehension of literary works than new words or grammatical structures of the text. He states,. sit. y. Nat. io. er. I still remember that when I was a freshman, I took Introduction to Literature. al. and some other courses. At that time, I was still a good student and attempted. n. v i n Ceach to check the meaning of and analyzed the grammar of h enew n gvocabulary chi U. literary works. However, afterwards I found that I could answer my teachers’ questions without knowing every word and closely examining its grammar. Later I realized that comprehension of the text is more important [than digging into the lexical and grammatical details]. (Interview 062311) Apart from the change of his reading strategy, Brian also reported that his conception about writing altered after receiving his teacher’s feedback on his composition in the freshman writing class.. 29.

(38) When I was a freshman, I preferred to use difficult words [in my composition], at that time, my teacher told me that [the use of words would vary] according to the purpose of my writing. Originally, I thought difficult vocabulary and patterns mean good English. However, later I found that hard words would hinder communication. If my writing purpose is to help readers understand [the message I want to convey], I do not need to use highly difficult words. (Interview 062311) In the sophomore year, Brian started to take courses in Linguistics and TESOL.. 政治大 getting stuck by the language.立 He says,. At this stage, he reported that he had difficulty understanding the content instead of. ‧ 國. 學. I began to learn some theories about language since I was a sophomore. What. ‧. would hinder my comprehension was not the language per se but the content per se. (Interview 062311). sit. y. Nat. io. er. In addition to the regular courses, he participated in a variety of English contests,. al. including English speech contests, English debates, English recitation contests,. n. v i n C h He perceived English jeopardy, and spelling bee competitions. e n g c h i U contests as a way to enhance his English competence. In addition to various English contests, Brian took. part in activities that involved more social interactions with international visitors and students, for he would like to apply what he learned to his real life. The summer before the last year of college, the Office of International Affairs in my school started a student ambassador program. I applied for the position and luckily was selected as one of the student ambassadors. At that time, I had many opportunities to receive international visitors. For example, I would bring them to visit the National Palace Museum. Then I could chat with them about 30.

(39) some culture issues. […] I think my learning motivation shifted from language learning to activities that require using English. I wanted to apply what I learned [into real life] and connected what I learned with my life, not just to study or to say the things in the textbook. (Interview 062311) From observing his peers, Brian found that being extrovert but meticulous are important to language learning. He explains why he considered these two features critical to learning English: In my freshman year, I saw many examples of good language learners. First of. 政治大. all, one has to be very extrovert. He cannot be introvert. It will be hard for him. 立. to foster his communication ability if he does not communicate with other. ‧ 國. 學. people at all. Second, one has to be very meticulous. He cannot be careless.. ‧. Take French for example, when one uses French, he has to be attentive to the consistency of Gender. He has to take language learning seriously. If one. y. Nat. er. io. sit. wants to learn a language, then learn it well. (Interview 062311). al. Brian perceived being extrovert so critical in developing communicative. n. v i n C hto change his originally competence that he was willing e n g c h i U introvert disposition. When asked if he was an extrovert, Brian gave the following response: I think I am an introvert, but when I need to act more outgoing, the proportion of [introversion and extroversion in my personality] will change. Initially I think my personality consisted of 20% extroversion and 80% introversion. I can be introvert when I learn grammar and vocabulary, but when I need to communicate with others, I have to interact with them. (Interview062311). 31.

(40) The experience of taking the GEPT advanced test also reinforced his belief that being extrovert is vital, for the test required test takers to have a conversation with two to fou interlocutors during the test. After taking the GEPT advanced test, he found that he needed to strengthen his communicative ability. To hone his English speaking, he actively sought opportunities to interact with native and non-native English speakers. When I was a sophomore, I found that I had a bottleneck due to the experience of taking the advanced level of the GEPT. [During the GEPT test,] I need to. 政治大 said. Those abilities require 立 cooperation with others. It is also fine if one just. discuss with people. I need to do a summary of what you [other examinees] just. ‧ 國. 學. completely depends on himself, like reading and translating an article by himself, but then he will not be able to get feedback from others. This kind of. ‧. practice may lack a sense of authenticity, so I think I need to make some. Nat. sit. y. improvement. […] To have real communication, I think that one needs to chat. n. al. er. io. with foreigners or to join [English-learning] clubs, [English] bible study, and. i n U. other [English speaking] activities. (Interview 062311). Ch. engchi. v. Postgraduate stage. In the second semester of the senior year in college, Brian took the entrance exam of a graduate school in Northern Taiwan. He passed the exam and became a graduate student. In graduate school, students had to give presentations of research papers. From observing his peers in graduate school, he found that one should be risk-taking in terms of speaking. My observation is that one cannot be too shy; one must dare to try and be risktaking. If one is too shy, he or she will encounter obstacles in communication.. 32.

(41) I found that some classmates were really anxious. I think that they did not have to feel that way. Just try your best to speak up. (Interview 062311) Brian considered that the focus of graduate school is research. In comparison to reading and writing research papers, English learning was perceived as an entertainment to him. I think graduate school is for doing research. It involves more reading and writing skills. As for listening and speaking, things like listening to CNN news had become an entertainment, compared to the serious academic stuffs. In. 政治大. terms of reading and writing, I will pay attention to how researchers present. 立. ideas or how they justify their research motivations. I will also notice the logic. ‧ 國. 學. of texts. […] I think doing research involves logical thinking, which already. ‧. goes beyond language level. (Interview 062311). sit. y. Nat. Although Brian reported that graduate school centers on research, he still spent. io. al. er. much time on English learning, for he already made English learning part of his. n. everyday life. When he was interviewed by a news reporter in 2011, he stated,. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. I grasp every opportunity to learn English. When I take the bus, I translate other passengers’ conversation into English. I remember once when my parents had a quarrel, I also interpreted their argument into English. Recognizing the importance of English, Brian is willing to devoted himself to English learning and actively creates English learning opportunities in his daily life.. 33.

(42) Brian’s learner beliefs. Elementary school: No clear idea about English learning yet. In elementary school, Brian had little knowledge of how English should be learned. As a beginner, he had little conception about English, not to mention how to learn this foreign language effectively. In addition, he could not perceive the importance or usefulness of English because he saw no link between English and his life, and English was not yet a subject to him in formal school. Junior high school: a. Effort is the key to the success of language learning.. 政治大. Brian thought the source of this belief might come from Confucianism, though the. 立. influence seemed subtle. He states,. ‧ 國. 學. This [belief] might be related to the education I received. Maybe I am. ‧. unconsciously influenced by what I frequently hears and sees. It probably has. sit. y. Nat. to do with Confucianism, [which places emphasis on] effort and teachings like. io. al. n. my value system (Interview 070311). Ch. engchi. er. “ Constant dropping wears away a stone.” Gradually I accepted them as part of. i n U. v. Junior high school: b. English learning is memorization. In junior high school, as an obedient student, Brian just learned whatever his teacher taught him by heart. To him, English learning is memorization. Though most of time Brian just remembered what was taught by his English teacher, he did attempt to explore the rules of English, but ended up feeling frustrated. Junior high school: c. I studied English mainly to cope with tests. In junior high school, Brian was in an exam-oriented context. At this stage, he did not enjoy English learning and would not spend much time on English. Except for textbooks,. 34.

(43) he did not use any other English learning materials and he studied English mostly when exams were approaching. To Brian, English was just a school subject and he studied English mainly to cope with tests. Senior High School: a. Language learning is fun. b. Language learning should be holistic. c. Continuous effort is vital to the success of language learning.. 政治大. d. My goal is to make daily progress in English. In senior. 立. high school, from reading numerous successful learners’ English learning stories,. ‧ 國. 學. Brian learned that language learning requires fun element, holistic learning methods, and continuous effort. At this stage, he gained access to multisensory English. ‧. exposure, including English magazines, English songs, English movies, and English. Nat. sit. y. broadcasts. From these English resources, he found enjoyment in English learning. n. al. er. io. and was willing to devote more time and energy into it. What’s more, as mentioned. i n U. v. in Brian’s story, he used the results of the GEPT as a criterion of his English progress.. Ch. engchi. Since the GEPT tested all four skills, he was aware that holistic development of language skills was vital. On top of that, from those English learning stories, he learned that English learning requires continuous effort since there is no end to learning the language. Realizing the importance of continuous effort, his learning goal was to make daily progress in English. University: a. Learning English involves more than memorization. While in high school Brian considered English learning as memorization, this belief changed when he entered university, which provided various courses in literature and. 35.

(44) linguistics. From his experiences of taking those courses, Brian gained a deeper understanding of English and began to think that English Learning did not consist of memorization only. At this stage, Brian reported that he started to reconceptualize four skills. What he meant by reconceptualizing four skills was to broaden his knowledge of language learning and to learn more advanced language skills, such as making a summary and reading critically. University: b. Language learning should be connected to one’s life. During the last two years in college, Brian wanted to move beyond language skills and apply. 政治大 be立 linked to everyday life. With. what he learned into his life. He thought English did not merely exist in the textbook; instead, language should. this belief, Brian. ‧ 國. 學. voluntarily participated in various activities that required using the language, such as the student ambassador program and English camps.. ‧. University: c. Being extrovert but meticulous are important in English. y. Nat. io. sit. learning. From observing his peers, Brian found that being extrovert and meticulous. n. al. er. are critical to develop English communicative competence. Brian perceived that. Ch. i n U. v. being extrovert was so critical in developing communicative competence that he was. engchi. willing to change his originally introvert disposition. The experience of taking the advanced level of the GEPT also reinforced his belief that being extrovert is vital. After taking the test, he found that he needed to seek opportunities to chat with native as well as non-native English speakers to strengthen his communicative competence. Postgraduate stage: a. The focus in graduate school is doing research instead of learning English.. Brian considered that graduate education aims to develop. abilities of doing research. He reported that doing research requires one to read. 36.

(45) journal papers and to make compelling arguments when writing thesis, which abilities are beyond language learning level. Postgraduate stage: b. English learning is ubiquitous. As aforementioned Brian made English learning part of his life in graduate school. Possessing this belief, he could turn trivial things in daily life into English learning opportunities. To him, language learning opportunities are/can be created everywhere. What English means to Brian.. 政治大 school, Brian did not take English learning seriously. Although he only had a very 立. Elementary school: English is something that my peers pursue. In elementary. ‧ 國. 學. vague idea about English learning, he did notice that his classmates studied this language when he was not.. ‧. “ When you are with your peers, when you see everyone is pursuing a certain. Nat. sit. y. thing, it is very strange if you don’t pursue it; […] If everybody is doing the. n. al. er. io. same thing and you do not do it, you will become an outcast, and you want to be part of the group. (Interview 062311). Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Junior high school: English is a subject. Different from the previous stage, English started to become a required school subject at Brian’s junior high school stage, which was packed with countless quizzes and tests. Though Brian was an obedient student who strived to achieve good academic performance, he felt perplexed about the purpose of studying English, for he could not see the connection between English and his life. Senior high school: “English is a sky where I can further develop myself.” In senior high school, from reading English learning magazines, he began to enjoy. 37.

(46) learning English. On top of that, he also gained a great sense of achievement from his excellent performances in English exams as well as contests. Gradually Brian found that English was something that he was good at and interested in. In his eyes, English was a sky, a space where he could develop himself. University: English is my major, my expertise, and my future profession. Choosing English as his major, Brian was aware that his future career would be closely related to English, though he was not sure what his future job would be. Furthermore, as an English major, he knew his English must be excellent to match. 政治大 to search for a variety of English 立learning opportunities.. this identity and therefore he was dedicated to English learning and took the initiative. ‧ 國. 學. Postgraduate stage: a. English is entertainment. Brian considered that the. ‧. focus of graduate school is doing research. Compared to the relatively dry and serious process of doing research, English learning was more like an entertainment to. er. io. sit. y. Nat. Brian.. al. Postgraduate stage: b. English is part of me. As aforementioned, Brian. n. v i n attempted to merge English learningCinto His English learning had become h ehisnlife. gchi U ubiquitous and he could convert almost anything into an English opportunity. Just like what he said in the first interview, “ English has become every fiber of me. I cannot separate it from myself.” English had become part of Brian, part of his identity. In graduate school, he merged English into his life and his English learning was ubiquitous. When he was interviewed by a news reporter in 2011, he even said “Learning English is like breathing. It is very natural,” which demonstrates that. 38.

探討學習者的語言學習信念之動態本質： 兩位英語教學所碩士生的個案研究 - 政大學術集成

探討學習者的語言學習信念之動態本質：兩位英語教學所碩士生的個案研究 - 政大學術集成