Author(s)

Gong Xudong ¹, Zou Xia ¹, Gong Yumei ²

Affiliation(s)

¹ School of Foreign Languages, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, Yunnan, 650500, China
² Law School, Yunnan University, Kunming, Yunnan, 650500, China

Corresponding Author

Zou Xia

ABSTRACT

Chinese colleges have traditionally placed a high value on the development of students' "autonomous learning" abilities, with the goal of helping them learn English on their own being one of the main teaching goals. The way that students learn English autonomously is influenced by a variety of elements, including emotional factors, classroom teaching styles, learning methods, and more. This study aims to investigate how students' emotional factors—learning motivation, anxiety, attitude, and teacher-student relationship—affect their autonomous learning of English. In this study, we conducted a questionnaire survey among 193 non-English majors in Kunming and conducted interviews with some students. Research indicates that learning motivation, anxiety, attitude, and other emotional factors significantly influence students' autonomous learning. Learning motivation and autonomous learning are positively correlated; anxiety negatively affects students' learning and self-confidence; learning attitude and autonomous learning are closely related; and developing a positive learning attitude is essential to learning a foreign language. Therefore, we should utilize all available educational resources to increase students' intrinsic motivation for learning; implement efficient learning techniques to lessen the incidence of learning anxiety; make clear the purpose of autonomous learning; and adjust students' positive learning attitudes to boost the effectiveness of autonomous learning in English.

KEYWORDS

English Learning; Autonomous Learning; Affective Factors

CITE THIS PAPER

Gong Xudong, Zou Xia, Gong Yumei, A Study of Affective Factors Affecting College Students' Autonomous English Learning. Advances in Educational Technology and Psychology (2023) Vol. 7: 6-17. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/aetp.2023.071802.

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