a-comparative-analysis-of-chinese-and-american-university-students’-learning-autonomy--英语专业.doc

A COMPARATIVE
ANALYSIS OF CHINESE AND AMERICAN
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ LEARNING AUTONOMY
By

Under the supervision of

A THESIS
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
BACHELOR OF ART
In English Language and Literature
College of Foreign Languages
Shaanxi Normal University
May, 2014

vi2

Acknowledgement
I would like to express my gratitude to all those who helped me during the writing of  this thesis. 
I gratefully acknowledge the help of my supervisor, Professor. xxxxxxxxxxxx, 
who has offered me valuable suggestions in the academic studies. In the preparation of the  thesis, he has spent much time reading through each draft and provided me 
with inspiring advice. Without his patient instruction, insightful criticism and expert  guidance, the completion of this thesis would not have been possible. 
I also owe a special debt of gratitude to all the professors in Foreign Languages Department, from whose devoted teaching and enlightening lectures I have benefited a lot and  academically prepared for the thesis. 
I should finally like to express my gratitude to my beloved parents who have always been helping me out of difficulties and supporting without a word of complaint. 

A Comparative Analysis of Chinese and American University Students’ Learning Autonomy
Abstract
Generally, universities in China adopt the cultivation mode of stringent entry and stringent exit, which is also based on the needs to respect personality development of college students. As a result, most college students are always in a free-range education state after entry into universities: learning tasks are suddenly alleviated, and teachers and parents will not impose too much stress. Instead, college students are made to be confronted with numerous confusions by autonomous management authorities given to them. They have no idea about how to spend their academic life and what to do. However, learning autonomy atmosphere is better in American universities. In an American campus, you can see students learning in various styles. Some are deep in thought, staring at their computers. Some are concentrated on reading with thick books in hands. Some are in intense debates on the lawn. Actually, active learning habits of American college students are not formed in one day. Instead, they are facilitated by various factors.
The purpose of this paper is to discuss current learning autonomy conditions, relevant similarities and differences between American and Chinese university students under different political, social and educational backgrounds through analysis on current autonomic learning conditions of American and Chinese university students, so as to guide and cultivate learning autonomy practices of university students in China.

Keywords: Learning Autonomy, Comparative analysis, Chinese, American, University
摘 要
我国高校普遍实行的严进宽出的培养模式,同时也基于尊重大学生个性发展的需要,因此大学生在步入大学学校后往往处于放养的教育状态中:学习的任务突然减轻了,老师和家长也不会施加太多压力,被赋予的自主管理权力反而让大学生们面临着诸多困惑,不知道大学生活该如何过,该干些什么?而美国的大学校园自主学习氛围则较为浓厚。走在校园之中，满眼都是以各种学习方式学习的学生，有的盯着笔记本电脑凝神思索，有的捧着厚厚的书本在专心阅读，还有三三两两的学生在草坪上激烈地争论学术问题。事实上，美国大学生这种主动学习的习惯并不是一朝一夕形成的，而是各种因素共同促就的。
本文旨在通过分析中美大学生自主学习现状,探讨两国在不同的政治、社会、教育背景下大学生自主学习现状以及它们的异同，深入剖析造成这一现象的原因，从而更好的指导和培养我国大学生的自主学习实践。

关键词： 自主学习；对比分析；中国；美国；大学
Table of Contents
Acknowledgement i
Abstract ii
摘 要 ii
Table of Contents ii
I. Introduction 2
A. Background of the Study 2
B. Purpose 2
C. Significance 2
D. Research Question 2
II. Important Concept 2
A. Definition of Learning Autonomy 2
B. Classification of Learning Autonomy 2
III. Comparasion of American and Chinese Studenes’ Learning Autonumy 2
A. Educational Values and Practice 2
B. Pedagogical Administration 2
1. Curriculum and Course Design 2
2. Course Load & Assignment 2
3. Teaching Approaches 2
4. Students’ Motivation and Strategies 2
5. In-class and Outside-class Autonomy 2
IV. Analysis of Underlying Causes 2
A. Historical 2
B. Constitutional Values 2
V. Conclusion 2
A. Change Traditional Educational Concept 2
B. Innovate Teaching Methods 2
C. Reform Students’ Learning Pattern 2
D. Further Deepen Reform of the Credit System 2
E. Reform the Employment Mechanism of Universities 2
F. Increase the Investment to School Resources 2
References 2

I. Introduction
A. Background of study
An American expert said: "In the future, an illiterate person is not the one who can't recognize words but the one who can't learn." All educators in China know this ancient Chinese proverb: "give a man a fish and you feed him for a day." The aim of education must be the training of independently acting and thinking individuals. Learning autonomy should be a major form of study for university students.
Learning autonomy has different titles and different definitions in different theories. In some studies, it is called self-regulated learning, self-organized learning, or self-study, etc.. However, they all have one common character, which is, autonomy. In fact, learning autonomy is a school of education which sees learners as individuals who can and should be autonomous, i.e., be responsible for their own learning climate. This kind of education helps students develop their self-consciousness, vision, practicality, and freedom of discussion. Up till now, we can perceive some successful cases in which learning autonomy strategy is applied, such as classroom education, distance learning, flexible education and so on.
Since the world is developing fast, more and more students get the access to Internet, television, e-books, and all kinds of multimedia. Without a teacher, they still will be able to learn by themselves; without going to school, they are capable of studying at home. As the United States ranks the number one technology kingdom in the world, its educational system make students’ learning autonomy in well-developing. Due to different cultural backgrounds and traditions, Chinese university students’ learning autonomy and American university students’ learning autonomy are not the same. In American university, the learning autonomy strategy is more widely used. Hence, it is necessary to do a survey on it and tries to learn good tactics from American so as to help promote Chinese students’ learning autonomy, especially in the aspect of university students’ learning autonomy.
B. Purpose
The teaching and learning in university is demanded to develop student competency which is indicated by their behavior, attitudes, and knowledge. The development of teaching and learning process within this level is little bit different from that of within the basic and secondary level. The learning autonomy of university students are the root for the learning process of an adult learner. According to another definition, learning autonomy is a process of directing the learners’ self-motivation to develop the potential in learning of an object without any pressure or external influences. Moreover, student is an adult human being who is expected to position him/herself as an autonomous learners in which they are able to decide the learning strategies and relevant resources to optimize their leaning capability.
In applied linguistics, learning autonomy is a good way to help students accomplish innovative study. If it is properly used, the teaching effects can be strengthened to a large extent. China has a long history in education. However, the whole world develops in a very fast pace and it is time to take a look at the world’s educational trend. This paper analyses Chinese and American university students’ learning autonomy, takes in good points of learning autonomy in American education, provides some suggestions and tries to apply learning autonomy strategy to Chinese university education in a better way.
C. Significance
The new technological revolution and the information revolution had triggered a "knowledge explosion" on the future of physical education presents new challenges. Students learning autonomy is the fundamental guarantee of individual lifelong development. Learning autonomy should be a major form of study for university students. Therefore, in order to adapt to social development and progress, the students should update their knowledge base and work into the community after obtaining the required life knowledge and skills in order to have the basic conditions for sustainable development. To abandon the traditional concepts of education, focusing on the cultivation of students' learning autonomy to promote the healthy development of their physical and mental aspects is very important.
D. Research Question
Generally, China’s colleges and universities adopt the cultivation mode of stringent entry and stringent exit, which is also based on the needs to respect personality development of college students. As a result, most college students are always in a free-range education state after entry into universities: learning tasks are suddenly alleviated, and teachers and parents will not impose too much stress. Instead, college students are made to be confronted with numerous confusions by autonomous management authorities given to them. They have no idea about how to spend their academic life and what to do. However, learning autonomy atmosphere is better in American universities. In an American campus, you can see students learning in various styles. Some are deep in thought, staring at their computers. Some are concentrated on reading with thick books in hands. Some are in intense debates on the lawn. Actually, active learning habits of American college students are not formed in one day. Instead, they are facilitated by various factors.
The purpose of this paper is to discuss current learning autonomy conditions, relevant similarities and differences between American and Chinese university students under different political, social and educational backgrounds through analysis on current learning autonomy conditions of American and Chinese university students, so as to guide and cultivate learning autonomy practices of university students in China.
II. Important concept
A. Definition of Learning Autonomy
The definition of learning autonomy varies in different theories. According to Holec, learning autonomy is “the ability to take charge of one’s learning”. The term autonomy has come to be used in at least five ways: (1) for situations in which learners study entirely on their own; (2) for a set of skills which can be learned and applied in self-directed learning; (3) for an inborn capacity which is suppressed by institutional education; (4) for the exercise of learners’ responsibility for their own learning; and (5) for the right of learners to determine the direction of their own learning. The relevant innumerable definitions of autonomy and other synonyms for it are “independence”, “self-direction”, etc... Little thought that learner autonomy is essentially a matter of the learner’s psychological relation to the process and content of learning—a capacity for detachment, critical reflection, decision-making, and independent action. Dam defined autonomy in terms of the learner’s willingness and capacity to control or oversee his own learning. No matter how, the learning autonomy theory is based on the constructivism theory, which was firstly proposed by Jean Piaget and George kelly. This theory believes that different people have different perspectives toward this world. In this sense, with learning autonomy, they will acquire different knowledge by themselves. In short, learning autonomy is a school of education which sees learners as individuals who can and should be autonomous and be responsible for their own learning climate.
B. Classification of Learning Autonomy
Learning autonomy is one of hot issues researched in the pedagogy and the educational psychology in the past thirty years. Based on the arrangement of definitions of learning autonomy at home and abroad, the following classifications are summarized.
The first one is represented by Han Qinglin. From its range, learning autonomy is defined both in a broad sense and in a narrow sense. “Generalized learning autonomy refers to social practical activities in which autonomous development is achieved by selective learning activities performed by people through various means and approaches with certain objectives. It includes school education, family education, social education and individual learning autonomy. However, narrow learning autonomy refers to educational practice activities in which the students realize autonomous development through initiative and creative learning activities under scientific instruction of teachers.”
The second one is represented by Yu Wensen, Cheng Xiaotang and others who think that learning autonomy is a kind of learning pattern or learning style. “Learning autonomy means that the students dominate their studies by themselves. It is a learning style opposite to others-oriented learning, with the essence of independent learning.”
The third one is represented by Zimmermann, an American scholar in the social cognition school. From the perspective of cognition, behavior and environment, they define learning autonomy as a learning process of self-regulation. “Self-regulated learning refers to the process in which a learner takes the initiative to apply, regulate and control meta-cognition, motivation and behavior in order to ensure learning successes, improve efficiency and achieve learning objectives. Self-regulated learners can determine learning objectives, select learning methods, monitor learning processes, and evaluate learning outcomes all by themselves during obtaining knowledge.”
The fourth one is represented by Pang Guowei. They insist to define learning autonomy from longitudinal and transverse dimensions. “From the transverse dimension, namely all aspects of learning, learning autonomy refer to studies in which the motivation is self-driven; the contents are self-selected; strategies are self-regulated; and the time is self-managed. Moreover, the students can also take the initiative to create physical environment and social environment in favor of learning, and judge and evaluate learning outcomes all by themselves. From the longitudinal dimension, namely the whole process of learning, learning autonomy is defined as studies in which learners can make learning objectives and plans, be well prepared for learning; self-monitor self-feedback and self-regulate learning progresses and methods in learning activities; and self-check, self-summarize, self-evaluate and self-remedy learning outcomes.”
III. Comparison of American and Chinese Students’ Learning Autonomy
A. Educational Values and Practice
American education system is the concrete manifestation of Western educational thoughts. Western Education believes that all theoretical knowledge will be attributed to the application of knowledge. Therefore, American