How to Motivate Non-English Major Students to Speak More English in Class

范馨元 李建偉 蔡惠英

This project analyzes the intrinsic and extrinsic reasons why many non-English major students are reluctant to speak English in class. The fact is that when teachers do speaking activities in class， most students act passively to answer questions and seldom speak English. Some of them are chatting ， some keep silent while the rest of them are discussing in Chinese. However， according to the questionaire on English study targeted to 120 non-English major students， 92.05% of students think English speaking is very important and 52.27% of them like English class. It indicates the paradox that students are unwilling to speak English while they consider English speaking significant. Thus， it is interesting and meaningful to discover the causes of this phenomenon.

Ⅱ.Analysis

In general， intrinsic and extrinsic factors contribute to this problem. The following are intrinsic reasons. To begin with， students lack sufficient language command.[1] For instance， their vocabulary is not adequate to express themselves. 56.39% of the surveyed students consider inadequate vocabulary is the most influential factor of oral English. Although most of them have studied English for over 10 years， their vocabulary is quite limited. Additionally， many students make grammatical mistakes when they speak English.They tend to be confused about two pronouns： “he” and “she”， e.g.， “my English teacher is kind and beautiful. He never comes late for classes”. Sometimes they can’t speak with the correct tense， such as “have/has been doing sth.” and “have/has done sth.” Errors often occur when they use subjunctive mood.

1.Also， their personality is another factor which causes this problem. 54.55% of the surveyed are too shy and afraid of making mistakes. They lack confidence to speak English fluently.[2] In their past English studying experience， they have been taught “dumb English”-------- which refers to studying English with absolutely no speaking practice at all.

2.Furthermore， they are short of perseverence in studying English. Based on the questionaire， merely 14.77% of the students can insist on morning English reading， while 23.86% of them never do it. Besides， most of the students are not independent learners. Nowadays almost every student has electronic devices. When teachers require them to discuss， they always search for information and look up unfamiliar expressions online. This enables them not to think by themselves. The questionaire shows that 78.95% of the students hope teachers to teach in both English and Chinese in class. It indicates that to some extent， students rely on their mother tongue， which can be an obstacle on their way to practice English speaking.

3.Extrinsic reasons are equally crucial in influence on students’ speaking English in class. Most importantly， teachers play a vital role in improving students’ speaking abilities.[3] Firstly， most teachers are deficient in proficient teaching skills. On one hand， their ideas are outdated which means their classes are always teacher-centered. 52.94% of the 51 surveyed college teachers admit that their classes are teacher-centered. They apply traditional teaching methods too much， for example， “grammar translation method”， “ silent way” and ”community language learning” instead of prevalent ones nowadays ， “situational method”， “ multiple intelligences”， “task-based teaching method” and “communicative teaching method”.

4.On the other hand， because numerous teachers are occupied by household chores and academic research， they don’t have enough time to prepare for the courses. It leads to dull English classes and chaotic class organizations. Secondly， teachers’ personalities influence the effectiveness of students’ speaking practice enormously. Instead of encouraging students to speak， some teachers unconsciously demotivate them by constantly correcting their tiny errors or criticizing them negatively. Their initial purposes are positive， which firstly make them feel ashamed then they will have the incentive to practice speaking. This way of thinking is deeply rooted in many Chinese， including teachers and parents.

Ⅲ.Solutions

Under this circumstance， what can teachers do to motivate them in class？ Solutions can vary.[5] For those students with insufficient language command， they must figure out their own language weaknesses. Once they are aware of the weaknesses， they will actively do some remedies. The teacher can offer some recommmendations. If they are weak in grammar， they can refer to grammar books in their spare time. If they lack adequate vocabulary， do not learn it out of context. They can read more authentic English materials， such as classical novels， electric magazines and famous speeches. “Learning by doing”， it means people make progress in learning language while they practise the four basic skills.[6]

Ⅳ.Conclusion

In univerisities of underdeveloped areas in southwerstern China， it is challenging to motivate non-English major students to speak more English in class. Based on a questionaire on 120 students and 51 teachers， this essay analyzes the main factors which lead to this problem and offers several possible solutions. Solutions like raising the students’learning antonomy and improving teaching skills are long-term process. Others related to univerisities policy require lots of effort and negotiation. Nevertheless， solutions offered in this essay are helpful and can solve this problem to a certain extent.

References：

[1]www.professorjackrichards.com

[2]Bandura， A. 1997. Self-Efficacy---- the Exercise of Control. New York： Freeman

[3]David Nunan.1988.The Learner-Centred Curriculum---- a Study in Second Language Teaching. 136，150