AN ANALYSIS OF FOUR FACTORS FOR ENGLISH PROFICIENCY LEVELS OF JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM LOW OR MEDIUM-LOW INCOME FAMILIES

• Main Authors: Tsung-ju Huang, 黃聰儒
• Other Authors: Ching-chi Chen
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2014
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/36274350086546273861

碩士 === 國立高雄師範大學 === 英語學系 === 102 === The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of four factors for English proficiency levels of junior high school students from LMLIF, including parents’ socio-economic statuses, the starting age for English learning, English learning motivation, and English supplementary education (ESE). The subjects in this study included 369 seventh-graders at one junior high school in southern Taiwan. All the subjects answered a questionnaire. According to their parents’ socio-economic statuses, they are divided into LMLIF students and non-LMLIF students. In addition, the 106 LMLIF students are further divided into the proficient and the less-proficient English students (the PES and the LPES) on the basis of their English scores of first semester in 102 Academic Year. In data analysis, the subjects’ English scores and their responses to the questionnaire were analyzed by means of one-way ANOVA, independent samples t-test and Pearson Product Correlation. The findings of the study are summarized as follows: 1. There is a significant difference in the effect of parents’ socio-economic statuses for English learning. The study shows that LMLIF students have lower English proficiency. 2. There is no significant difference in the effect of the starting age for LMLIF students’ English learning. The study does not show that the younger in English learning, the better their English proficiency. 3. There is no significant difference in the effect of English learning motivation on the LMLIF students’ English proficiency. The more motivated the PES and the LPES are, the better their English proficiency is. Besides, LMLIF students tend to have more instrumental motivation. 4. There is a significant difference in the effect of ESE for LMLIF students’ English learning. LMLIF students with ESE have higher English proficiency. 5. There is a significant difference in the effect of the length of ESE on LMLIF students’ English proficiency. The longer they have ESE, the better their English proficiency. Based on the findings, the researcher made four pedagogical implications. 1. Teachers should care about the basic needs of LMLIF students more, build a cordial relationship with them and give them more opportunities to learn and interact with others. 2. Parents should bear in mind that the main purposes of learning English at an early age are to give children a successful experience and an opportunity to interact with others. Learning English can build up children’s confidence. 3. When teaching LMLIF students, teachers should provide more realistic purposes to maintain their learning motivation. 4. Teachers can adjust teaching strategies in terms of the experiences from ESE. Besides, more ESE should be provided in public schools.