Chapter one Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
Over the past years, we have made many progresses in the field of Englisheducation, while, there are still many questions to be considered both in the “process”and “results” of the English learning. With the reform of English curriculum, more andmore scholars and teachers realize the importance of students’ participation. TheEnglish curriculum advocates students to be creative and critical learners who also havethe ability of solving problems and the spirit of collaboration. Therefore, the students’real participation is a target of the reform. Besides, students’ disengagementphenomenon is very common in English classes.Students’ disengagement means that many students don’t involve themselves in theclass. Many students only memorize and write down what the teachers teach them anddon’t think over the learning methods. What’s more, many students dislike the subjectof English due to many reasons. Their dislikes are also the causes of ineffective learning.Because of the high expectations from parents and teachers and the importance ofEnglish, no matter what their attitudes of English learning are, they keep learning it.From some students’ performance, we can infer that not only students’ behavioralparticipation is not satisfactory, but also the cognitive and emotional participation isworried. This means that students don’t master the learning and self-managementmethods and don’t enjoy themselves in English class.
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1.2 Significance of the Study
Under the guidance of education reform, the teaching idea should also be geared tothe needs of all students, emphasizing the active participation of students in theclassroom. Through the study of students’ participation in junior middle school Englishclasses, not only from the behavioral participation, but also from the cognitive andemotional dimensions, so the theory of English teaching will be enriched. From thisstudy, we can understand the state of students’ participation specifically and therelations of them. These form the fundamental basis of the English teaching and showthe theoretical significance. The practical significance of the study is: This study can let teachers have a betterunderstand of students’ participation and the factors that influence the students’participation. In this way, we can have better participation strategies, more effectiveorganization of teachings and can promote the teacher’s own self-development. Forstudents, they will be informed of the importance of engagement in class. The innerfactors are the main force of achieving learning goals. Undoubtedly, this will have asignificant influence on the English teaching field and students’ English learning.
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Chapter Two Literature Review
2.1 Some Key Concepts in the Study
The word “participation” is a very common activity in our daily life. In westerncountries, it is used in the field of politics in the early time. It means that you involveyourself in some group activity in nowadays. Some people think that participation isthe same as one person being present physically. Later, this point of view is criticizedby many scholars. Professor Zeng Qi (2001) holds the view that one person’sparticipation includes the involvement in the aspects in cognition and emotion and soon. Under this background, we can define participation means a person activelyinvolves himself or herself in the group activities and hopes to promote the progress ofthese activities. Therefore, participation is not a passive behavior but a motivated one.As the education theory researches and teaching practice pay more attention to thelearners, the study of participation is of great importance. Under the tendency of newcurriculum reform, the central position of students to participate in class has become ahot topic.Some foreign scholars define students’ participation as students’ involvement.Students’ participation can reflect how much energy that the students put in their studyactivities (Ausin, 1984). O
