This dissertation study was motivated by an interest in the process of acquisition of Russian vocabulary by a previously unstudied group of learners, American university students. The study identified the vocabulary learning strategies and beliefs about vocabulary learning of 97 university students beginning to study Russian. It also examined relationships between reported beliefs and strategies and their stability over the period of one semester of studying Russian. The data were collected with a self-report online questionnaire administered at the beginning and at the end of the Fall 2014 semester, as well as with interviews with the participants. Descriptive analysis of students’ beliefs indicated that the participants highly valued the role of vocabulary in studying a foreign language, understood the complexity of the process of vocabulary acquisition, and believed that words and phrases should be carefully studied and then practiced in context. The participants reported high motivation and high expectations of their success as learners of Russian. Descriptive analysis of vocabulary learning strategies demonstrated that besides active use of a dictionary, guessing, and note-taking strategies, virtually all participants reported frequent use of rehearsal strategies, especially repetition. These findings contradict the view that, in contrast to Asian learners of English, who are believed to value memorization and repetition, Western learners tend to downplay the role of repetition in the process of vocabulary learning. Analysis of the responses to open-ended questions and interview prompts confirmed that the participants frequently used repetition and rehearsal strategies and considered them most effective for establishing form–meaning connections for new words. The respondents also reported frequent use of contextual encoding, activation, and affective strategies. Comparison of the results of the two questionnaires revealed several vocabulary learning beliefs and strategies that underwent changes as a result of one semester of studying Russian. At the end of the semester students reported even more agreement with value of repetition, practice, good memory, and cultural knowledge for learning vocabulary. In contrast, they expressed significantly less agreement that it is easier to learn new words when they are presented in context. Besides, participants reported that while learning vocabulary they less frequently tried to recall sentences in which new words were used. Interviewed students explained this shift by noting the difficulty of Russian vocabulary and cognitive overload while trying to acquire new words in context. These findings once again argue against the claim that contextual acquisition of foreign language vocabulary is always effective in instructed foreign language learning. Using correlational and cluster analyses, the study identified multiple relationships between groups of vocabulary learning beliefs and strategies, as well as between individual beliefs and strategies. Motivational beliefs were correlated with most groups of vocabulary learning strategies, and memory strategies were correlated with most groups of beliefs.

雖然聽力在語言學習中佔重要的地位，研究學者對學習者的聽力信念的了解仍十分有限。因此本研究主要是探討五專學生對英語聽力的信念和學習策略，並探討聽力信念和學習策略二者之間的關係，另外程度不同的學生是否抱持不同的聽力信念及使用不同的策略，也是本研究探討的重點。 本研究採用量性研究方法，研究對象為北部某五專406位五專學生。研究工具為英語聽力學習者背景問卷、英語聽力學習信念問卷、聽力學習策略問卷和英語聽力測驗。 本研究的主要發現如下：學生均肯定聽力在語言學習過程扮演的角色，它可以幫助學生學習其它的英文能力。學生使用聽力學習策略約為中等程度，在不同的策略類型當中，學生最常使用認知策略，其次為後設認知策略。聽力信念和學習策略二者之間關係密切。而程度較好的學生在聽力信念方面，有較高的聽力學習效能，並認同口語的特色可以幫助了解英文。在學習策略方面，程度較好的學生會使用較多的學習策略，並視任務的不同而彈性使用適當的策略。 本論文並提出英聽教學上之應用建議。本研究結果可以幫助教師了解學生的聽力信念及學習困擾，幫助老師教導學生正確的學習信念及有效的學習策略，讓學生的英語聽力學習更有成效，進而改善英語聽力。 / Despite the importance of studying listening in foreign language learning, we still have very limited understanding of learners’ listening beliefs, and a more comprehensive system of listening beliefs is still not in sight. Hence, this study investigated junior college students’ listening beliefs, their listening strategy use, the relationship between their listening beliefs and strategies and the possible effects of English listening proficiency on junior college students’ listening beliefs and listening strategy use. This study mainly employed a quantitative approach to understanding junior college students’ beliefs about English listening comprehension, their strategy use and the relationship between listening beliefs and strategies. The participants were 406 students from one junior college in northern Taiwan. The instruments of the study were the Learner Profile Questionnaire (LPQ), the Belief About English Listening Comprehension Questionnaire (BELCQ), and English Listening Strategy Questionnaire (ELSQ) and the listening comprehension test. The results of the study suggested that: (1) most learners endorsed the belief that listening plays an important role in their English learning process and may facilitate the development of other language skills, (2) learners showed a medium level use of listening strategies and used a wide variety of strategies including cognitive and metacognitive strategies, (3) learners’ listening beliefs were associated with their use of listening strategies, (4) compared with ineffective learners, effective learners tended to report positive beliefs about listening comprehension, and (5) effective learners used a wider variety of strategies than ineffective listeners. Results of this study regarding junior college students’ listening beliefs and listening strategy use may provide rich implications for English education in Taiwan. It is hoped that through this study, more attention will be drawn to listening instruction in junior college students. Understanding students’ beliefs about listening may help English teachers become more aware of students’ frustrations and difficulties in listening to English. Moreover, it might enable EFL teachers to help students develop effective learning strategies and ultimately improve students’ English listening abilities.

Learner beliefs about language learning influence the language learning process. Addressing learner beliefs is central to enhancing teaching effectiveness and learning outcomes. To date, most previous research has described beliefs of learners of related second/foreign languages. In this study, belief dimensions were examined using a standardized survey of beliefs, BALLI, which was completed by 218 post-secondary beginning learners of Chinese and a modified BALLI completed by 62 teachers of Chinese at North American universities. Dimensions were identified using Exploratory Factor Analysis and a model of the relationship between dimensions developed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), a statistical technique for testing and estimating causal relations using a combination of statistical data and qualitative causal assumptions. A theoretical framework was established that integrated cognitive and metacognitive domains. The learner beliefs were described and compared between three sub-samples of learners, non-Asian students, Chinese-origin students, and non-Chinese Asians. Chinese and Asian students tended to have more similar beliefs than non-Asian students. The research used a mixed-methods design: quantitative data from the Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) and qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with six Chinese language students and six Chinese language instructors. Quantitative data analyses identified four belief dimensions: Motivation for learning Chinese; Formal language learning strategy (FLLS); Communication-oriented learning strategy (CLLS); and Difficulty of language learning. Learners overall reported high motivation to learn Chinese while concurrently acknowledging a language difficulty hierarchy and seeing Chinese as a difficult language. Both Chinese-origin and non-Chinese origin Asians reported more agreement with beliefs in FLLS than non-Asians. In contrast, non-Asians reported stronger support for CLLS than their Chinese-origin counterparts. Overall, teachers exhibited comprehensive knowledge about language learning. Comparisons between teacher and learner beliefs overall found more mismatches than matches. Compared with learners, teachers reported less agreement with beliefs in FLLS, but more support for CLLS. A hypothetical learner belief model, derived from the BALLI and based on the theoretical framework, was constructed and tested using SEM, which illustrated the causal relationships among the belief dimensions. Within the model, learners who were highly motivated to learn Chinese tended to believe in FLLS whereas learners who believed in FLLS rejected CLLS. In addition, beliefs in difficulty of language learning in general and Chinese learning in particular also led to rejection of CLLS. The model was tested against the results from the student interviews and the model was confirmed. These results demonstrated the role of cultures in shaping learner beliefs, thereby providing insight into teaching practices. The mismatches between learner and teacher beliefs need to be addressed because continued differences could lead to classroom tension and a potential loss of motivation. / Graduate / 0727 / 0279 / 0290 / cypbd156@gmail.com

本研究旨在了解日本學生的語言學習信念變化，並找出哪些因素在台灣和日本的TESOL環境中影響學生的學習信念的形成和變化。不同於傳統基於問卷的調查，只針對某些固定的學生的學習信念特徵的研究，最近的研究更注重學習信念的動態變化過程。社會文化理論還強調，社會文化環境在學生的思考過程中具有中介的效果。本研究旨在了解日本學生的學習信念是如何受他們的學習經驗影響，而這些經驗在不同的環境如何影響他們的學習信念。本研究使用深度訪談收集資料，採用半結構式訪談每個月針對學生的學習經歷和信念進行一學期五次的資料蒐集。通過Liblich(1998)的方法整理出訪談資料的整體與分類的內容，本研究希望找出在台灣和日本學習語言的意識形態的不同，這些差異和參與者的語言學習信念之關係，以及在台灣的日本學生面臨何種語言學習機會和挑戰。 這項研究的結果是，三位參與者經歷了不同程度的語言學習信念轉變，同時形成新的學習信念。來台灣之前，參與者對於自己的英文能力的自信心高低不一，但他們都相信能夠透過海外留學加強英文能力。在台灣，由台灣以及西方學生所組成的團體使參與者能夠練習英文並表達自己的意見，無須擔心被批評。ETP課程給他們一個機會可以使用英文來學習並溝通。來到台灣一年後，Yoshi對英文能力變得較有自信，且相信策略運用比天生能力來的重要。Taka變得較不在意自己的發音且把注意力放在文化學習上。Ko了解自己天生語言學習能力的極限並開始發展自己的學習策略。在研究建議方面，當未來的研究採用BALLI(Belief About Language Learning Inventory)(Horwitz,1999)分析時也應將親密團體和社會文化等因素加入。在英語教育方面，台灣的大學英語培訓課程應該包括更多的跨文化差異教學，所以當國際學生參加一般ETP(English taught program)時他們將面臨較少的文化衝擊。由於參與者提到與台灣和國際學生的非正式交流對她們的英語學習大有幫助，在ETP課程中教授應考量國際學生的英語水平，並把他們分配在具有相應英語水平的小組中，使他們能夠更快克服學習困難。期望這項研究的結果提供語言教學方法的調整建議，以滿足國際學生，特別是日本學生的需求。 / This study was aimed to understand the language learning belief change of Japanese students, and to find out what are the factors in the TESOL environments of Taiwan and Japan that lead to these changes. Unlike the traditional questionnaire-based research, which studied student’s learning belief based on certain critical characteristics; recent studies focused more on the changing process of language learning belief. Socio-cultural theories also stressed that the socio-cultural environment has meditational effects on the student’s thinking process (Furberg, 2009). This study tried to understand how Japanese student’s English learning belief was affected by their learning experiences and how these experiences in the different environments affected their learning belief reciprocally. This study adopted in-depth interviews to collect data, using semi-structured interviews per month for six months to discover how Japanese students’ learning experiences and belief changed in the process. By analyzing the interview data using the holistic-content method proposed by Liblich et al (1998), this study focused on how different language learning ideologies in Taiwan and Japan affected the participants’ learning belief, what opportunities and challenges the Japanese students faced in Taiwan in terms of language learning. Based on the result of this study, the three participants experienced different degrees of language learning belief changes and formed new learning beliefs in the process. Before they came to Taiwan, the participants had different levels of self-confidence and all believed that they could improve their English proficiency by studying abroad. In Taiwan, the supportive community formed by Taiwanese and Western students allowed the participants to practice English and express their ideas without being afraid of getting judged. The ETP (English Taught Program) offered them an opportunity to use English to both study and communicate on a daily basis. After one year of staying in Taiwan, Yoshi became more confident in his English proficiency and believed more in strategy use than innate language learning ability. Taka was less anxious about his Japanese accent and put more emphasis on learning cultural factors. Ko realized the limitation of his innate language learning ability and began to develop his own language learning strategies. As for theoretical implication, factors like community and socio-cultural influence should be added to BALLI’s (Belief About Language Learning Inventory)(Horwitz,1999) model in analyzing language learning belief in future studies. In terms of pedagogical implication, English training programs in Taiwan’s university should provide more cross-cultural information so that when international students take English taught classes they will encounter less cultural shock. As the participants mentioned that the informal interaction with Taiwanese and Western students assisted their English learning, professors in the ETP classes should consider international students’ English proficiency and put them within groups of appropriate English levels so they can learn with less difficulty.