摘 要

21世纪以来，国内外对于英语学习方面的研究层出不穷。外语学习成为了教学中非常重要的一部分。一个人的英语能力也被视为其个人价值和社会价值的一部分(You amp; Rnyei，2014)。本论文集中研究中学生英语学习环境因素中班级课堂氛围的影响。作为一个需要充分互动和活跃的学习过程，语言学习需要注重环境与其自身的关系。青少年的主要语言学习场所是学校，班级又是学校的基本组成单位，因此青少年学习研究必须给予班级与学习之间的关系足够的重视。本研究采用问卷调查法，使用《我的班级》量表，从同学关系，师生关系，竞争，学业压力，秩序和纪律五个方面对其进行研究。经检验，问卷具有良好的信度和效度。

本研究利用SPSS数据分析软件，对班级氛围及五个细分项和英语学习效果进行相关性分析，最终得到结果，班级氛围与英语学习效果在0.01水平上呈现显著正相关。希望本研究可以为教师在以后的班级管理和英语教学活动提供参考。

关键词：班级氛围； 英语学习效果；心理环境；中学生

Abstract

Since the beginning of the 21st century, with the advancement of opening up and globalization, foreign language learning has become a very important part of teaching. As English is the most widely used language in the world, research on English learning home and abroad is also emerging. One’s English ability has been seen as a part of personal and social value (You amp; Rnyei，2014). This study focuses on the influence of class atmosphere in middle school students' English learning environment. Almost no activity can be conducted in complete isolation from the world, and so does learning. It is necessary for language learning, as a process that requires full interaction and activeness, to focus on the environment and its relationship. The major language learning places for young people are schools while class is the basic unit of the school. Therefore, it is necessary to give some attention to the study of the correlation between classes and learning. In this study, a questionnaire was used with the "My Class" scale to conduct research on five aspects of classmate relations, teacher-student relationship, competition, academic pressure, order, and discipline. After inspection, the questionnaire has good reliability and validity.

In this study, SPSS data analysis software was used to correlate the class atmosphere, five subdivisions, and English learning results. The final result is that the class atmosphere and English learning effects shows a significant positive correlation above the 0.01 level. I hope this study can provide teachers with reference to class management and English teaching activities in the future.

Key words: Class atmosphere; English learning effects; Psychology Environment; Middle school students

Contents

1 Introduction 1

1.1 Background 1

1.2 Content and purpose 2

1.3 Research significance and innovation 3

1.3.1 Research significance 3

1.3.2 Research innovations 3

2 Literature Review 5

2.1 Class atmosphere 5

2.2 Research review 7

2.2.1 Direct influence 7

2.2.2 Mediation of other factors 7

2.3 Theory overview 8

2.3.1 Psychological field theory 8

2.3.2 Leadership style theory 8

3 Experimental study 10

3.1 Research object 10

3.2 Research Tools 11

3.3 Experimental procedures and data processing 12

3.4 Research hypotheses 12

4 Results and Analysis 13

4.1 Descriptive statistics 13

4.2 Correation analysis 14

5 Conclusion 16

References 19

Appendix 21

Acknowledgements 24

The Influence of Class Atmosphere on Middle School Students' English Learning

1 Introduction

1.1Background

After undergoing reforms and opening up, China has step by step integrated into the general environment of globalization. As the basis for communication in international cooperation, language naturally attracts attention from all fields and at all levels. English with the largest population base is the most widely used in the contemporary world. Research on it has long been a hot topic. In accordance with Eoyang’s Statistics in 1999, China has the largest number of learners in the world who learn English as a foreign language (Cui, 2014). The number of people learning English in China exceeds the total number of Americans. It has the largest English language teaching in the world. The research team has never paid attention to English learning as much as we do in the history of China. From all aspects of our daily life, we can all see the importance of the whole people in learning English. We use English as a subject in the college entrance examination. Various kinds of English training institutions emerge one after another. The degree of concern about English has risen to a level that is even comparable to Chinese. Increasing the emphasis on English education is a prerequisite for us to move towards the world and the requirement of the times for each country.

The youth are the most enthusiastic groups in English learning. Parents and school attach great importance to the study of English. Young people are the pillars of our country’s future. English is a skill, which they must master, so that they can absorb advanced foreign technology and reach out to the international academic frontiers and abroad. English will help to better build our country. On the other hand, as a common language in the world, English can assist in spreading our own culture. For young people, classes are the main places for them to learn English. Most of their knowledge is taught by teachers in the classroom. The teaching style of the teacher, the competitive atmosphere in the class, the close relationship between the students, the relationship between teachers and students, and the study pressure in the class may affect the students' English learning. The class occupies a very crucial position in the student's learning life. Therefore, combining two backgrounds, I chose to explore the influence of class atmosphere on the English learning effect of middle school students. I hope that, through this study, I can provide a reference for secondary school students to learn English.

1.2 Content and Purpose

From the content, this study attempts to measure the correlation between middle school students' English learning effects and class atmosphere by questionnaire surveys. And through defining different types of class atmosphere from several dimensions like teachers, teacher-student relationships, classmate relationships, and academic pressure, the study explores whether different types of class atmosphere have an effect on students' English learning. If so, what kind of relationship does the two have in the end, and what kind of role does the class atmosphere play in English learning? Does this work outweigh the disadvantages or do more harm than good? How can we improve the positive effect of this influence in the class atmosphere and reduce negative effects? In the article, the previous research on the relationship between the two will be summarized, and with the help of past analysis and results, further explorations will be conducted. Afterwards, according to the results of the research, some suggestions will be given on conditioning the class atmosphere, strengthening class cohesion, regulating academic pressure, and promoting teacher-student relationship and classmate relations. I hope that I can give some help in managing classes and improving my studies.

1.3 Research significance and innovation

1.3.1 Research significance

From the aspect of theoretical contributions, this study aims to link the class atmosphere and English learning. First of all, the class is regarded as an important group and organization in daily life. For young people, they spend the longest learning time in the class. The research about it can contribute to the study of organizational climate and adolescent English study. The time that people can be alone is actually very short. People spend most of their time coexisting with other people in a group environment. Group research is a very significant part of education research. There are various types of groups research. Class study, as a branch of the group research, I hope this study can enrich the content of group education, and further study. Secondly, English learning is a very important course for young people in their study and life. In recent years, the increasing research has been done on how to improve students' English learning efficiency and strengthen English learning. This study hopes to start with the environmental factors of the class. Through the analysis of teachers, students, and other pressures, we can adjust the influence of class atmosphere on English learning. This study will provide more references for teachers in the prospective class management, class cohesion improvement, and English learning.

From the perspective of application value, for students' learning, the environment is a very important factor, except for some of its own factors, like motivations, and interests. Some current studies place too much emphasis on the influence of learners' own factors. And research is more biased. In view of this, this study hopes to start with the environment. For the young people in the study, the class is a very good research option. This study uses the “My Class” scale to conduct surveys. If there is a relationship, this will provide teachers with much guidance for building a class system, managing class discipline, promoting student learning, and regulating teacher-student relations.

1.3.2 Research innovations

From the research factors, this research mainly focuses on the influence of class atmosphere in middle school students' English learning, which selects the class and English making the research as detailed as possible. The study analyzes the class atmosphere from several different perspectives, and ensures the usability of the research. In many traditional studies, researchers prefer to improve the effectiveness of English learning by studying the learner's own characteristics such as emotion, motivation, and confidence. Research in this area has been very detailed and comprehensive by previous researchers. Some scholars are even more concerned with the influence of classroom atmosphere on English learning. In fact, the class atmosphere like the distance between teachers and students, the interaction among students, the academic pressure brought about by school work, and the competitive environment among classmates, classes and the order and discipline may affect the efficiency of students' English learning. This study hopes to study the influence of the overall atmosphere of the class on the English learning outcomes of middle school students.