The Academic Performance, Learning Beliefs, And Strategies in All Of Medical Students: Inputs to a Proposed Plan

Abstract

A significant amount of research has been done by scholars from home and abroad, focusing on learning beliefs of English learning, learning strategies of English learning and the correlations between them. However, research on the related topic in English learning did not get underway until a relatively late stage in China. Research on the correlation between medical students' English learning beliefs, learning strategies that medical students apply, and medical students' academic performance is rare. Based on the above situation, the author carried out this study.

This study included 403 medical students from Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities. In the course of this research, the author used both Oxford's Strategies Inventory of Language Learning (SILL) and Horwitz's Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory (BALLI), modifying each instrument per the specific demands posed by China's educational system. In addition, the author took the latest scores of the English final exam as a reference. The research will: (1) Evaluate the factor structure of the BALLI inventory concerning the aptitude for learning a foreign language, the difficulty of learning a language, the nature of learning a language, learning and communication strategies, and expectations and motivation. (2) Evaluate the factor structure of SILL in terms of memory, cognitive, compensation, meta-cognitive, affective, and social strategies. (3) Test the difference in evaluation in the factor structure of BALLI and evaluation in the factor structure of SILL when grouped to profile variables. (4) Test the relationship between evaluation in the factor structure of BALLI and evaluation in the factor structure of SILL.

The researchers have found that medical students hold various English learning beliefs to learn English. They adopt different categories of English learning strategies to learn English. Moreover, the grade-based grouping does not affect evaluation in the BALLI factor structure. Evaluation of expectations and motivation in the BALLI factor structure varies according to the significance and score of the latest English exam. The evaluation in the SILL factor structure is unaffected by grade. The evaluation of memory strategies inside the SILL structure shifts depending on the student's major and performance on their most recent English exam. Those respondents who scored between 90 and 100 on the most recent English test had a higher evaluation of the SILL factor structure in terms of cognitive, compensation, and meta-cognitive strategies. The greater the assessment in the BALLI factor structure, the higher the evaluation will be in the SILL factor structure.

 

The results imply developing positive beliefs toward studying English among medical students requires more focus and attention. This will help students build positive learning beliefs, identify the categories and functions of English learning strategies, choose and adopt appropriate learning strategies, and guide them to use them consciously.