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1. Introduction
With more and more frequent international exchange around the world, especially the rapid development of the economy, a large number of Chinese people set off a craze for English learning. And how to strengthen junior students' English learning arouses more attention among people from all walks of life. Two of the most important educational institutions in society are school and family. This essay will list some effective methods for parents via an investigation into 8 junior students and their parents in Tianshui City.
2. Literature Review
Family environment means family situation and living conditions of members impacting each other. Different family environment would result in totally different results, especially for the second language learners. So a harmonious family environment is essential. There is a saying 'ancestor-based', “so the parents are teachers, they can not leave everything to the school, and we hope that children can be Jackie Chan, but the first duty is parents would do.” This is what Mr. Ba Jin said, so is parents should do.
Linguists, such as Zhang Zhengdong (1985) claimed that language teaching structure should cover the students, target language (English) and teaching environment. Family education is the most vulnerable segment due to the lacking of necessary scientific and theoretical guidance, Family Education in China has so far resulted in a spontaneous and blind phase (Peng Lirong, 2000). In recent years, foreign language teaching has been in a complex social and political, economic and cultural environment, influenced by many objective and subjective factors (Zhang Ailing, 2007). Parents, as the child's first teacher, play an extremely important role. Hu Zhuang-lin (2007) also pointed out that English learning in current environment is possible and feasible; the key is its learning environment.
Since the mid-90s, Foreign Language Teaching and Research actively develop “Action Research” (Crookes, 1993:130-143), a family adheres to three basic principles during the process of their children's English learning: the first is to protect and stimulate children's interest in learning English; the second is to train and encourage the research and thinking habits of independent study; the third is to take the application and listening and speaking as the head for the first forms of cooperation.
3. Importance of Family Environment on Junior Middle School Students' English Learning
Family environment is the material living condition of families, social status, the relationship between family members and members of the language, behavior and emotion. Its influences on junior middle school students are very important.
Firstly, family is the second place students to acquire some knowledge, where they need to continue their study. According to the survey, they generally spend three or four hours learning English at school; by comparison, just one or two hours at home. Therefore, parents must try their best to assist their children in English learning. As early as 1924, Tao Xingzhi, the great educationist, pointed out that “it is not enough to just take a name after a child birth, and parents should go through painstaking effort to teach him if they hope him to achieve something and establish his home ［He Guohua, 2002］.” This shows the importance of parental education.
4. An Investigation into Junior Middle School Students and their Families
The quality of family education is not just one of a private matter, but an event of improving the quality of the population views; so the whole family members should increase their awareness of family education, and should establish the concept of children as the state backbone, and strive to improve their level and quality of the family education (Peng Lirong, 2002). Excellent or bad family environment, the level of parents' quality and family atmosphere directly affect learner's physical and mental health and academic achievement. Research on outstanding language learners makes a good family environment as one of the factors of concern to educators (He Guohua, 2002). Many researchers have confirmed that family members, especially parents, personality traits, their children's academic expectations and teaching methods largely determine the child's efforts in the direction of their studies, motivation, academic achievement and job-hunting.
Analysis of the factors influencing junior middle school students' English learning
There are a lot of elements influencing junior middle students' English learning, the qualities of the parents, affective education, psychological service and effective communication are four main causes, whose impacts can be seen from the following chart: the students are separated into four types, and two of them belong to one type due to their similar features and family environments. CHART:(Table 1）
Table 1 Overall survey on 8 junior middle school students and their families
TypeEnglish featuresComprehensive qualityFamily environment
Bilingual typeOutstanding oral communicative ability, reading and writing abilitySelf-confident,outgoing, outspokenHarmonious, frequent communication
Comprehensive typeStrong listening andreading ability, poor oral expressionQuiet, not very talkativeRich home audio materials
Expressive typeProminent oral expression, poor reading and writingOutgoing, outspokenRich home visual materials,effective communication
Examination typeWeak English comprehension, focusing on homework and examIntroverted and a little depressed, hard and serious studyGloomy, rich reference books,little communication
According to the chart, it can be concluded that students of different families possess different ideas and have their own attitudes towards English learning, which are firmly connected with their families, especially, parents.
5. Analysis on the results of the investigation
-Factors Influencing Junior Middle School Students' English Learning and their Impacts.
Parents' influences on their children should be paid great attention by the whole society. As long as parents command the basic reasons caused by families, we are likely to lessen the negative aspects among families. There are four main reasons that impact junior middle school students' English learning.
5.1 Qualities of the parents
The quality of the parents is composed of cultural knowledge and other aspects, such as the ability to address the various aspects of life. And parental theory of education is one of the important factor influencing child's English learning. According to the chart, we may conclude that there exist individual differences among children (Stewart, 2003; Cummins, 1994). The main reason is that the aimed language is limited under the foreign language environment; the theories of parents' knowledge and personal abilities play decisive roles in exploring this resource. As for the “significance of children's English learning”, parents hold different views: there is a large percent of utilitarian and entrance examination, just a few of them aim to inner motivation, to English and its culture (Wang Zejun, 2007).
5.2 Education in emotion
In most cases, parents' expectations to their children are high, and pay a high price, but they also harvest not only a little disappointment (Huang Quanyu, 2001). Most parents just expect high English scores but the result is often counterproductive. Adolescence is the special periods, which fertures in disobedience, stubbornness and half-independence. Secondary school young people are in a stage of mental and physical development; this critical period is the high-fat phase of mental conflicts and emotional behavior. We can see from the chart that parent, more or less, know a little English, but they are not qualified to teach their children. So nearly most of parents are used to sending children to training school. Then the problem arises: parents' obligation to English education of their children would go farther and farther. They usually only pay attention to children's examination results rather than the process of English learning.
5.3 Service in psychology
In general, the teaching job of second language is in the classroom under the guidance of teachers. In this environment, little natural language, learners are often pointed out various errors, so they are in greater psychological pressure (Zhang Feng, 2004). Physiological changes are the material basis of other changes. With the physical changes and social environment influences, the psychological development of students shows their own characteristics. Changes in physical appearance makes them have the adult sense, however, their psychological level reveals semi-mature and immature, therefore showing a variety of psychological conflicts and contradictions, such as rebelliousness and dependence, pride and low self-esteem, negative childhood love or childhood attachment so on.
6. Suggestions on Establishment of Harmonious Family Environments for Middle School Students' English Learning
There are so many problems that we need to cultivate several useful channels to get rid of them, which may benefit both children and parents a lot. Its main purpose is to create a harmonious and peaceful family atmosphere.
6.1 Improvements of parents' qualities
Vygotsky considered that understanding the growth of a child cannot be carried out by the case study only, but also by the external factors. Whose main theory is based on the children, who are the initiative learner, but they must be guided in their language learning. Parents, as the first teachers of the children, should occupy a foremost position to shoulder the obligation. Therefore, it is very important for parents to enrich themselves by way of a large number of reference books or other means. Parents' English level had great influences in acquaintance of exotic atmosphere, cultural diversity and so on. Parents who have poor educational background can seldom help with children's English study. Besides, as parents, they should try their best utmost to create an enjoyable and comfortable family atmosphere, which is one of the most important things, and it is also the show of the qualities of parents.
6.2 More care to their children.
Emotions occupy the entire mental life and real life activities. Not only do they promote people's instinctive activities, but also interfere with social learning and creative activities, both of the activities are the entire human motivation. In English learning, emotional power is the role of non-intelligence factors, in particular, should not be ignored. Students in a positive mood state are predicted to be more acceptable to the language guide; and teacher exchanges between students are more active, more enthusiastic in learning. Therefore, the process of learning English should attach importance to emotional problems, healthy and optimistic emotion can keep students more interested and enthusiastic in English learning.
6.3 Psychological tutorship to children.
Confidence is the key factor to success. Lack of confidence is a great shortage of mental support and encouragement. Children should be psychological healthy and develop comprehensively (Huang Quanyu, 2001). Parents would better sit down calmly and enlighten children patiently, that is very necessary. They must sense what the children really want, not only material support, but also mental encouragement. Psychological education is a little abstract, because it covers too many things that children had hardly seen or heard before. So it is a test for parents.
6.4 Effective communications with their children.
English learning doesn't matters oneself alone, but also the combined action (Lei Li, 2001). Communicating between parents and children is a key factor. Parents can relax themselves during their spare time, but the way they choose are diverse. If they put children first, they would better choose the way that is adaptive to the children.
7. Conclusion
In addition, there are other factors affecting junior students' English learning, such as family size, children's motivation and so on. In a world, parents need to try their best to create a comfortable and assuring atmosphere for children's English learning. No matter how much English they know, the most important is they need to cooperate with their children.
The paper has discussed how the family environment influences junior students' English learning, and concentrates on several of factors affecting English study. Its main purpose is to arouse parents' attention to establishment of good language atmosphere. Therefore, providing a warm, harmonious and exotic family environment is essential and significant to children's English learning.
收稿日期：2011-11-13
With more and more frequent international exchange around the world, especially the rapid development of the economy, a large number of Chinese people set off a craze for English learning. And how to strengthen junior students' English learning arouses more attention among people from all walks of life. Two of the most important educational institutions in society are school and family. This essay will list some effective methods for parents via an investigation into 8 junior students and their parents in Tianshui City.
2. Literature Review
Family environment means family situation and living conditions of members impacting each other. Different family environment would result in totally different results, especially for the second language learners. So a harmonious family environment is essential. There is a saying 'ancestor-based', “so the parents are teachers, they can not leave everything to the school, and we hope that children can be Jackie Chan, but the first duty is parents would do.” This is what Mr. Ba Jin said, so is parents should do.
Linguists, such as Zhang Zhengdong (1985) claimed that language teaching structure should cover the students, target language (English) and teaching environment. Family education is the most vulnerable segment due to the lacking of necessary scientific and theoretical guidance, Family Education in China has so far resulted in a spontaneous and blind phase (Peng Lirong, 2000). In recent years, foreign language teaching has been in a complex social and political, economic and cultural environment, influenced by many objective and subjective factors (Zhang Ailing, 2007). Parents, as the child's first teacher, play an extremely important role. Hu Zhuang-lin (2007) also pointed out that English learning in current environment is possible and feasible; the key is its learning environment.
Since the mid-90s, Foreign Language Teaching and Research actively develop “Action Research” (Crookes, 1993:130-143), a family adheres to three basic principles during the process of their children's English learning: the first is to protect and stimulate children's interest in learning English; the second is to train and encourage the research and thinking habits of independent study; the third is to take the application and listening and speaking as the head for the first forms of cooperation.
3. Importance of Family Environment on Junior Middle School Students' English Learning
Family environment is the material living condition of families, social status, the relationship between family members and members of the language, behavior and emotion. Its influences on junior middle school students are very important.
Firstly, family is the second place students to acquire some knowledge, where they need to continue their study. According to the survey, they generally spend three or four hours learning English at school; by comparison, just one or two hours at home. Therefore, parents must try their best to assist their children in English learning. As early as 1924, Tao Xingzhi, the great educationist, pointed out that “it is not enough to just take a name after a child birth, and parents should go through painstaking effort to teach him if they hope him to achieve something and establish his home ［He Guohua, 2002］.” This shows the importance of parental education.
4. An Investigation into Junior Middle School Students and their Families
The quality of family education is not just one of a private matter, but an event of improving the quality of the population views; so the whole family members should increase their awareness of family education, and should establish the concept of children as the state backbone, and strive to improve their level and quality of the family education (Peng Lirong, 2002). Excellent or bad family environment, the level of parents' quality and family atmosphere directly affect learner's physical and mental health and academic achievement. Research on outstanding language learners makes a good family environment as one of the factors of concern to educators (He Guohua, 2002). Many researchers have confirmed that family members, especially parents, personality traits, their children's academic expectations and teaching methods largely determine the child's efforts in the direction of their studies, motivation, academic achievement and job-hunting.
Analysis of the factors influencing junior middle school students' English learning
There are a lot of elements influencing junior middle students' English learning, the qualities of the parents, affective education, psychological service and effective communication are four main causes, whose impacts can be seen from the following chart: the students are separated into four types, and two of them belong to one type due to their similar features and family environments. CHART:(Table 1）
Table 1 Overall survey on 8 junior middle school students and their families
TypeEnglish featuresComprehensive qualityFamily environment
Bilingual typeOutstanding oral communicative ability, reading and writing abilitySelf-confident,outgoing, outspokenHarmonious, frequent communication
Comprehensive typeStrong listening andreading ability, poor oral expressionQuiet, not very talkativeRich home audio materials
Expressive typeProminent oral expression, poor reading and writingOutgoing, outspokenRich home visual materials,effective communication
Examination typeWeak English comprehension, focusing on homework and examIntroverted and a little depressed, hard and serious studyGloomy, rich reference books,little communication
According to the chart, it can be concluded that students of different families possess different ideas and have their own attitudes towards English learning, which are firmly connected with their families, especially, parents.
5. Analysis on the results of the investigation
-Factors Influencing Junior Middle School Students' English Learning and their Impacts.
Parents' influences on their children should be paid great attention by the whole society. As long as parents command the basic reasons caused by families, we are likely to lessen the negative aspects among families. There are four main reasons that impact junior middle school students' English learning.
5.1 Qualities of the parents
The quality of the parents is composed of cultural knowledge and other aspects, such as the ability to address the various aspects of life. And parental theory of education is one of the important factor influencing child's English learning. According to the chart, we may conclude that there exist individual differences among children (Stewart, 2003; Cummins, 1994). The main reason is that the aimed language is limited under the foreign language environment; the theories of parents' knowledge and personal abilities play decisive roles in exploring this resource. As for the “significance of children's English learning”, parents hold different views: there is a large percent of utilitarian and entrance examination, just a few of them aim to inner motivation, to English and its culture (Wang Zejun, 2007).
5.2 Education in emotion
In most cases, parents' expectations to their children are high, and pay a high price, but they also harvest not only a little disappointment (Huang Quanyu, 2001). Most parents just expect high English scores but the result is often counterproductive. Adolescence is the special periods, which fertures in disobedience, stubbornness and half-independence. Secondary school young people are in a stage of mental and physical development; this critical period is the high-fat phase of mental conflicts and emotional behavior. We can see from the chart that parent, more or less, know a little English, but they are not qualified to teach their children. So nearly most of parents are used to sending children to training school. Then the problem arises: parents' obligation to English education of their children would go farther and farther. They usually only pay attention to children's examination results rather than the process of English learning.
5.3 Service in psychology
In general, the teaching job of second language is in the classroom under the guidance of teachers. In this environment, little natural language, learners are often pointed out various errors, so they are in greater psychological pressure (Zhang Feng, 2004). Physiological changes are the material basis of other changes. With the physical changes and social environment influences, the psychological development of students shows their own characteristics. Changes in physical appearance makes them have the adult sense, however, their psychological level reveals semi-mature and immature, therefore showing a variety of psychological conflicts and contradictions, such as rebelliousness and dependence, pride and low self-esteem, negative childhood love or childhood attachment so on.
6. Suggestions on Establishment of Harmonious Family Environments for Middle School Students' English Learning
There are so many problems that we need to cultivate several useful channels to get rid of them, which may benefit both children and parents a lot. Its main purpose is to create a harmonious and peaceful family atmosphere.
6.1 Improvements of parents' qualities
Vygotsky considered that understanding the growth of a child cannot be carried out by the case study only, but also by the external factors. Whose main theory is based on the children, who are the initiative learner, but they must be guided in their language learning. Parents, as the first teachers of the children, should occupy a foremost position to shoulder the obligation. Therefore, it is very important for parents to enrich themselves by way of a large number of reference books or other means. Parents' English level had great influences in acquaintance of exotic atmosphere, cultural diversity and so on. Parents who have poor educational background can seldom help with children's English study. Besides, as parents, they should try their best utmost to create an enjoyable and comfortable family atmosphere, which is one of the most important things, and it is also the show of the qualities of parents.
6.2 More care to their children.
Emotions occupy the entire mental life and real life activities. Not only do they promote people's instinctive activities, but also interfere with social learning and creative activities, both of the activities are the entire human motivation. In English learning, emotional power is the role of non-intelligence factors, in particular, should not be ignored. Students in a positive mood state are predicted to be more acceptable to the language guide; and teacher exchanges between students are more active, more enthusiastic in learning. Therefore, the process of learning English should attach importance to emotional problems, healthy and optimistic emotion can keep students more interested and enthusiastic in English learning.
6.3 Psychological tutorship to children.
Confidence is the key factor to success. Lack of confidence is a great shortage of mental support and encouragement. Children should be psychological healthy and develop comprehensively (Huang Quanyu, 2001). Parents would better sit down calmly and enlighten children patiently, that is very necessary. They must sense what the children really want, not only material support, but also mental encouragement. Psychological education is a little abstract, because it covers too many things that children had hardly seen or heard before. So it is a test for parents.
6.4 Effective communications with their children.
English learning doesn't matters oneself alone, but also the combined action (Lei Li, 2001). Communicating between parents and children is a key factor. Parents can relax themselves during their spare time, but the way they choose are diverse. If they put children first, they would better choose the way that is adaptive to the children.
7. Conclusion
In addition, there are other factors affecting junior students' English learning, such as family size, children's motivation and so on. In a world, parents need to try their best to create a comfortable and assuring atmosphere for children's English learning. No matter how much English they know, the most important is they need to cooperate with their children.
The paper has discussed how the family environment influences junior students' English learning, and concentrates on several of factors affecting English study. Its main purpose is to arouse parents' attention to establishment of good language atmosphere. Therefore, providing a warm, harmonious and exotic family environment is essential and significant to children's English learning.
收稿日期：2011-11-13