고등학생의 외국어 학습 신념에 관한 연구

A Study on High School Students’ Beliefs about Language Learning

This study identifies high school students' beliefs about language learning through a factor analysis on Horwitz's Beliefs about Language Learning(BALLI) and investigates the relationship among language learning beliefs, gender and grade, along with the correlation between language learning beliefs and the starting point of English study. The subjects were as many as 600 students attending a boys' high school and a girls' high school in Seoul. First, five underlying factors were discovered in the BALLI: motivational beliefs and beliefs about nature of language learning(belief 1), self-efficacy and beliefs about social interaction(belief 2), language learning aptitude(belief 3), language learning ability and belief about the function of English(belief 4), and beliefs about practical English(belief 5). Among the five belief variables, belief 1 shows the highest mean in this study. Secondly, the result of two-way ANOVA shows that two independent variables, gender and grade have statistically significant influences on belief 1, belief 3, and belief 4, and the result of ANOVA indicates that the starting point of English study influences only belief 2, allowing the assumption that the sooner language study begins, the higher the self-efficacy and belief about social interaction. In conclusion, this study shows that some of the belief variables are related to the independent variables. Therefore, instructors should dedicate their energy to improving students' beliefs, in particular, considering what kinds of beliefs must be improved for students.