Non—intellectual Factors： The Impacts and Applications in College English Teaching

阚淑娟 宫慧英

【Abstract】English learning has been popular in China for years. And the phenomenon is obvious that with the same teacher， students results are quite different. Apparently， the differences are due to students intelligence， but non-intellectual factors also play an important role that cannot be underestimated. This paper gives a detailed analysis on the impacts of non-intellectual factors in college English teaching， reveals the existing problems and comes up with corresponding strategies.

【Key words】non-intellectual factors； English teaching

【作者簡介】阚淑娟（1985-），女，汉族，山东高唐人，青岛黄海学院通识教育学院副教授，硕士，研究方向：英语教学与翻译；宫慧英，青岛黄海学院。

Non-intellectual factors play an important role in bringing out ones intelligence. These factors are not only important in building a good learning habit and cultivating the self-learning ability， but also essential in developing students personality. Non-intellectual factors include learning habit， motivation， interest， emotion， attitude， personality， etc. All these factors contribute to successful learning outcome.

Ⅰ. What are non-intellectual factors？

The notion non-intellectual factor was proposed by the American psychologist W.P.Alexander. Since then， many scholars both home and abroad come up with their own definitions. In the broad sense， non-intellectual factors refer to all factors affecting study apart from intellectual factors， while in the narrow sense， the factors refer to the five psychological factors， namely motivation， interest， emotion， will and personality.

Ⅱ. The influence of the five factors

2.1 Motivation

As the power source of English study， the role of motivation cannot be ignored. All human beings learning behaviors are generated by motivation， which is essential for cognitive study. Usually， there are two kinds of motivation for English study： comprehensive motivation and instrumental motivation. The former refers to English learners special expectation in taking part in the language study activities； while the latter refers to studying for special purposes such as passing English exams， studying abroad or applying for further education. In college English teaching， there are always many students who are lack of motivation and have negative attitudes towards study. We can say that studying attitude is bonded with motivation. Therefore， teachers should plan practical contents and set up periodical goals in order to help students enjoy the achievements after they fulfill the goals. Thus， English study is no longer stress but fun for students. They will be actively involved in study with a positive attitude.

2.2 Interest

Interest is the best teacher. As long as there is interest for English learners， it would produce passion and increase the efficiency in study. In college English teaching， nurturing students interest means creating a cognitive mode that satisfies students cognitive tendency. As for language study， we need to look into the background culture and customs and make an analogue between Chinese and western culture. For example， when talking about campus life， English teachers can introduce universities of western countries； when the text is about marriage， the teacher can show some pictures or a short video about a western wedding. The teacher can even encourage the students to plan their wedding beforehand. The teacher can ask students to find out the differences in the above-introduced knowledge between the Chinese and western culture. Background information and related cultural aspects can arouse students interests.

Ⅲ. Emotion

In English study， emotion refers to students feeling， attitude， etc. Emotion can directly influence their learning behavior and outcome. Emotion can be classified into two categories： positive and negative. Many researchers have come to the conclusion after a series of investigation that positive emotions such as confidence， surprise and transference will benefit the learning process in many ways. When students are anxious or worried， students will be lack of confidence， meanwhile their adjustability and efficiency will be lowered. Therefore teachers should attach importance to building up students positive emotions while steering their negative emotions. Whats more， teachers should not only adjust students emotions， but also help students build up the habit and ability of adjusting their own emotions.

Ⅳ.Will

Will refers to the psychological process of self-adjustment， self-control and overcoming difficulties in fulfilling the study goals. In the process of learning， students will encounter all kinds of difficulties. Without a strong will， it is hard for students to keep going， and students will give up. The two factors， emotion and will are decisive in whether students can be successful in English study. Even among those who are highly intelligent， there are some students lack of strong will. These students have outstanding study abilities， but after experiencing setbacks， they feel hard to go on with study and therefore form lasting obstacles， which lead to learning difficulties in various ways.

Ⅴ.Personality

Personality refers to an individuals inner cognitive mode and behavior pattern towards surroundings and things. Generally， personality can be categorized as introvert and extrovert. Experienced teachers can identify students different tendency in studying activities. For example， introvert students are more likely to enjoy static study such as reading， mediating， writing， etc. In activities such as oral English， the introvert students are more cautious and prepared to make sure the language accuracy. Meanwhile， the extrovert students prefer dynamic study such as oral communication with others in English. They pay more attention to the speed and flow rather than accuracy. Whats more， extrovert students can master new knowledge points and adjust to class activities more quickly.

Through the above analysis， we can see that to some extent， non-intellectual factors determine the results of learning. Therefore， in college English teaching， teachers should take these factors into consideration.

Ⅵ. Teaching Strategies unleashing the power of non-intellectual factors

Teachers should take periodical steps to nurture non-intellectual factors. In college， most students learn English under the stress of looking for a job rather than self-interest. Due to this fact， most students are not highly interested， and some are afraid of English. Negative emotions would lead to difficulties and obstacles. How to change this situation？

6.1 Teachers should guide students to the non-intellectual factors

Teachers should help students identify their study aim， find motivation， nurture their interest， generate their initiative to improve their study. Teachers should also help them keep curiosity towards English， make studying plans， enjoy the achievements and thus change their study present situation. Cultivating good learning habits is the way to progress， hence English teachers should pay attention to building good habits. There are many good habits such as preview， review， doing exercises. Students should be encouraged to practice reading， listening， speaking and writing even whey will make mistakes. Teachers should give them the room to make mistakes because mistakes can help them use English better. Only when students accept English study and have interest can they find confidence and their own way of studying and keep moving ahead. This requires college English teachers to adopt suitable teaching strategies. Teachers should design various class activities to get students involved in the class， such as English corner， English speech contests， class report and so on. While having these activities， teachers should seize the opportunity to encourage and praise the students involved in order to build up their interest and confidence and create a relaxing English learning atmosphere.

6.2 Teachers should take a new role in class

In traditional English class， teachers take a leading role and act as the center of the teaching process. This mode leads to the teacher-student relationship into the one-way direction. With the teacher ignoring students interest， the English class is always boring. In order to change the situation， teachers should make sure that students have the prominent position in class. The key to improving class efficiency is to get rid of the rigid teaching mode and attitude. Meanwhile， teachers should build a harmonious relationship with students， which would lead students get interested in the class. Many students complain that English class is difficult to catch up with， monotonous， and English teacher is hard to please. When teachers make efforts to change their role and the way of teaching， its possible that more and more students will change their attitude towards English. Teachers should also be aware of students different personalities in tasks such as dividing them into groups. The introvert students and the outgoing ones can be assigned different tasks to bring out their advantages into full play and train students teamwork. The aim for the teacher is to form the student-centered teaching mode.

Ⅶ. Conclusion

In English study， the impact of non-intellectual factors can not be underestimated. English teachers should attach much importance to these factors in the teaching and learning process and bring up students comprehensive quality and ability. Teachers should endeavor to increase students participation in and after class to improve students performance in English in an-all-round way.

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