students oral participation is required (Wang, 2008). Researching learners belief changes during this adaptive periodcould offer implications for facilitating smooth transition to tertiary education.

E-mail address: pengjiane@stu.edu.cn.

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

System 39 (2011) 314e3240346-251X/$ - see front matter 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Changes in language learning beliefs during a transition to tertiarystudy: The mediation of classroom affordances

Jian-E Peng

Shantou University, 243 Daxue Road, Shantou City, Guangdong Province 515063, China

Received 15 January 2011; accepted 25 May 2011

Abstract

Drawing on an ecological perspective, this paper reports on an investigation into the changes in one first-year college studentsbeliefs about English teaching and learning since his enrollment. These changes in beliefs are part of the empirical findings ofa multiple-case study conducted in the Chinese EFL context. Semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and learningjournals were used to collect data over a period of seven months. Qualitative content analysis with the assistance of the NVivosoftware was applied to data analysis. The findings revealed substantive changes in this participants belief systems, mediated byclassroom affordances across different situations. This inquiry emphasizes that learners transition from high school to tertiarystudy is a critical period, during which their beliefs about second language learning are subject to contextual mediation. The in-depth findings of this inquiry indicate the potential for adopting an ecological theoretical framework to explore the emergent,dynamic, and context-responsive nature of learner beliefs. 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Learner beliefs; Transition to tertiary study; Ecological perspective; Classroom affordances

1. Introduction

Learner beliefs about second language acquisition (SLA) have been considered an important factor influencing thelearning process and outcomes (Ellis, 2008). A number of studies have investigated different types of learner beliefs(Horwitz, 1988; Wenden, 1987) and their relationships with other factors, such as learner autonomy (Cotterall, 1999)and learning strategy use (Yang, 1999). Consistent with the recent call for a situated approach to SLA research,researchers have highlighted the context-embedded, emergent, and dynamic nature of learner beliefs (Amuzie andWinke, 2009; Kalaja and Barcelos, 2003; Riley, 2009).

Despite considerable research interest in SLA, little is known about how beliefs change when a learner moves fromhigh school to tertiary study. This transition can be difficult (Xu, 2003). Classroom management and teachingmethods, among other things, are different at the two educational levels. For instance, in China where English islearned as a foreign language (EFL), high school classes are characterized by teacher lectures, but in university classes

www.elsevier.com/locate/systemdoi:10.1016/j.system.2011.07.004

Learner beliefs were originally researched with a focus on their cognitive dimension. The cognitive beliefs, also

cultural contexts (Lantolf, 2000).

315J.-E. Peng / System 39 (2011) 314e324A central concept of the ecological approach is affordance, which refers to a particular property of the envi-ronment that is relevante for good or for ille to an active, perceiving organism in that environment (van Lier, 2000,p. 252). Affordance is relational, reflecting the way that individuals relate the environment to themselves or, morespecifically, their expectations or needs. van Lier (2004) maintained that the environment is full of meaning potential.Affordance occurs when things available in the environment match the individual, and thus fuels perception andknown as metacognitive knowledge (Wenden, 1987), concern beliefs about the nature of language and languagelearning, which reflects an underlying assumption that beliefs are relatively stable mental representations. Accord-ingly, a normative approach (i.e. questionnaires) (Barcelos, 2003a) has been adopted to classify beliefs (Horwitz,1988) and examine their relationships with other factors such as learner autonomy (Benson, 2001; Cotterall, 1995,1999), use of learning strategies (Elbaum et al., 1993; Yang, 1999), motivation (Graham, 2006), and languageachievement (Peacock, 1999) (for a comprehensive review, see Barcelos, 2003a).

Recently the sociocultural dimension of learner beliefs has been increasingly recognized (Alanen, 2003; Barcelos,2003a; White, 2008). Kalaja (1995) argued against equating metacognitive knowledge with learner beliefs becausethis oversimplifies beliefs to merely static entities residing in learners minds. Language learning does not happen ina culture-vacuum context and learner beliefs are born out of particular sociocultural contexts. Cortazzi and Jin (1996)proposed culture of learning to account for Chinese students culturally-based beliefs. This sociocultural perspectivealso highlights that beliefs are emergent, dynamic and context-dependent (Barcelos, 2003a). Beliefs have beenobserved to change throughout learners interactions with their teachers, peers, and other contextual contingencies(Amuzie and Winke, 2009; Kern, 1995; Riley, 2009). In Rileys (2009) study with 661 Japanese EFL students, thenumber of participants who strongly believed that guessing the meaning of unknown words is ok was found toincrease by 11% over a nine-month period.

Learner beliefs can influence learners meaning-making of the language classroom. Benson and Lor (1999) pointedout that learners attitudes toward communication practice are associated with their beliefs about effective ways tolearn a language. These beliefs also affect learners preference for teaching methods. Sakui and Gaies (1999) surveyof 1296 Japanese EFL students indicated a clear distinction between beliefs about traditional and contemporaryapproaches to language learning and teaching. In the Chinese context, it has been speculated that students preferteacher-fronted lectures to role plays or games (Cortazzi and Jin, 1996), while recent studies have reported thatcontemporary Chinese students favor communication-oriented lessons (Littlewood, 2010; Shi, 2006). This impliesthat learner beliefs are evolving and need to be interpreted contextually to avoid any stereotypes.

2.2. An ecological approach to SLA

An ecological approach to SLA research considers language constructed in social interaction instead of staticlinguistic elements readily found in input and output. The interaction of language learners and the surroundingenvironment is prioritized. It is closely aligned to the tenets of the sociocultural perspective (Bernat, 2008), whichemphasizes the understanding of human minds and actions as being intertwined with, or mediated by, social and2. Researching learner beliefs from an ecological perspective

In this section, previous research on learner beliefs about SLA is first reviewed and an ecological perspectivecentered on affordance that underpinned this study is introduced. Difficulties involved in a transition from high schoolto tertiary study are finally addressed.

2.1. Learner beliefs about SLA

Learner beliefs are a multifaceted concept due to complexities of the human mind. In SLA research, multiple typesof beliefs such as self-efficacy beliefs, motivational beliefs, and metacognitive beliefs have been studied, and it seemsthat no list or taxonomy of beliefs can be conclusive (Dornyei, 2005). In this sense, learner beliefs are considered anelusive concept that is difficult to define (Barcelos, 2003a).activity, and brings about meanings e further affordances and signs (van Lier, 2004, p. 96).

study. The participants in Nunans (2002) action research addressed their awareness that college education mandatesself-exploration of knowledge instead of spoon-feeding. However, it remains largely unknown how learner beliefs

316 J.-E. Peng / System 39 (2011) 314e324change in response to contextual affordances in this critical transitional process.

3. One students changing learning beliefs when starting tertiary study

This inquiry is part of a broader study into four students willingness to communicate (WTC) in Chinese EFLclasses, in which learner beliefs emerged as one influential factor. The students were recruited based on their WTC,measured by a scale adapted from Weaver (2005). Two students reporting the highest and lowest WTC in a first-yearclass were chosen and, similarly, the remaining two were recruited from a second-year class.

The participant reported here was the first-year student with the lowest WTC.Whereas a wide range of beliefs havebeen identified, this article focuses on the changes in this students beliefs about English and communication-orientedapproaches to teaching and learning. This narrow focus has allowed an in-depth analysis of the phenomenon understudy. The research questions are as follows:

1. How do the students beliefs appear to change during his transition from high school to tertiary English learning?2. In what ways does his learning environment appear to influence his beliefs?

3.1. Participant and context

The focal student, who was given a pseudonym Weitao, was a medical student from a medical college insouthern China. He started formal English education during Grade Five in primary school and had been learningEnglish for seven years before entering college. His college entrance English examination score was 122 out of thefull score of 150, which indicates an average or above level of English proficiency. He was admitted to a combinedbachelors and masters degree program (i.e. seven-year program), upon graduation from which he would obtaina masters degree.

This college implemented an intensive English learning program among the seven-year program students in thefirst semester to promote their English proficiency. Credit hours for the English course amounted to 18 h per week,which was an unusual case contrasted to four class hours in many universities in China (Wu, 2001). Students wererequired to finish studying two units in a Reading, Writing, and Translation textbook and two units in a Listeningand Speaking textbook per week. This process was accompanied by online self-study in the computer lab. Startingfrom the second semester, they moved on to take Medical English, which focused on medical vocabulary andbasic understanding of medical topics. At the beginning of each academic year, orientation sessions were organizedto instruct the freshmen about the importance of communicative competence in English and related curriculumFrom the ecological perspective, learner beliefs are likely to interact with the classroom environment that offersmeaning and semiotic potential for learning. Teaching practice, learning tasks, and group cohesion, among others,may function as classroom affordances, boosting or reconstructing the participants beliefs. A language classroom,according to Breen (2001), is an arena of subjective and intersubjective realities which are worked out, changed, andmaintained (p. 128). As such, learner beliefs may be mediated by particular classroom affordances.

2.3. The transition to tertiary language classroom

The transition from high school to college or university can be a tough process (Terenzini et al., 1994). In China,for instance, language classes in high school are highly teacher-fronted, focusing on textbook knowledge and gearedto examinations. Tertiary English education, however, emphasizes all-round English ability especially oralcommunication skills (Higher Education Division of the Ministry of Education, 2007). Benson and Lor (1999)stated that such a transition from learning English for passing examinations to professional communicationcould be difficult. Adjustment difficulties often constitute entrance shock among Chinese first-year collegestudents (Xu, 2003).

Learners are likely to become aware of and even reconstruct their beliefs along their adjustment path to tertiarygoals.

3.2. Data collection

The inquiry was conducted over a period of seven months, which was across one and a half semesters in theacademic year 2007e2008. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, andlearning journals kept by the focal student. The detailed data collection schedule is shown in Table 1.

As seen in Table 1, the data were obtained from six interviews, six observations, and 22 journal entries. Eachinterview was conducted in Chinese, digitally recorded, and lasted about 30 min. In the first interview, questions wereinitiated regarding this students past experience in, and opinions of, English learning. The following interviews wereconducted after each classroom observation to inquire about his recent classroom situations and reflections on whatwas recorded in his journal entries and observed in his class. Appendix 1 shows the interview guide. Probing tech-niques such as repeating questions, asking for clarification, and paraphrasing (Neuman, 2003) were employed toassure accurate information.

Classroom observations were made by tallying the students voluntary verbal and non-verbal behaviors. I also tookfield notes on classroom activities, critical scenarios and my reflections during and immediately after class. Thisstudent was also invited to enter, on a fortnightly basis, journal entries using Chinese based on a framework thatincluded: a) topics and activities in class; b) self-perceived classroom performance and progress; c) classroom

317J.-E. Peng / System 39 (2011) 314e324atmosphere; d) degree of his willingness to communicate in class. This framework and the interview guide weredesigned to elicit a broad range of data for the larger research from which this study arose. The data in this paper camemainly from the interviews.

3.3. Data analysis

The data were subjected to qualitative content analysis. This involved a cyclical, inductive process during which thestudents narratives were coded, and recurrent categories and themes were identified (Berg, 1998). This process wasassisted by the software NVivo 8 (Bazeley, 2007). Initial codes were first recorded as free nodes (i.e. discrete smallestunits). When more free nodes emerged, tree nodeswere established to display thematic relationships of the free nodes,which allowed for the formation of themes and categories.

The issue of trustworthiness was addressed through providing thick descriptions and establishing inter-coderagreement (Lincoln and Guba, 1985). This study has obtained and provided thick descriptions of the participantsperceptions, behaviors and surrounding environment. These thick descriptions could create a transparency and assistthe reader in judging the transferability of the findings (Ary et al., 2009). An inter-coder, who is a scholar specializingin SLA research, was invited to independently code one entire interview transcription based on a coding scheme that Iinductively developed from the data. Coding comparison indicated an acceptable level of agreement of 93.88% (Milesand Huberman, 1994).

Table 1

Data collection schedule.

Semester Data collection Time

1st Semester 1st interview October 6, 2007

1st observation October 8, 2007

2nd observation November 5, 2007

2nd interview November 7, 2007

3rd observation December 3, 2007

3rd interview December 7, 2007

4th observation January 7, 2008

4th interview January 11, 2008

Learning journal (13 entries) October 2007eJanuary 2008

2nd Semester 5th observation February 27, 2008

5th interview March 1, 2008

6th observation April 16, 2008

6th interview April 18, 2008

Learning Journal (9 entries) February 2008eApril 2008

318 J.-E. Peng / System 39 (2011) 314e3244. Findings

Weitao, the focal student, was found to experience substantive changes in his belief systems as mediated byclassroom affordances at roughly five stages of his study: the beginning, middle and end of the first semester, and thebeginning and middle of the second semester. The following sections present the findings. The excerpts cited wereEnglish translations of interview transcriptions unless otherwise indicated.

4.1. Beginning of the first semester: oral communication in class is important

Upon his arrival at the college, Weitao appeared to show positive attitudes toward his English class. As observed,communication activities such as group discussions, role plays, and oral presentation were frequently carried out in hisclass. As reported, these had never been experienced in his high school. Unexpectedly, Weitao expressed hisacceptance of, and even enjoyment in, these activities in his first interview. When asked about his most effective wayto learn English, Weitao reported that English was a tool for communication and the best way was to communicatewith others:

Extract 1.We can master English better in the process of communication.[.] [Oral communication in English] isimportant, because in terms of written English, we have learned English for a long time in our high school. But weare quite weak in the oral aspect. It is really helpful to improve our English through oral practice. (October 6,2007)

Classroom contextual affordances may have given rise toWeitaos beliefs in the value of oral communication. First,the communication activities appeared to trigger meaning exchanges and thus, as described byWeitao, were attractiveand productive. He recalled an activity when each learning group designed a poster advertising a language programthey developed and hypothetically ran on the Internet. In class, each group showcased their poster, trying to convincetheir peers to register in their program. Weitao later commented, I like this activity, and this feeling of talking freelyand coming up with a product (November 7, 2007). Second, the nature of meaning exchange inherited in authenticcommunication seemed to relieve him from concerns about grammar. The following remark indicates that subtlechanges in Weitaos beliefs were happening:

Extract 2. After these two weeks, I have come to realize some basic techniques in oral communication. For instance,when communicating with others, we sometimes do not need to follow grammar rules strictly. It is acceptable to usewrong grammar when expressing our intended meanings. If we persist in achieving correctness, we cannot fullyexpress ourselves. (October 6, 2007)

More importantly, newly developed beliefs appeared to be reinforced by the support of his teachers andclassmates. As Weitao reported, in his high school English class he had often been laughed at for makingmistakes, yet in the college class his teachers and classmates were supportive and grammatical mistakes werehighly tolerated.

Extract 3. In my class, because we are all active in speaking English, it doesnt matter if we make mistakes. Theteachers also often give us encouragement [to speak English]. (October 6, 2007)

While the above findings appeared to indicate a relatively smooth conceptual transition to the tertiary Englishclass, they did not preclude another possibility that Weitaos reported beliefs might be influenced by his teachers andthe institutional administration, particularly in the freshmen orientation sessions conducted to inform students of thecurriculum goals (see Section 3.1). Moreover, he was observed to seldom speak up at this stage. Fig. 1 shows thefrequency of Weitaos voluntary verbal behaviors in whole-class, group or dyad situations. While verbal behaviorscan be influenced by many other factors apart from ones beliefs, speaking in whole-class situations may signala stronger belief about the value of communication practice. Because these situations are inherently anxiety-provoking or face-threatening, students who embrace communicative approaches may be more likely to speakup in class.

As seen in Fig. 1, Weitao volunteered no spoken communication in whole-class situations when observed for thefirst time. This may imply that his expressed endorsement of oral practice was possibly appropriated from his

instructors and he had yet to act on his beliefs.

Observations on Weitao

319J.-E. Peng / System 39 (2011) 314e3244.2. Middle of the first semester: English is close to me

At the middle stage of the first semester, Weitaos beliefs about English appeared to change tremendously. In thefirst interview, Weitao admitted that he had learned English only for passing examinations. In the second and thirdinterviews, however, he reported several times that English was close to him and learning English had become a habit.This was probably because he had been using English in everyday classroom communication on various topics. These

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Voluntary speaking inwhole class

Voluntary speakingin group/dyad

Fig. 1. Weitaos observed voluntary verbal behaviors.topics, such as Chinese and western etiquette, body language, and personality were, according to Weitao, closelyrelated to students life experiences. In other words, there were plenty of classroom opportunities for using English todiscuss issues in ordinary life that provided affordances to reconstruct his beliefs:

Extract 4. I have come to view English as more common. Previously I thought English is only used in examinations.Now I find it can also be used in ordinary life. I feel I am closer to English and the foreign culture and customs it standsfor. For instance, for the word furniture, if I hear this word, the instant image popping in my mind is the Europe-stylefitment, which bears the flavor of the English-speaking countries. (November 7, 2007)

Weitaos initially developed beliefs about communicative approaches were also reinforced at this stage. Hecontinually acknowledged his enjoyment of his English classes. A typical comment was made in one of his entries inwhich he rated a 100% degree of WTC:

Extract 5. Today we designed a questionnaire about agents on campus and conducted interviews among the class-mates. I liked this activity. [.] When interacting with each other, I talked actively to my classmates. (Entry 7,November 19, 2007)

My observations also indicated more active oral participation from Weitao at this stage. As shown in Fig. 1, hevoluntarily spoke up in whole-class situations for three times in the third observation. In this class, the learning groupspresented the results of their previously conducted surveys and answered questions from other groups. Weitao not onlyvolunteered to answer two questions for his group,1 but also willingly raised three questions to other groups. Whenreflecting on this episode, Weitao attributed his active participation to the interesting topics, peers enthusiasm, and theteachers facilitation. He explicitly expressed his preference for communicative approaches:

1 They were not counted into the frequency of voluntary behaviors because Weitaos group was obliged to answer questions in this situation.

320 J.-E. Peng / System 39 (2011) 314e324Extract 6. I like this teaching method. It gives us wider room to practice our English, especially the oral skills. Nowstudying English has become a habit to me. (December 7, 2007)

It could possibly be inferred that Weitao had increasingly identified with the new approaches. If, at the initial stage,his reported positive beliefs about these approaches mirrored the opinions of his instructors, it was quite likely that heactually perceived their value in the middle of the first semester.

4.3. End of the first semester: English becomes a task again

Near the end of the first semester, however, Weitaos positive beliefs about English and communicative lessonswere found to diminish. According to his reflection, in one class they were required to finish an exam paper simulatinga nationwide written test known as College English Test Band Four (CET-4). Passing this test was a prerequisite forgraduation from this college. He felt great anxiety because he found this test difficult. Also the final examination wasapproaching at this stage. The communicative activities that had once inspired him became less appealing. Englishlearning, he felt, became a dreaded task:

Extract 7. This semester learning English has become interesting to me, but recently I have to prepare for exams. Ifeel learning English is suddenly a task again. (January 11, 2008)

This shift in Weitaos beliefs implies that affordance is relational and depends on how learners perceive theenvironment. Apparently the stress of examinations corresponded strongly with Weitaos mental activities and/orconcerns near the end of this semester. Consequently, the emerging belief that learning English is for communicationwas replaced by the earlier one that English learning is about examinations.

4.4. Beginning of the second semester: communicative activities are of little use

A more dramatic shift in Weitaos beliefs was found when he took the Medical English class in the secondsemester. He firmly asserted that communicative activities in class were of little use and not needed. The formation ofhis beliefs may be related to classroom contextual influence. My observations revealed that the Medical Englishclass was mainly teacher-fronted. In the fifth observation, for instance, the teacher first checked students memories ofprefixes and suffixes of medical terminology, and then lectured on other word parts with examples and drills. AlthoughWeitao spoke up twice in this class (see Fig. 1), his speaking only involved spelling two medical terms. There was littleinteraction among students for the sake of exchanging ideas. This teaching method, as Weitao expressed it in thefollow-up interview, created in him a sense of substantial learning, which was not perceived in his past communicativeclasses:

Extract 8. This method gives us a clearer learning target, [.] for instance, she taught us prefixes and suffixes, theirmeanings and word examples. Then wewould try to memorize these things. [.] Last semester, however, I had no ideawhat I had learned. (March 1, 2008)

Weitaos comments seem to pinpoint the importance of addressing students needs and wants in EFL teaching,which, in most cases, is passing examinations. Students may not see the relevance of their studies unless their learningis authoritatively assessed. Probably because their oral achievement in English was not officially assessed in the firstsemester, Weitao failed to recognize the progress or achievements he had possibly made.

Weitao also undermined the importance of oral English competence. While this belief might emerge from theclassroom environment where oral communication was not encouraged, it also appeared to be appropriated from hisinstructors:

Extract 9. Our teacher said in the first class that in the [Medical English] class, grammar is not important and neitheris word choice. We only need to express the meaning of the terminology using simple words. [.] To a medicalstudent, it is more important to be able to read and comprehend English materials. You know, not every student will begoing or studying abroad. Thus, the speaking aspect is not important. (March 1, 2008)

The above account indicates that the teachers, teaching methods, and classroom management in the Medical

English class constituted affordances for the emergence of Weitaos negative beliefs about the value of

321J.-E. Peng / System 39 (2011) 314e324communication in language learning. His vocalized beliefs correspond to the traditional teaching methods thatemphasize knowledge transmission.

4.5. Middle of the second semester: oral communication activities are needed

Unexpectedly, in the middle of the second semester, Weitao again voiced his belief that communicative activitieswere needed in class. This belief change, as revealed in the data, may be explained by classroom affordances,including teachers mechanical lectures, confusing goals, and an overwhelming amount of difficult medical vocab-ulary and texts. Weitao complained that some teachers lectures were monotonous and boring. He was often confusedabout what he was supposed to learn e English or medical science e because some teachers always spoke Chinese inclass. Many times he found himself failing to memorize medical terminology and comprehend reading materials.Consequently he hoped for lively class activities so as to sustain his interest:

Extract 10. Now I think it is better to have more activities and interaction in class. Our teachers just kept talking andexplaining things. It seems students reaction did not matter to them at all. This dampened our enthusiasm. [.] Ithink the function of communicative activities is to raise our enthusiasm and activate the interaction amongstudents. [They are] important to me. But their function is to raise our enthusiasm rather than foster competence.(April 18, 2008)

It appeared that in Weitaos perception communicative activities functioned to retain learning interest instead offacilitating the learning per se. That is, he did not perceive the value of oral communication in his English learning.This belief was in sharp contrast to his belief elicited in the beginning of the first semester when he elaborated manytimes that engaging in oral communication was an effective way to learn English.

5. Discussion

This inquiry explored the influence of classroom affordances on a first-year college students beliefs about Englishlearning. The findings demonstrated substantive changes in this students beliefs during his transition from high schoolto tertiary language classrooms. The nature of English was first viewed as a communication tool and later simply as anacademic task or a burden. His beliefs about communication-oriented approaches wavered across various situations,ranging from endorsement in communicative classes to resistance in teacher-fronted classes. When overwhelmed byboring classes, he again expressed a preference for communicative activities, although for the sake of enjoymentrather than usefulness. These beliefs correspond to the perceptions of contemporary and traditional approaches (Sakuiand Gaies, 1999), or of communication-oriented and form-oriented lessons (Littlewood, 2010). The endorsement oftraditional approaches in this inquiry could be interpreted from the longstanding culture of learning in China thatconsiders learning a process of accumulating knowledge which is transmitted by teachers and textbooks (Cortazzi andJin, 1996).

The current findings indicate that beliefs are emergent and context-responsive. Local classroom affordances,including meaning-focused activities, familiar topics, support from the teacher and peers, teaching methods, andlesson goals, were found to give rise to the emergence of learner beliefs. When these affordances were meaningful andaccessible, or matched the learners, they served to fuel affirmative thinking about communicative lessons. In contrast,when the affordances were unavailable or not consistent with the learners, counterproductive beliefs such as a denialof the value of these lessons arose. Whereas learner beliefs about traditional and contemporary approaches have beenreported (Littlewood, 2010; Sakui and Gaies, 1999; Shi, 2006), the current inquiry took a step further by empiricallyrevealing that these seemingly conflicting beliefs could constitute the developmental trajectories of an individualsperceptions depending on contextual mediation.

A question of great interest is the extent to which self-reported beliefs have been genuinely assimilated intolearners belief systems, or functioned to regulate action. Alanen (2003) pointed out that beliefs are constantlyconstructed and reconstructed in social interaction, some of which become tools mediating action while someothers remain content item(s) (p. 62) with little regulatory function. In this inquiry, although it was impossibleto assess whether the student genuinely perceived the value of oral communication in the beginning (see Section4.1), his more active oral performance later observed might be a sign that his beliefs began to regulate his learning

behaviors. It is fair to say that this newly-arrived student was at a critical intersection where, as Alanen (2003)

contexts. For the purposes of cultivating informed beliefs among learners and developing their foreign language

322 J.-E. Peng / System 39 (2011) 314e324competence, tertiary educators need to create a learning environment that constantly promotes authentic language use.This requires long-term educational investment and consistent policy guiding both curriculum design and localclassroom teaching practice. Meaning-focused learning tasks or projects tailored to linguistic features, as suggested inthis inquiry, could offer effective affordances for construal of beliefs. Formative assessment of oral languageachievement can also be adopted to encourage practical language use and positive learner beliefs.

There are two limitations of this inquiry that need to be addressed. First, these findings are restricted to only onestudent and to changes in beliefs about English and communication-oriented approaches. It is a worthwhile avenue forfuture research to investigate the dynamic changes of a wider strand of learner beliefs among a larger group ofstudents. Second, while this inquiry has identified the effect of classroom affordances on learner beliefs acrossdifferent contexts, it has not yet revealed direct cause-and-effect relationships between detailed affordances andbeliefs. This would be a challenging task because learner beliefs are inherently latent conceptions that are not readilyobserved. Future studies may consider using other methods such as audio or video recordings, think aloud or stim-ulated recall to explore context-related beliefs.

6. Conclusion

This study revealed substantial changes in learner beliefs about English language and its teaching and learningapproaches over a prolonged, transitional period from high school to college study. The findings indicate thatlearner beliefs are fluid, contextual and emerging. Affordances in language classes could offer tremendouspossibilities, or pulls or pushes for the construction of beliefs. Facilitating positive beliefs among EFL collegelearners seems to be within the ability of language teachers and curriculum designers. What appears to be moreimportant is the consideration of how to provide sufficient affordances to empower learners beliefs to self-regulate learning action.

Despite the stated limitations, this inquiry represents the first attempt to explore learner beliefs as responsive toclassroom affordances. Its in-depth findings suggest that the ecological perspective is an informative theoreticalframework for exploring the role of classroom affordances in mediating learner beliefs about SLA.

Acknowledgments

I am very grateful to Lindy Woodrow who generously provided me with insightful comments and guidance in allphases of this study. I would also like to thank Ana Maria Ferreira Barcleos, Paula Kalaja, and the anonymousemphasized, the contextually-constructed beliefs may or may not become part of (his) knowledge reservoir (p.66). Regrettably, the observed students emerging affirmative beliefs eventually were not internalized into hisbelief systems.

This inquiry has shown how easily students can become demotivated, and at the same time students can bemotivated when convinced that what they are learning is what they need. Significant others could be a resource inthe construction of learners beliefs (Alanen, 2003). In particular, the teacher as an important communicatorneeds to clearly explain the purposes and rationale behind each activity and class (Barcelos, 2003b, p. 194) tosupport and encourage positive changes in students beliefs. The influence of teachers may be particularlysignificant in Chinese society where teacher authority and submissive ways of learning are culturally valued (Wenand Clement, 2003).

It could be seen that in the transition from high school to tertiary study, learners belief changes are subtle andcomplex. This inquiry revealed the possibility that students adjust themselves to contemporary educational ideologywhen given facilitating contextual affordances. On the other hand, the stress of examinations, monotonous lectures,and an overwhelming learning schedule could easily undermine any attempts or efforts to foster informed beliefsamong students. As found in this inquiry, although the observed student reversed his beliefs to prefer communicativeactivities, he no longer perceived these activities as beneficial to his learning.

The current findings have elucidated the effect of classroom affordances in shaping and reconstructing learnerbeliefs. These results have implications for tertiary institutions and language teachers in China and similar EFLreviewers for their helpful comments on the earlier versions of this article.

Cotterall, S., 1999. Key variables in language learning: what do learners believe about them? System 27 (4), 493e513.

Dornyei, Z., 2005. The Psychology of the Language Learner: Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition. Lawrence Erlbaum,

323J.-E. Peng / System 39 (2011) 314e324Mahwah, NJ.

Elbaum, B.E., Berg, C.A., Dodd, D.H., 1993. Previous learning experience, strategy beliefs, and task definition in self-regulated foreign language

learning. Contemporary Educational Psychology 18 (3), 318e336.Ellis, R., 2008. The Study of Second Language Acquisition, second ed. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Graham, S., 2006. A study of students metacognitive beliefs about foreign language study and their impact on learning. Foreign Language Annals

39 (2), 296e309.

Higher Education Division of the Ministry of Education, 2007. College English Curriculum Requirements. Shanghai Foreign Language Education

Press, Shanghai.

Horwitz, E.K., 1988. The beliefs about language learning of beginning university foreign language students. The Modern Language Journal 72 (3),

283e294.

Kalaja, P., 1995. Student beliefs (or metacognitive knowledge) about SLA reconsidered. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 5 (2),

191e204.

Kalaja, P., Barcelos, A.M.F. (Eds.), 2003. Beliefs about SLA: New Research Approaches. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.

Kern, R., 1995. Students and teachers beliefs about language learning. Foreign Language Annals 28, 71e91.

Lantolf, J.P., 2000. Introducing sociocultural theory. In: Lantolf, J.P. (Ed.), Sociocultural Theory and Second Language Learning. Oxford

University Press, Oxford, pp. 1e26.

van Lier, L., 2000. From input to affordance: social-interactive learning from an ecological perspective. In: Lantolf, J.P. (Ed.), SocioculturalAppendix 1. Interview guide

1. Past experience of English learning in high school.2. Benefits of good English proficiency.3. Effective ways to learn English.4. Function of communication in English in class.5. Opportunities to speak English in class.6. Situations of being most willing and least willing to speak up in front of the class.7. Situations of being most willing and least willing to speak in groups.8. Participation in classroom communication using English in recent classes.9. Classroom activities in recent English classes.10. Relationship with classmates.11. The atmosphere in recent class.12. Participation in extracurricular activities and possible influence on English learning.

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Changes in language learning beliefs during a transition to tertiary study: The mediation of classroom affordances1 Introduction2 Researching learner beliefs from an ecological perspective2.1 Learner beliefs about SLA2.2 An ecological approach to SLA2.3 The transition to tertiary language classroom

3 One students changing learning beliefs when starting tertiary study3.1 Participant and context3.2 Data collection3.3 Data analysis

4 Findings4.1 Beginning of the first semester: oral communication in class is important4.2 Middle of the first semester: English is close to me4.3 End of the first semester: English becomes a task again4.4 Beginning of the second semester: communicative activities are of little use4.5 Middle of the second semester: oral communication activities are needed

5 Discussion6 Conclusion AcknowledgementsAppendix 1 Interview guide References