摘要

私立科技大學工科學生的英語水平在台灣高等教育中是末段，儘管業界和學術界都希望大學畢業生能夠達到全民英檢中高級水平的要求，但私立理工大學能通過初級水平（相當於國中程度）的學生比例卻越來越低，少於 20%。一些文獻發現，英語作為外語（EFL）教師迫切需要增強學生的自信心，並且英語自信心與學業成績之間的相關性是肯定的。當學習者享受學習體驗時，可以預見英語能力長期的積極發展。本研究之工具包括：英語口語信心量表和後續訪談，用以評估目標群體對英語口語的信心和態度。根據文獻記錄，英語口語信心包括五個因素：1.英語學習能力和態度，2. 對英語使用背景的信心，3. 母語背景下的個性因素，4.對英語潛力的信心5. 對英語能力的信心。本研究對象為一所私立科技大學的機械工程系學生，問卷發出總數為411件，其中227件可用。 另外有十名問卷填寫者參與後續訪談，協助釐清實際學的習情況。數據顯示因子 1 和 2 平均值比因子 3、4 和 5 低一個級別。同時，英語的自信度比中文差。最後是因子 4，最高的人為 3.56，這是五個因子中唯一高於 3.5（6 點量表的中位數）的平均值。因此，目標群體對未來英語能力的信心優於目前的情況，並普遍認為自己英語不好。整體而言，參與者總體評價值多低於中位數，本研究認為應該擔心研究對象沒有自信和英語口語能力之狀況。從學習者角度，本文最後推薦提高英語口語信心的策略，包括學習態度和有效學習路徑的方法。
關鍵詞：自信心、口語英語、英語作為外語、學習路徑

                                                 Abstract

The English proficiency of the engineering students at private universities of science and technology is at the bottom of  higher education in Taiwan. Although the industry and academia expect university graduates to achieve an intermediate to advanced level of the General English Proficiency Test, the ratio of the students at private polytechnics universities who can pass the junior level (equivalent to the junior high school level) is less than 20%. Some literature found that there is an urgent need for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers to increase students' self-confidence and that there is an affirmative correlation between English self-confidence and academic achievement. The instruments used in this study included a developed “Spoken English Confidence Scale” and a follow-up interview to evaluate  the confidence and attitudes of the target group towards oral English. According to the literature, five factors were included: 1. English learning ability and attitude, 2. confidence in the context of English use, 3. personality factors in the context of native language, 4. confidence in English potential, and 5. confidence in English ability.  A total of 411 questionnaires were sent to mechanical engineering students in a private university of science and technology, of which 227 were valid. In addition, ten respondents participated in a follow-up interview to to help clarify the actual learning situation. The data showed that the mean of Factors 1 and 2 was one level lower than Factors 3, 4, and 5. Also, the confidence level of English was worse than that of Chinese. Finally, Factor 4, with the highest score of 3.56, was the only one of the five factors with a mean higher than 3.5 (the median on a 6-point scale). Therefore, the target group was found to have better confidence in their future English ability than their current situation and generally perceived themselves as not speaking English well. In general, the participants' overall ratings were mostly below the median. This study concluded that the lack of confidence and English oral proficiency of the research participants should be a concern. From the learner's perspective, this paper recommended strategies to improve confidence in spoken English, including learning attitudes and effective learning paths.
Keywords: Self-confidence, Spoken English, EFL, Learning Path