A Comparative Study of Learning Burnout of College Students

Learning burnout circumstances appear commonly in the process of English learning. The current research investigates the features of learning burnout of English and a non-English major junior student from three dimensions, including exhaustion, cynicism and decreased professional self-efficacy. Results find that, firstly, these two groups of participants hold a similar degree of learning burnout, while non-English major participants show more individual variability of the learning burnout situation. Based on Krashen’s Input hypothesis and Affective Filter hypothesis, there exist differences and similarities of reasons for participants’ learning burnout. The high degree of learning burnout of these two groups is influenced by the choice of expected jobs as well as the sense of inferiority caused because of peer pressure. Furthermore, learning burnout of English major students is more influenced by teachers, having higher expectations for comprehensible and sufficient input. Therefore, teachers should pay attention to students’ learning burnout situation and understand the specific needs and practical condition of junior students.


Research Background
English learning is a long and arduous activity. EFL learners may show burnout, apathy and low sense of self-efficacy in the process of learning English (Gao, 2012). Learning burnout (LB) refers to the negative attitude and behaviour of being tired of leaning due to learning pressure or lack of interest in learning (Lian, Yang & Wu, 2006). Currently, college students' negative psychology towards study, showing fatigue, depression, confusion, lassitude, low sense of achievement and other emotional characteristics can all reflected by learning burnout (Chang & Wu, 2016;Wan, Yu, Yan et al., 2020).

Research Significance and Purpose
Related studies mainly analysed the learning burnout of junior middle school students, senior high school students and college students from different dimensions (Jiang, Shao, el., 2018;Chen, Zhao, el., 2017;Chang & Wu, 2016;Ana-Maira, 2015). Moreover, most of LB studies with the research focus of English learning merely concentrated on non-English major students (Gao, 2012). Then what are the characteristics of English learning burnout of English major students? Moreover, whether there exist the differences or similarities of the learning burnout circumstances between English and non-English major students are the question as well.
Considering the different English learning circumstance of English major and non-English major students, this study probes into the LB situation among these two groups of college students. Through carrying out a comparative study of the LB situation between English and non-English major students, this study aims to explore the similarities and difference between them and tries to provide a reasonable explanation based on Input hypothesis and Affective Filter hypothesis. Hopefully, this research can offer some specific help for English learning and teaching. Krashen (1982) established the monitor theory, of which five hypotheses were put forward, including the acquisition-learning hypothesis, the natural order hypothesis, the monitor hypothesis, the input hypothesis and the affective filter hypothesis. Studies related to Krashen's theory covered diverse topics, including the application of hypotheses in teaching Chinese as a foreign language (Yang, 2004;Bai, 2009;Zhu, 2012), theoretical investigation (Wang, 2012) and discussion of the hypotheses (Yang & Li, 2003;Zafar, 2011;Liu, 2015). In particular, due to the current epidemic situation, some studies focused on the influence factors of learning burnout in cloud-based teaching (Xiang & Zhang, 2020;Wan, Yu, Yan et al., 2020). In the present study, Krashen's Input hypothesis and Affective Filter hypothesis is considered when delivering the explanation of the analysis of English LB situation.

Research Questions
In order to figure out the features of learning burnout situation of students from English and non-English majors, two main research questions are given and focused. For the first question, description of the learning burnout circumstances of students is presented through cultivating the numerical values of the burnout dimensions. Regarding the result of the calculation, the second step puts focus on the reasons under the consideration of the Affective Filter Hypothesis established by Krashen. 1. What are similarities and differences of LB situation between English and non-English major students?
A. What is the English LB situation among non-English major students? B. What is the English LB situation among English major students?
2. How to explain the reasons of English LB situation based on the Krashen's hypotheses?

Research Subjects
30 English-major students and 30 non-English major students are selected as the research subjects. All of these 60 research subjects are junior students at Northwestern Polytechnical University. For the convenience of the recording procedure, all of these 60 students are coded. They have just finished their third-year study and will begin the last year of their undergraduate study. For most of the students at this grade, it is essential and urgent for them to making decision about whether continuing the further study or finding jobs. Such kind of decision usually becomes the guidance of their attitude towards academic study including English study.

Instruments and Research Design
This research is a combination of quantitative and qualitative research, and self-report questionnaire and interview are two main strategies for analysing English LB circumstances.
(1) Instruments As for the instruments employed in this research, Excel 16.28 and Numbers 6.1 are used to collect the data and analyse the results of the self-report questionnaire, including calculating mean and Std. Deviation. SPSS 13.0 and Python are employed to figure out the reliability value and to carry out the T-test of statistics. Later, Preview 10.1 is used to highlight and analyse the words of interviewee after the interview. http://aes.ju (2) Self-re   The interv students a criteria for are suppos

Results
Results of the answer

Results
(1) Non-En  English skill for these non-English major students is merely a tool to make them even better and more competitive. There is not enough motivation for them to spend too much time and energy on English learning. It is easy for non-English major students to lose patience if they cannot see improvement quickly.
Non-English major students, more or less, pay more attention to themselves. Compared with interviewees' affective filters, teachers mentioned in their words do not have much influence on their English learning.
(2) Reasons for English major students' learning burnout situation For English major interviewees, psychological gap and self-confusion cause the high affective filter. First of all, such kind of psychological gap exists between the ES and their peers. According to the answer of ES-1, general circumstances that English major students cannot gain the advantage in English contest make him have a huge psychological gap, which leads to the high affective filter. ES-2's high filter comes from the comparison between herself and her classmates. Such a gap exists at the beginning of her undergraduate time and is continuously widening. Gradually her filter becomes higher. Furthermore, both of ES-1 and ES-2 mentioned that they "cannot see the visible improvement of their English talent after undergraduate study." They are not confident in their English learning because they are not moving forward in the process of English study. Thus, lack of self-confidence and a huge psychological gap make them hold the high affective filter.

ES
In terms of self-confusion, both of two English major interviewees speak candidly that a period time of self-confusion make them lose the direction of English learning and also reduce some enthusiasm studying English. The lack of enthusiasm leads to learner' high affective filter. Based on the answers, the most explicable reason for interviewees' self-confusion and the high affective filter is that students are at a critical stage in planning their lives after their undergraduate years. They have more things to take into consideration, consuming their energy and distracting them from learning English passionately.

ES
The second main facet is that unreasonable course design and monotonous teaching lead to the incomprehensible and insufficient input. Interviewees' words show that they have, to some extent, the displeasure towards the course design and teaching. Unreasonable course design as well as vague and general teaching content brings about the incomprehensible and insufficient input. Besides, the lack of needs analysis before and after the course also decreased the degree of accepting the input.

Conclusion and Recommendations
Through the investigation of difference and similarities of English learning burnout circumstances between English and non-English major students, this research finds that English and non-English major students hold the similar degree of English LB, which does not tally with the author's expectation. Regarding statistics of three dimensions of LB, English major participants do not have the obvious individual variability, while non-English major students are quite different from one to another. Since the selected participants are limited to junior students, the results obtained in the follow-up interview have certain particularity. Both of these two groups feel unconfident because of comparing with their peers. The psychological gap caused by the gap with peers is the foremost reason for high affective filter. Meanwhile, English and non-English major students concentrate on their own plans for the future. The expectation of careers affects how much importance they attach to English learning. Less attention leads to high affective filter as well. Nevertheless, there still exists a difference between the two groups. Compared with non-English major participants, English major participants have a relatively higher requirement for their teachers and instructor. They are more looking forward to comprehensible and sufficient input from teachers.
Based on this research, it is worth reflecting on the English LB circumstances of junior students. For students they, understanding the importance and necessity of English is essential, no matter for English or non-English major students. On the other hand, it is supposed that teachers should pay attention to students' need as well.