面對英文成為全球共同語言的挑戰，亞洲的英語教學正經歷著重大的改變，為了要讓學生有更好的英文程度，在臺灣任教於各階段的英文老師們均不斷地在研究新的教學法，然而最近學者與官方一再指出大學生英文程度有下滑的趨勢，就英文語言能力而言，臺灣大學生的程度已不如大陸的大學生，更有甚者，臺灣的托福考試成績在亞洲國家中的排名亦不若以往，這一切均顯示該是探討我們大學生英文程度下滑因素的時候了，在瞭解問題後，方能設計出更好的教學法及更適合學生的課程，如此學生的英語程度才能提昇。 在以學習者為中心的教學法中，英文老師們責無旁貸的應率先了解學生們在過去學習英文所遭遇的困難，瞭解問題並解決問題，以發展出新的學習策略幫助學生在未來有更好的學習經驗及成效。對大一學生而言，幫助他們在嶄新的大學階段裡發展出更積極的學習態度及責任感是極其重要的。 本篇論文是以問卷調查方式來探究大一學生學習英文的趨向，其中包含了四個方面：學習態度、學習困境、學習策略、及對未來學習的期望。此研究的發現期望對未來課程設計及教學趨向能有所助益。

Facing the challenges of English becoming the common language in the global society, the English language education in Asia has been going through some revolutionary changes in recent years. In order to help students acquire better language skills, English teachers are beginning to explore new methods of teaching at all school levels. Both educators and school officials have been saying, recently, that the Taiwanese undergraduate students' English ability is dropping from bad to worse. In terms of English competence, undergraduate students here are far behind their counterparts in the People's Republic of China. Furthermore, our average TOFEL score is not as good as ever among all Asian countries. All these facts indicate that it is time for all those who are involved in the English language education to reflect and find out the possible reasons causing this decline, and develop better pedagogy and curriculum to upgrade the students' competency level in English. To be part of the action team, English teachers should first commit themselves to learning the first-hand problems and difficulties the students experienced in the past, as EFL pedagogy has shifted from teacher-centered approaches to student--centered approaches. Then they can develop strategies to better students' English learning experiences in the future. It is imperative to help the freshmen in college develop a more positive attitude and a strong commitment towards the learning of the English language. This study explores the English language learning orientations among college students enrolled in Freshman English classes through the usage of a group administered survey questionnaire. Orientation statements cover the four general areas of learning attitude, areas of learning difficulties, learning strategies, and expectations. The findings from this study are expected to be of great value in guiding English curriculum design and in bettering teachers' teaching orientations.