| This dissertation reports an investigation of the different learning strategies employed by second language learners. Two hypotheses are being tested: (1) Second language learners with different proficiency levels tend to adopt different learning strategies, consisting of transfer, overgeneralization, developmental strategies, etc. (2) Second language learners of reverse but typologically very different L1 and L2, such as the American learners with English as L1 and Chinese as L2, and the Chinese learners with Chinese as L1 and English as L2, tend to make errors in different directions in grammatical structures of the target language in spite of the fact that the same two languages, English and Chinese, are involved.; In the study, a cross-sectional design is used to study a large group at one point in time. Language data are collected through a written translation test of 50 items with restricted time to minimize self-editing. The sentence structures tested are adverbial placement, question, negation and verb, for which a syntactical comparison between English and Chinese has been attempted. Errors are analysed and classified into types and categories. The research subjects are composed of 40 American learners of Chinese studying in universities in New York and New Jersey, and 120 Chinese learners of English studying in universities in Taipei and Beijing. Their ages ranged from 18 to 24 and their proficiency levels ranged from elementary to mid intermediate.; The major findings of the study are as follows: (1) Second language learners of different proficiency levels employ proportionately different learning strategies: The lower-level learners employ more transfer and fewer developmental, including overgeneralization strategies, while higher-level learners employ more developmental and fewer transfer strategies. (2) Second language learners of diverse proficiency levels from elementary to mid intermediate display a different number of consistent error patterns in different directions: The lower-level learners display fewer error patterns and more inconsistent errors, while higher-level learners display more error patterns and fewer inconsistent errors.; The findings provide important pedagogical implications for second language teaching and learning. |
