An Investigation On Language Learning Strategies Used By Non-English Major Students

Studies on language learning strategies (LLS) began in the mid 1970s, and now have seen an"explosion of activity"in recent years (Skehan, 1991). Most of these studies have been devoted to examining factors affecting students'choice of learning strategies. Of all these factors, personality types and educational background are two important variables affecting learners'choice and utilization of language learning strategies, and research in this area has drawn attention both at home and abroad.This project aimed at revealing how students'personality, educational backgrounds affected their use of language learning strategies. It was conducted in Jiangxi Normal University, where 200 non-English freshmen were selected as participants. The final sample consisted of 192 students (99 males and 93 females), after eight students were rejected because their responses had missing values. For the purpose of collecting relevant data for this study, two self-report questionnaires were used, that is, Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (EPQ-R) and Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL). All the collected data was analyzed through Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS version 14.0) by using three methods, i.e. descriptive statistics, Independent-sample T-test, One-way ANOVA. Then, semi-structured interview was used as a subsidiary research tool aiming to reflect, from another perspective, students'learning strategies. Twelve interviewees were picked out according to their answers to the collected questionnaires. The detailed analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data produced the following findings:1) All the participants in this study reported to have used learning strategies at a medium level. Compensation strategies are reported as being used the most frequently, while memory strategies are among the least frequently used. 2) Significant variation existed between extroverts and introverts in the use of language learning strategies, with the former reporting more use of overall strategies than the latter. However, no significant relationship was found in the use of metacognitive, cognitive and memory strategies between these two groups of students.3) There exists positive significant relationship between the educational backgrounds and the choice of learning strategies. Students who attended key-schools before entering university and those who had studied English for more than eight years reported to use more strategies than other types of students.On the basis of these findings, this study offered some implications for English teaching and learning in the Chinese context. First of all, English teachers should help the learners identify their own personalities. Then, English teachers should pay special attention to the learners'habitual ways of learning. Most importantly, teachers should inject the training of the use of language learning strategies into the teaching tasks, that is, to apply strategies to their language-learning process through regular activities. Teachers should also provide students with more opportunities to practice a wide variety of strategies that are tailored to the different instructional tasks and activities.