A Study Of Frequency Of Learning Strategies On Successful And Less Successful Non-English Majors

People have been interested in second language acquisition for a long time, but much emphasis of the researches was once replaced by language teaching. However, the development of psychology over the nature of learning and a revolution in linguistic caused a challenge to the dominance of the research on language teaching(D.L. Freeman, M.H. Long, 2000). Thus, a prominent shift of the focus in the field of second language acquisition has been not only from the teaching process to the learning process, but also from the broader scope to the narrower one with the development of the language learning strategies since 1970s. In the early seventies, the well-known American sociolinguist, Rubin (1976) began to pursue the idea of investigating language learning by studying the strategies of successful language learners. Huang and Van-Naerssen (1987) and Wenden (1986) also claimed that less successful learners used fewer strategies, less frequently, compared with more successful learners. Besides, Vann and Abraham (1990) found that unsuccessful learners were also active strategy users but used the strategies less effectively in their study. In addition, the researches on LCS are few and fragmentary in China. Recently, Jiang Zukang studied the listening strategies in 1994; Zhou Wenjing (2002) carried out a six-week experimental study to investigate the effects of strategy training on listening performance, and found that the experimental group performed much better than the control group, especially in the use of listening comprehension strategies; Cheng Jitang invested the relationship between the memory strategies and listening comprehension (2002); Zhao Changrong got the result the"inferencing"was an important cognitive strategy in LCS (2004); Wang Ruijun and Mei Deming made the study of cognitive strategies on listening comprehension, etc. These are the resent significant researches on LCS in China. The purpose of this paper is to attempt to investigate the relationship between learning strategies and language achievement. Through a series of questionnaires, analysis and discussion, my study attempt to solve the following questions:The first one is: finding the language learning strategy preferences of Non-English majors in Xi'an International University.The second one is: the differences relating to learning strategies between relatively successful and less successful learners.The third one is: the high frequencies of strategies in second language listening comprehension strategies.In order to solve the three questions, I gave the subjects lists of strategies and questionnaire and asked them to answer what extent they were really using these strategies in order to be able to draw some kind of conclusion in which the Tables and the mean scores lines for good language learners and less successful learners would be different. Based on the means score lines, I could analyze the difference in strategy use between the two kinds of learners and high frequencies in second language listening comprehension strategies.The instruments used in this study include questionnaires, a second language listening comprehension strategy inventory and Strategy Inventory for Language Learning Revised Version. The questionnaire of Strategy Inventory for language learning revised version contains statements concerning learning strategies. It almost includes 47 short statement concerning six kinds of learning strategies, which come from several source available to various aspects of learning. These questions cover metacognitive strategies, cognitive strategies, affective strategies, social strategies, memory strategies and compensation strategies. The questionnaire of a second language listening comprehension strategy inventory refers to the second language listening comprehension strategy inventory which was designed carefully according to Oxford's Strategy Inventory for language learning.The frame work of this study includes five parts: the first chapter gives a general description of the study and the overall structure of the thesis; the second chapter outlines some backgrounds on Language Learning Strategies, Research on good learners and listening comprehension strategy and speaking strategy; the third chapter describes the methodology of the study, including subjects, instruments, methods, procedures; the fourth chapter discusses the research according to the three above questions; the fifth chapter ends the paper by presenting some major findings, implications and suggestions for the future developmental research series.Through the research, we find out that there are notable differences between language learning strategies use of successful learners and less successful learners in Xi'an International University. The biggest differences between the two groups are in the use of affective strategies and metacognitive strategies. However, both successful learners and unsuccessful learners show the same tendency for the choices of the bellow strategies. They are: trying to use the new words in a sentence so that I can remember it; connecting the sound of a new word and an image of the word to help me remember the word; reciting the new words from the vocabulary book; reviewing English lessons often; making summaries of information that I hear or read in English; asking for help from English Teacher. Through these detailed strategies, we can see that both the successful learners and less successful learners are familiar with memory and compensation strategies, especially those which are often explained by others; on the other hand, it also reflects that most students are more sensitive to their language learning progress and try to employ some strategies to improve.Beyond that, the results of SPSS analysis show that there is a rank order divided into four parts- high, middle, low and zero for the frequency of LCSU in the process of listening strategies. The instructor could put their main part in these high strategies training whiling teaching listening. Those of low or zero frequencies could be neglected because their less importance of the listening comprehension process and seldom used by students. This finding has pointed out the possible direction for the listening comprehension strategy training and had significant implications for second language listening learning and teaching.