An Investigation Of College Students' Second Language Learning Strategies

Second language acquisition (SLA) research made its appearance at the early of 1970s. Researchers have been working hard for its development for 30-odd years. As a relatively independent subject, SLA has won great achievement. Among many topics relevant to SLA, the one with regard to learning strategies is a most heated one.This paper starts from the definition and classification of learning strategies. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between learning strategies, SLA and individual differences. Two instruments were used: (1)Questionnaire based on Oxford's Strategy Inventory of Language Learning (SILL); (2)Model Test Paper of CET4. The subjects were 327 non -English freshmen. The data collected were analyzed by correlation analyses of SPSS (version 11.0) . The results indicate that: (1)There is positive correlation between learning strategies and SLA; (2) SLA also affects the use of learning strategies; (3) Some individual differences affect the choice of learning strategies; (4) Gender does not have an obvious effect on learning strategies. These findings help to prove that learning strategies have apparent positive correlation with SLA. In order to enhance L2 teaching achievement , teachers are advised to employ the strategies-based instruction.