Language Learning Strategy Preference And Language Performance Of English Majors

With the development of the research in Second Language Acquisition, people realized that foreign language learning was a complex process. The focus of research has moved from the learning product to the learning process and from the behavior of the instructor to that of the learner. Learning strategy, the variable which is regarded as key to greater autonomy and more meaningful learning, attracts more and more researchers' interest.The ultimate target of studying learning strategies is to determine which strategies are most effective and helpful for learners' learning process. So, the relationship between strategy use and proficiency becomes a hot spot of research on learning strategies. Compared with the proliferation of research on this issue abroad, the domestic research still remains underdeveloped.This study examined characteristics of language learning strategy used by English majors and compared the similarity and difference of strategies preferences between successful and less successful learners in learning English as a foreign language (EFL). Participants consisted of 67 third-year English majors in Beijing Forestry University. A questionnaire named Inventory for Language Learning Strategies (ILLS) was administered as a measure of learning strategies preferences, and the Band-4 Test for English Majors (TEM4) was used to determine English proficiency level. The Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS, version 10.07) was used for the statistical analysis of the data.The following findings were generated through descriptive statistical procedures Pearson Test: (1) Three learning strategies: affective strategies, compensation strategies and metacognitive strategies were used more frequently by subjects than those in other studies. (2) Both successful and less successful learners used bedrock strategies frequently but successful learners employed a wider range of learning strategies more often than less successful ones; (3) More strategies used were possible to help learners to attain higher proficiency, and higher proficiency would also make it more likely that learners would select more strategies and use them more frequently.Results of the current study explore the implications for teaching and learning English in the Chinese context. Suggestions for further research are also made based on the findings.