Development Of Language Learning Strategies By Proper Use Of Textbooks

Language learning strategies play an important role in Teaching of English as Second Language and Teaching of English as Foreign Language. It is proved by lots of researches that students'use of language learning strategies influences the results of their language learning. In recent years, the language learning strategy researches in China mainly focused on several perspectives:the correlation between learning style and language learning strategy use; the factors that affect language learners'language learning strategy use such as gender and personality; the correlation between the learners'language learning strategy use and their language achievement and so on. Moreover, most of the research subjects are college English learners and senior high school students. Seldom research directs attention to the correlation between junior high school students'language learning strategy promotion and the proper use of textbook. Meanwhile, the language learning strategy training based on textbook use is also neglected.The current problems of junior high school English teaching and textbook use are analyzed at the beginning of this thesis. Through reviewing on language learning strategy and strategy training researches, a language learning strategy training program embedded in junior high school English textbook Go for it! is creatively introduced. Then the qualitative and quantitative researches are used to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the training program. The ultimate goal is to raise high school English teachers' awareness on promoting students'language learning strategy. What is more important is the thesis provides teachers with some practical guide on how to conduct strategy training by proper use of the textbook.59 junior two students in Kunming No.30 High School were selected as research subjects and received a survey on their language learning strategy use by completing a questionnaire and an interview. In accordance with O'Malley and Chamot's (1990) classification of language learning strategies, the questionnaire was mainly developed based on Cheng and Zheng's (2002) English Leaning Strategy Questionnaire. Then the researcher conducted an eight-week language learning strategy training including awareness training, implicit integrated training embedded in Go for it!, explicit inductive training, training evaluation and so on. This research tries to deal with the following question:Can language learning strategy training by using Go for it! effectively facilitate junior middle school students'language learning strategy development?By analyzing post-questionnaire and post-interview data, it can be indicated that the subjects'overall frequency of language learning strategy use increased. The change of social/affective strategy use before and after the training is significant but the development of metacognitive strategy use is not significant. The research findings prove that teachers can promote junior high school students'language learning strategy by using the textbook properly.Although the research is constrained by some limitations, such as the limited research time, limited research samples, it provides high school English teachers with a language learning strategy training mode based on proper textbook use. It also sheds light on further study on textbook compiling for textbook writers.