A Survey Of Foreign Language Learning Strategies Of Adult Students In Vocational College

The rapid rate of knowledge renewal has presented a new challenge to education.Therefore, school education should not focus on"teacher, chalk and talk"teaching mode, buton purposes such as teaching the students how to learn and to learn well. Once the studentshave acquired the ability to learn by themselves, they can learn new knowledge andtechnology, meet new challenges, undertake hard tasks, and then, keep pace with times.Contemporary cognitive psychologists have pointed out that there is no teaching goalwhich is more important than"making students become independent, autonomous, andefficient learners". Teaching students how to learn and imparting them effective learningstrategies and methods have been regarded as one of the most effective ways of reducingstudents'burden, improving learning efficiency, and greatly enhancing teaching quality.Although different researchers have given different definitions and taxonomies tolanguage learning strategies, Oxford's (1990) definition and classification system emphasizesthe communicative nature of language, and is recognized for its strong theoretical base and itscomprehensive classification of metacognitive and cognitive properties. In addition, herassessment tool, the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL), is currently acceptedas the most comprehensive and widely used instrument for identifying strategy preferences oflanguage learners throughout the world.Quantitative and qualitative research designs are utilized in this study. This research aimsat, on the one hand, making teachers understand students' current learning situation, learningmethods and learning strategies through the survey and research of adult students' learningstrategies. Thus they can teach students in accordance with their aptitude and make thestudents understand themselves comprehensively and timely. Such ability can also helpstudents improve their learning methods and strategies and improve their learning efficiencyas soon as possible; on the other hand, making learning more autonomous and moreindependent can guide students to lay a solid foundation for future learning, which willbenefit them for their whole life. At the same time, teachers can further understand whetherthere is a difference in learning strategies used by successful learners and unsuccessfullearners and whether there is a relationship between learning strategies and students'Englishscores.It is found that students who make reasonable and flexible use of learning strategies achieve better performance than students who use single strategies. The study shows thatlearning strategies play an important role in improving learner autonomy, enhancinglearners'awareness of language, reducing their burden, and improving the learning efficiency.The study tells us that overall level of strategies used by the students in vocational college isnot high. The study also shows that the two groups of students have no remarkable differencesin the preference to six English learning strategies, but there is significant difference infrequency of use. There is a close relationship between the use of learning strategies andEnglish proficiency among learners of ESL. English foundation, interest in both the content oftextbook and English, and learning goals will directly influence the use of learning strategies,thus causing different levels of academic performance. To conclude, cognitive strategies arethe best predictors of learning proficiency for the students in vocational college.This thesis consists of five chapters: Chapter One first gives a brief introduction of theexisting problems of adult students in vocational college and current situation of research onforeign language learning strategy in China. Then it points out the significance and purpose ofthis study. Chapter Two is about the literature review on language learning strategies abroadand in China, including the definition and classification of language learning strategies,language learning strategies of good language learners, and factors affecting languagelearning strategies. Chapter Three is about research design, including the investigation of theoverall level of learning strategy used by 88 non-English adult students in vocational collegeof an agricultural university, the differences in strategy use by successful learners andunsuccessful learners, and the relationship between appropriate strategy use and learningproficiency. Chapter Four is the analysis data collected and the findings from them. ChapterFive includes the conclusion of the research.