A Study On English Learning Strategies Of Non-English Majors Under Graded Teaching

Since the 1970s, language teachers and researchers have shifted their focus from "how to teach" to "how to learn". In order to understand the individual differences in language learners, tremendous research has been conducted on many factors, such as age, sex, motivation, aptitude, anxiety, self-esteem, language learning styles, and language learning strategies. Among these factors, language learning strategies have attracted special attention and have been one of the key aspects in the study of second language acquisition.The research on language learning strategies began in China in the early 1980s, and since then, many studies have been carried out on different subjects. At the same time, graded College English teaching has been implemented in many colleges and universities in China and some research has been conducted on language learning strategies under graded teaching. However, most of them focus on the use of LLS of certain level students, specific strategies or the relationship between certain strategies and language skill, Few of them bother to investigate the overall use of language strategies, the relationship between strategy use and language achievement and the variations in strategy use between the high level group and the low level one.This thesis is meant to explore the use of language learning strategies of the non-English majors under graded teaching. It tries to investigate:1. the overall condition of LLS use by non-English majors;2. the correlation between LLS use and language achievement;3. the variations in LLS use between high-level students and low-level ones.144 students from Shandong Women’s University participated in this study. The data are collected through questionnaires which are based on Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) by Oxford (1990). SPSS 20.0 Statistical Analysis System is used to compute and analyze the data.The results of the study show that the frequency of the overall strategy use of the non-English majors under graded teaching is not high. The most frequently used strategies are the compensation strategies while social strategies are the least frequently used strategies. The use of language learning strategies is significantly correlated with language achievement, and the more frequently the strategies are used, the better the language achievement will be. The students’strategy use of the high-level group and the low-level group are all at a medium level, and the high-level students use strategies more often than those from the low-level group and significant variation is discovered in their use of memory strategies, cognitive strategies, compensation strategies, affective strategies and social strategies.The results show that more opportunities should be given to students to use language learning strategies, especially those which have significant correlation with language achievement but not usually used by the students. It is particularly urgent that all the students, especially those from the low-level group, should be inspired and trained to use more strategies in order to better their English learning. They should learn and practice language learning strategies consciously and positively.