An Investigation On Language Learning Strategies Used By Senior One Students

Since1970s, language learning strategy has been a hot topic in the field of secondlanguage learning. Modern education and psychology generally believed that to teachstudents “how to learn”, especially to master learning strategies, contributes to bothteachers’ teaching effectiveness, and students’ learning efficiency. In2003, the Ministry ofEducation of China published the new English Curriculum Standard, in which fosteringstudents’ ability of using language learning strategy was counted as one of the majorteaching objectives. After a decade, what about the development of language learningstrategy (LLS)? The period of senior grade one, as the transition from junior high schoolsto senior high schools, plays a predominant role in high school studying. Do senior onestudents realize the significance of LLS? With all these problems, the author of thepresent study conducted an investigation on language learning strategies used by seniorone students.This paper adopts quantitative methods. Through questionnaire survey andsemi-structured interviews,184senior-one students from Ganzhou Middle School wereinvolved in the investigation. Wen Qiufang’s questionnaire, which is called The Strategyof English Learning, was one of the instruments of the study. SPSS was used to analyzecollected data. The main research problems are about the overall situation of LLS use bythe subjects, the possible differences on the use of LLS between high-score group andlow-score group, the possible differences on the use of LLS in different gender as well asthe correlation between English proficiency and strategy use.The results show that:1) the subjects’ application of language learning strategies isat medium level. They sometimes use language learning strategies in their study. Amongthe four categories, the most frequently used strategy is monitor strategy, which isfollowed by cognitive strategy and resource strategy. Communicative strategy is used theleast frequently. For individual strategies, the subjects have their own preferences. Themonitor strategies they tend to use are choosing suitable materials in accordance to theirEnglish level, evaluating the level of their study, and arranging study for furtherimprovement. The cognitive strategies they usually use are guessing the meaning of theunknown words from context, ignoring the unknown words and continuing listening, and watching English program and movies. But some useful strategies like reading Englishnewspapers or books, reciting English materials, and taking notes, writing messages,letters or diaries in English actively are less frequently used. Resource strategies likeconsulting dictionaries when one comes up against unknown words, and looking over allof the meanings and examples of the unknown words in a dictionary are more frequentlyused than other resource strategies. Communicative strategies like asking questions whenone is unsure about what another person is saying are used in an active way. The subjectseither don’t pretend to know when they don’t know during conversation.2) The subjectsin high-score group are better at making use of learning strategies than the subjects oflow-score group. There exist significant differences between the two groups in the use ofmonitor and cognitive strategies. The subjects of high-score group employ monitorstrategies and cognitive strategies more frequently than that of low-score group.3) Malesubjects use cognitive, resource and communicative learning strategies more frequentlythan female subjects, while female subjects are slightly better at using monitor strategiesthan male subjects. But there is no difference between the two groups. Both male andfemale groups of subjects sometimes use learning strategies.4) There is certain correlationbetween strategy use and English proficiency. Monitor strategies are significantlycorrelated with students’ English proficiency. The more frequently the subjects employmonitor strategies, the higher English achievements they are likely to attain.Based on theoretical research and investigation, the present study finally comes tothe following conclusions, hoping to provide some references for English teaching: thereis great contribution of language learning strategies to students’ English achievements; itis very requisite for teachers to foster a sense of participation, study the latestachievements in the field, and strengthen their own learning on language learningstrategies, as well as integrate language learning strategies with English teaching; studentsneed to promote their employment of language learning strategies purposefully, andoptimize their learning styles, so that their English performance will be improved.