A Comparative Study On EFL University Students' Use Of Learning Strategies In Traditional And Web-based Environments

With the development of computer and network technology,internet and multimedia have been widely applied to college English teaching,and computer and network-assisted teaching has become a new trend in college English reform.At present,researches on English learning strategies in web-based and traditional environments mainly focus on the groups such as English majors and non-English majors.There are still few studies on the comparative study between language and non-language majors' learning strategy use in different environments.Those researches cannot give a comprehensive understanding on university students' English learning strategy use in different environments.Comparing web-based environment and the traditional environment,exploring the use of university students' English learning strategies in different environments will have important guidance and practical significance for college English strategy teaching,the frequency of students' learning strategies use and students' English proficiency improving.The theories of constructivism and learning autonomy support the present study that was conducted through a questionnaire survey in Hebei University to comparatively study undergraduate students' EFL learning strategy use in traditional and web-based environment.A total of 455 students from language majors and non-language majors participated in the research.The data took questionnaire and quantitative research method,and the data was processed with descriptive statistics and independent sample T-test,and the differences in the learning strategies use of different majors were analyzed.Results showed that:(1)In both online and traditional environments,all the students used learning strategies at a medium level but the frequency of traditional learning strategy use is higher than online learning strategy use.(2)In web-based environment,the language majors most commonly used online learning strategies are the memory strategies and they used least the social strategies.In the traditional environment,their most frequently used strategies are the memory strategies,and the least used is the compensation strategies.(3)In web-based environment,the non-language majors most commonly used online strategies are memory strategies and they used social strategiesleast.In the traditional environment,the metacognitive strategies are the most commonly used,and the least used is the social strategies.(4)Language majors have significant differences in their use of metacognitive strategies,cognitive strategies,and social strategies in web-based and traditional environments.Non-language majors have significant differences in their use of cognitive strategies,memory strategies,and social strategies in the two different environments.The learning strategies of non-language majors are used more frequently than language majors in both of the two environments.Based on the above research findings and the guidance of relevant theories,this study proposes some suggestions for college English teaching.For example,it suggests paying attention to students' learning style,applying learning strategies to English teaching plans,strengthening learning strategy training,and focusing on strengthening the training of students' cognition,compensation and social strategies.