A Comparative Study Of English Learning Strategies Between Key&Common High School Students

The main purpose of this thesis is to compare the similarities and differences in the use of English learning strategies between key high school students and common high school students.Different from previous studies that usually focused only on one type of students,this thesis is a comparative study of English learning strategies between key and common high school students.The author hopes to find out the characteristics of key high school students and common high school students in the use of English learning strategies so that teachers can improve their teaching methods and guide students to formulate their own learning strategies.In this thesis,Oxford(1990)Language Learning Scale(SILL)is used to investigate 400 students in two schools.Of the 400 students,200 are from key high school and the remaining200 are from common high school.This research attempts to explore two questions:(1)What are the similarities in the use of English learning strategies between key high school students and common high school students?(2)What are the differences in the use of English learning strategies between key high school students and common high school students? The theoretical basis for this study includes Bandura's motivation theory,constructivism learning theory,strategic knowledge transformation theory and elaboration theory.After the quantitative analysis of the questionnaire data,the conclusions are as follows:(1)According to Oxford' frequency distribution scale,the frequency of English learning strategies used by key high school students is from 2.8 to 3.1,and that of common high school students is from 2.3 to 2.6,both of which are at a medium level.In addition,according to the data analysis,the most frequently used English learning strategies of key high school students and common high school students are compensation strategy and meta-cognitive strategy.(2)According to the data analysis of the scale,the frequency of English learning strategies used by key high school students is higher than that of common high school students.The frequency of strategies used by key high school students ranges from high to low is compensation strategy,meta-cognitive strategy,memory strategy,cognitive strategy,social strategy and affective strategy.However,that by common high school students ranges from compensation strategy,meta-cognitive strategy,social strategy,cognitive strategy,affective strategy and memory strategy.Therefore,high school English teachers in key and common high schools should both strengthen students' learning of strategies.Students in key high schools should strengthenaffective and social strategies.Common high school students should focus on memory strategy and affective strategy.