Language learning strategies among Vietnamese EFL High School students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25170/ijelt.v14i1.1418Keywords:
Language learning strategies, strategy inventory for language learning, high school, VietnamAbstract
Despite productive research on language learning strategies (LLS), LLS is still a multifaceted topic subject to controversy. Thus, previous researchers have encouraged conducting further LLS research in different educational contexts and student population. The current study was conducted to examine the LLS use among high school students, a relatively neglected population in previous LLS studies. Participants in the study were 83 Vietnamese tenth-graders who were administered the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) by Oxford (1990), including six subscales: memory-related, cognitive, compensatory, metacognitive, affective and social strategies. The results suggested that high school learners utilized a wide range of language learning strategies at a medium level of frequency, indicating a necessity for more explicit LLS instruction. While metacognitive strategies were reported as the most frequently utilized strategies, affective strategies were the least. Cognitive strategies, which were strongly related to other LLS groups, tended to play the central role in the language learners’ LLS employment. Gender was confirmed to be a significant factor that influenced the students’ LLS usage only in the case of social strategies. Pedagogical implications regarding strategy instruction were discussed.
References
Bialystok, E. (1979). The Role of Conscious Strategies in Second Language Proficiency. Canadian Modern Language Review, 35(3), 372-94.
Cohen, A. (1990). Language learning: Insights for learners, teachers, and researchers. New York. Newbury House.
Do, M.H., & Nguyen, T.P.T. (2014). Vietnamese EFL learners' reading comprehension affected via metacognitive strategy instruction. International Journal for Research in Education, 3(5).
Dulay, H.C., & Burt, M.K. (1972). Goofing: an indicator of children's second language learning strategies. Language learning, 22(2), 235-252.
Goh, C., & Foong, K. P. (1997). Chinese ESL students’ learning strategies: A look at frequency, proficiency, and gender. Hong Kong Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2(1), 39-53.
Green, J.M., & Oxford, R.L. (1995). A closer look at learning strategies, L2 proficiency, and gender. TESOL Quarterly, 29(2), 261-297.
Griffiths, C. (2003). Patterns of language learning strategy use. System, 31(3), 367-383.
Griffiths, C. (2008). Strategies and good language learners. In C. Griffiths (Ed.), Lessons from good language learners (pp. 83–98). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Griffiths, C., & Oxford, R.L. (2014). The twenty-first century landscape of language learning strategies: Introduction to this special issue. System, 43, 1-10.
Ho, A.P. & Ng, L.L. (2016). Gender-based differences in language learning strategies among undergraduates in a Malaysian public university, Issues in Language Studies, 1.
Khamkhien, A. (2010). Factors affecting language learning strategy reported usage by Thai and Vietnamese EFL learners. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language teaching, 7(1), 66-85.
Krashen, S.D. (2004). The power of reading: Insights from the research: Insights from the research. ABC-CLIO.
Lee, S.Y. (2005). Facilitating and inhibiting factors in English as a foreign language writing performance: A model testing with structural equation modeling. Language learning, 55(2), 335-374.
Lee, S.Y. (2007). Revelations from three consecutive studies on extensive reading. RELC Journal, 38(2), 150-170.
Nguyen, T.B.H. (2013). English learning strategies of Vietnamese tertiary students (Unpublished Doctoral dissertation, University of Tasmania).
Nguyen, V.T. (2016). Exploring Language Learning Strategies of Vietnamese University English and Non-English Majors. Language Education in Asia, 4.
Nishino, T. (2007). Beginning to read extensively: A case study with Mako and Fumi. Reading in a Foreign Language 19(2), 76-105.
Oanh, D.T.H., & Hien, N.T. (2006). Memorization and EFL Students' Strategies at University Level in Vietnam. TESL-EJ, 10(2), n2.
O'Malley, J.M., Chamot, A.U., Stewner‐Manzanares, G., Kupper, L., & Russo, R.P. (1985). Learning strategies used by beginning and intermediate ESL students. Language learning, 35(1), 21-46.
Oxford, R.L. (1990). Language Learning Strategies: What Every Teacher Should Know. Newbury House, New York.
Oxford, R.L. (2003). Language learning styles and strategies: An overview. Learning Styles & Strategies.
Plonsky, L. (2011). The effectiveness of second language strategy instruction: a meta‐analysis. Language learning, 61(4), 993-1038.
Rubin, J. (1987). Learner strategies: Theoretical assumptions, research history, and typology. In A. Wenden & J. Rubin (Eds.), Learner strategies in language learning (pp. 15-30). Englewood, NJ: Prentice/Hall International.
Stanovich, K.E., Cunningham, A.E., & West, R.F. (1998). Literacy experiences and the shaping of cognition. Global prospects for education: Development, culture, and schooling, 253-288.
Taylor, B.P. (1975). Adult language learning strategies and their pedagogical implications. TESOL Quarterly, 391-399.
Wenden, A. & J. Rubin, (1987). Learner strategies in language learning. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Zheng, C., Liang, J.C., Li, M., & Tsai, C.C. (2018). The relationship between English language learners’ motivation and online self-regulation: A structural equation modelling approach. System, 76, 144-157.
Zhou, Y. (2010). English language learning strategy use by Chinese high school students. English Language Teaching, 3(4), 152.
