Classroom Research on Language Learning Strategy Instruction

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Classroom Research on Language Learning Strategy
Instruction

• Yang Luxin
• lyang2003_at_gmail.com

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Outline

• Current research
• Directions for future research

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Current Research

• Listening comprehension strategies studies
• Oral communication strategies studies
• Reading comprehension strategies studies
• Vocabulary strategies studies
• Writing strategies studies

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Listening comprehension strategies studies

• Limited number of studies on teaching listening
  strategies
• Encouraging evidence students can learn to use
  listening strategies and the use of strategies
  can improve listening comprehension (e.g.,
  Carrier, 2003 Ross Rost,1991Thompson Rubin,
  1996)

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Larry Vandergrift (2003)

• 2 groups of university students (41) at a
  beginning level French as a second language
  course (13-week period of the course)
• Task A top-down approach (students are asked to
  predict about the passage)

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Larry Vandergrift (2003)

• Task B working in pairs, focus on specific
  details (e.g., sequence of events in the story)
• Self-reflection

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Larry Vandergrift (2003)

• Positive reaction to listening tasks and
  activities
• Raising awareness of the process of listening

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Larry Vandergrift (2003)

• Benefit of prediction
• Usefulness of discussion with a partner
• Motivational effect (increasing confidence)

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Oral communication strategies studies

• A small number of studies
• Pairing communication strategies with appropriate
  metacognitive strategy training could enhance
  learners awareness of strategy use and develop
  their communication skills (Cohen et al., 1998
  Dörnyei, 1995 OMalley et al., 1985)

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Yasuo Nakatani 2005

• To examine the effect of oral communication
  strategy (OCS) training
• 62 female students (control group34 training
  group 28)
• In a 12-week EFL classes at a private college in
  Japan

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Yasuo Nakatani 2005

• Data collection
• pre- and post-course oral communication test
  scores
• transcription data from the tests
• retrospective protocol data

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Findings (Nakatani, 2005)

• Improve their oral proficiency test scores
• Make longer utterances
• Use more achievement strategies (e.g., modified
  interaction, modified output, time-gaining,
  maintenance strategies)
• Become aware of oral communication strategies

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Reading comprehension strategies studies

• Teachers found it easier to teach strategies in
  the native language (Chamot Keatley, 2003)
• Have more impact on higher proficiency students
  (Ikeda Takeuchi, 2003)
• Task difficulty, proficiency level, and use of
  strategies (Oxford et al., 2004)

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Ikeda Takeuchi, 2003

• 210 students of English at a Japanese university
• An experimental and a control group
• Explicit reading strategy instruction to the
  experimental group (8 weeks) (e.g., making
  inferences, using selective attention, using
  imagery)
• Pre- and posttests, survey

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Ikeda Takeuchi, 2003

• Affect the high proficiency level group
• Low proficiency students may need a focus on
  bottom-up processing strategies
• Retain their use of reading strategies 5 months
  after the instruction

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Vocabulary strategies studies

• Many learners use more strategies for learning
  vocabularies than for other linguistic
  aspects(Schmitt,1997)
• Good learners use a variety of strategies
  (Schmitt,1997)

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Vocabulary strategies studies

• mechanical strategies such as memorization,
  note-taking, and repetition are used more often
  than strategies that involve deep processing such
  as guessing, imagery and the keyword technique
  (Schmitt,1997)

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Fan 2003

• 1067 students from 7 institutions of higher
  education in Hong Kong
• The vocabulary test
• The vocabulary learning strategies questionnaire
  (management, sources, guessing, dictionary,
  repetition, association, grouping, analysis,
  known words)

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Fan 2003

• The more proficient students reported using more
  sources, guessing, dictionary and known words
  strategies
• Less proficient students used repetition and
  association strategies more often
• Positive relationship between learner beliefs and
  strategy use

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Fan 2003

• To conclude, the secret to vocabulary learning
  may include helping students see the relevance of
  strategy use in learning L2 vocabulary,
  introducing them to the strategies used often by
  proficient vocabulary learners and, most
  important, encourage them to develop their own
  effective strategies for learning.

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Writing strategies studies

• Two research projects
• He, 2002 (Taiwan)
• Ma (2006)

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He 2002

• 38 Taiwanese college-level writers
• Two groups mastery-orientation (intrinsic
  motivation to improve writing) and
  performance-orientation (extrinsic motivation to
  be better than other writers)
• The strategies used by two groups planning,
  monitoring/evaluation, revising, retrieving,
  compensating

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He 2002

• Writers in the mastery-orientation group used
  monitoring/evaluation, revising, and compensating
  strategies more frequently.
• The mastery group produced better essays.
• Revising strategies and mastery orientation
  served as two significant predictors of
  successful writing.

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AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF WRITING MOTIVATION OF
CHINESE EFL LEARNERS

• ---- Ma Huan, BFSU

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Research questions

• 1. What motivate Chinese non-English major
  college students to learn to write in English?
• 2. Are there any gender differences in Chinese
  non-English major college students writing
  motivation?

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Research questions

• 3. What are Chinese EFL students and TEFL
  instructors attitudes towards learning to write
  in English in university?
• 4. What are Chinese EFL students and TEFL
  instructors attitudes towards current English
  writing instruction in university?

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Methodology

• Participants
• Instruments
• Data collection
• Data analysis

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Participants
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Interviewees
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Instruments

• A questionnaire
• modified from Language Learning
  Orientations Scale Intrinsic Motivation,
  Extrinsic Motivation, and Amotivation Subscales
  (Noels, et al., 2000)
• measured by a 7-point Likert scale (1 I
  strongly disagree 7 I strongly agree)
• Two semi-structured interviews
• one for students one for
  instructors

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Data collection

• Pilot study to test the reliability of the
  questionnaire (R .77 )
• Study
• questionnaires valid return rate 91.9
• interview four students
• two instructors

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Data analysis

• SPSS 11.0- to explore writing motivational
  orientations
• ANOVA
• to test whether demographic features
  (gender differences) had significant effects on
  various types of motivation

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Qualitative analysis

• Interview transcripts and students answers to
  the open question in questionnaires
• Two perspectives (i.e., students and instructors)
  

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Findings

• Chinese EFL students had clear motivation to
  learn English writing. Furthermore, the
  participants learned to write in English with a
  stronger extrinsic motivation. (Identification
  was the first strongest motivation. )

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(No Transcript)
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(No Transcript)
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Note

• Q3 In order to get a better job later on, I
  learn to write in English.
• Q8 I learn to write in English, because I
  choose to be the kind of person
• who can write in a second language.

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Findings

• Gender differences in writing motivation were
  rendered nonsignificant except on external
  regulation and identified regulation.

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Findings

• Instructors did not know their students very
  well. There was a gap between what the
  instructors belief of their students writing
  motivation and students expectation toward
  learning English writing.

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Instructors belief for exam only

• The students motivation is to pass the exam.
  (Yang)
• They (students) just want to write which is
  similar with the composition in CET 4. (Yang)

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Instructors belief for exam only

• The teaching of English writing is a waste of
  time. (Yang)
• The students just write for assignments. They
  learn to write just for passing the exam. (Wan)

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Students motive intrinsic motivation

• To write something in English is good. Sort of
  enjoy. (Wang)
• It (to express my ideas in English) makes you
  feel more comfortable. (Wang)
• -- Learn to write in English was necessary for
  a qualified graduate. (Zhu)

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Students motive intrinsic motivation

• -- to write in English was enjoyable and could
  learn something. (Zhu)
• -- I had learned English for so many years,
  then I should know how to write in English.
  (Zhang)

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What instructors provide

• The writing requirements and topics are similar
  to the writing section in CET 4 (College English
  Test Band 4) exam. As for other kinds of writing,
  they have no such ability to express what they
  want to write. (Wan)

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What instructors provide

• Students might not have much interest in this
  kind of writing (i.e., writing exercise in
  textbooks). But, as for other kinds of writing
  exercises, the students can not find any
  materials, therefore, they have nothing to write.
  (Yang)

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What students want

• -- I preferred challenging writing task. (Zhu)
• -- I felt that the topics (given by the
  instructor) were not related to our life. It was
  not authentic in real life. (Li)

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What students want

• -- practical writing (i.e., note, fax, etc.)
• -- to learn something which was related to our
  life and could be used in our future life or
  work. (the answers to the open question in
  questionnaire)

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A Case Study of the Learning Strategy of Chinese
College EFL Students Using SILL

• By Wang Ying BFSU

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Research Questions

• What is the pattern of language learning strategy
  use of Chinese college students learning English
  as a foreign language?
• What is the relationship between the use of
  language learning strategies and English language
  proficiency?

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Research Questions

• What is the relation between the conception of
  strategy the students use and the actual strategy
  used by the students?
• How do the students think of strategy training?

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Methodology

• Participants
• Instruments
• Data collection
• Data analysis

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Profile of the ParticipantsSophomore students
of arts from one key university in Beijing
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Groups divided by CET4 scorewith reference to
CET6 and CEEE score
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Instruments

• SILL (Strategy Inventory of Language Learning)
• the reliability reported is .93-.98
• Open Questionnaire and six Semi-structured
  Interviews
• CEEE(college entrance exam of English )
  /CET4/CET6 CET4 is the measure but CEEE and CET6
  are referred to to guarantee the reliability of
  the proficiency division.

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Two phases of data collection
Phase 1
Phase 2
Qualitative Data Collection
Quantitative Data Collection
Interviews
Questionnaire (close and open questions)
Data Integration
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Data Analysis

• SPSS 11.0 (One-Way ANOVA)
• to study the pattern frequency of language
  strategy use and its correlation with language
  proficiency
• Qualitative analysis
• interview transcripts and answers to open
  questions

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Finding 1

• Meta-cognitive strategy is the most frequently
  used strategy followed by cognitive and
  compensation strategy. Affective strategy and
  mother-tongue using strategy are the least
  frequently used strategy among Chinese EFL
  students in college.

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The overall strategy use by Chinese students
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Finding 2

• Overall strategy use is in linear relation with
  language proficiency.

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Multiple comparison
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Finding 3

• The successful students think of strategy use
  differently from the unsuccessful students.

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Students conception of strategy use

• The successful students think that only the
  proper ones can lead to success in learning.

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Students conception of strategy use

• But the unsuccessful students are not aware of
  the many varieties of learning strategies, they
  do not use them. So they feel that if they can
  use as many strategies as possible, they can
  learn English better.

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Finding 4

• The students think differently about strategy
  training.

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• Students from Group 1 (the successful group)
  refused to have any strategy training, thinking
  that every one has to find what works the best
  for oneself, what works successfully with one
  person may not work for others.

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• However, the less successful students think that
  strategy training will help them greatly. But
  they need training on different aspects of
  learning strategies, mostly on the strategies to
  enlarge vocabulary.

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Finding 5

• There is a gap between what the students think of
  strategies and how they use them

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• The students say that social strategies are the
  most important ones, but they do not use them
  frequently.

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• The students think that memory strategies are the
  ones that they use the most but SILL data shows
  that they use meta-cognitive strategies the most
  frequently.

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Directions for future research

• Learning strategy instruction and student
  achievements
• Language learning strategies and learning styles
• Strategy use in second language learning contexts
  vs foreign language learning contexts
• The role of computers in L2 strategy research

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References

• CarrierK. A. 2003. Improving high school English
  language learners' second language listening
  through strategy instruction. Bilingual Research
  Journal 27, 383 408.
• Chamot, A. U., Keatley, C. W. 2003. Learning
  strategies of adolescent low-literacy Hispanic
  ESL students. Paper presented at the 2003 Annual
  Meeting of the American Educational Research
  Association, Chicago, IL.

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• Fan, M. Y. 2003. Frequency of use, perceived
  usefulness, and actual usefulness of second
  language vocabulary strategies A study of Hong
  Kong learners. n Language Journal 87, (2), 222
  241.
• He, T. H. 2002. Goal orientations, writing
  strategies, and written outcomes An experimental
  study. In J. E. Katchen (Ed.), Selected papers
  from the 11th International Symposium on English
  Teaching/Fourth Pan Asian Conference. Taipei,
  Taiwan, November 8-10, 2002, pp. 198-207.

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• Ikeda, M., Takeuchi, O. 2003. Can strategy
  instruction help EFL learners to improve their
  reading ability? An empirical study. JACET
  Bulletin, 37, 49 60.
• Ma, H. (2006). An exploratory study of writing
  motivation of Chinese EFL learners. Unpublished
  MA thesis, Beijing Foreign Studies University.
• Oxford, R., Cho, Y., Leung, S., Kim H-J. 2004.
  Effect of the presence and difficulty of task on
  strategy use An exploratory study. International
  Review of Applied Linguistics in Language
  teaching, 42, 1 47.

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• Riley, L. D., Harsch, K. (1999). Enhancing the
  learning experience with strategy journals
  Supporting the diverse learning styles of ESL/EFL
  students. Proceedings of the HERDSA Annual
  International conference, Melbourne, Australia.
  http/herdsa.org.au/vic/cornerstones/pdf/Rikley.PD
  F

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• Thompson, I., Rubin, J. 1996. Can strategy
  instruction improve listening comprehension?
  Foreign Language Annals, 29 (3), 331 342.
• Wang, Y. (.2006). A Case Study of the Learning
  Strategy of Chinese College EFL Students Using
  SILL. Unpublished MA thesis, Beijing Foreign
  Studies University.