What makes a good language learner?

1
What makes a good language learner?

• Hu Wenzhong(???)
• Beijing Foreign Studies
• University

2
Nature of this talk

• This is not a commercial promotion.
• There are no grand promises.
• What were interested in is the plain truth how
  students should learn.

3
Outline of the talk

• What contributes to the outcome of learning a FL
• What are learning strategies
• Research on learning strategies
• A checklist for good language learners
• Conclusion

4
Teaching

• FL
• Learner

Learning
Outcome
Environment
(Adapted from Naiman et al.)
5
The learner
Age, personality, motivation, attitude,
intelligence, language aptitude, past language
experience
6
Teaching
Syllabus, Teaching material, Teaching
method, Activities, Teacher qualifications
7
Environment
Opportunities for second language contacts and use
8
Learning
Unconscious learning Conscious use of
learning strategies
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TEACHING
Syllabus, Teaching material, Teaching
method, Activities Teacher qualifications
LEARNER
LEARNING
OUTCOME
Unconscious processes Conscious use of
learning strategies

• Age, personality,
• motivation, attitude,
• intelligence, language aptitude, past language
  experience

Proficiency in the use of the language
Opportunities for second language contacts and use
ENVIRONMENT
(Adapted from Naiman et al.)
10
Studies have shown that

• other things being equal, learning strategies
  play a significant role in determining the
  outcome of learning.

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What are learning strategies(????)

• Learning strategies are learning processes which
  are consciously selected by the learner. (Cohen
  1990)
• The techniques or devices which a learner may
  use to acquire knowledge. (Rubin 1975)
• Measures taken by the learner for effective study
  (Wen )

12
In learning vocabulary you could

• 1.read a dictionary from cover to cover
• 2.learn vocab through copying word lists
• 3.learn vocab through memorizing texts
• 4.learn vocab through extensive reading

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• Which method do you think is the best?

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So this is a talk on

• learning how to learn

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Background against which learning strategies
studies started

• The focus of research has shifted from teaching
  to learning, from teaching methodology to
  learning strategy.

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How learning strategies studies started

• Started in the mid-70s of the last century
• J. Rubin What the good language learner can
  teach us published in TESOL Quarterly in 1975
• N. Naiman et al.The Good Language Learner
  published in 1978
• Learning strategies have now become an important
  part of second language acquisition research.
• Research in China

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Naiman et als research

• The Adult Interview Study 34 successful and 2
  unsuccessful learners selected for study
• The Main Classroom Study 72 students from 12
  classes of Grades 8,10 and 12 of schools in
  Toronto and other areas methods used include
  classroom observation and interview

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Final outcome research report

• N. Naiman et al.
• The Good Language Learner
• published by the Ontario Institute for
  Studies in Education in 1978

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(No Transcript)
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Naiman and his colleagues conclusion

• The study has shown that some of the existing
  stereotypes do not apply. For example, some
  people believe that a good language learner has
  to be musical, or have a high language aptitude
  or an exceptionally good memory. The Adult
  Interview Study indicated that these qualities
  may not be essential. (p. 103)

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3 case studies conducted by Naimans team

• In the age group 26-35
• Two are females and one male
• All three are successful language learners.
• They learned and maintained from 5 to 19
  languages including Latin, German, French,
  Swedish, Polish, Italian, Hebrew,Rumanian,
  Icelandic, Spanish, Albanian, Greek, Russian,
  Serbo-Croatian, Mohawk, Swahili, Gaelic,
  Hungarian, Hittite, Japanese and Lithunian.

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Ms As story

• Born in Virginia, USA.
• Studied German and French at school.
• Went to France and stayed there for 3 years.
• Married a French linguist, who was bilingual in
  French and German.
• Spent a total of 2 years in Sweden.
• Went to Poland for 1 year.
• Settled in Quebec and spoke French at home.

23
Ms As French learning experience

• Saw French movies every day.
• Read French newspapers and magazines.
• Monitored her own pronunciation and tried hard to
  perfect it.

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Ms A recalled

• whatever you pick up, whether its one word or
  two wordsuse iteven if it is wrong, try it out,
  it doesnt matter.

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Ms Bs background

• Born in Nova Scotia of Canada
• Languages spoken at home English and Yiddish
• Languages she studied at school German and
  French
• Went to Italy for teacher training

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Ms B recalled

• I wasnt afraid anymore, I generated
  sentencesif they werent correct, people around
  me told me how to say it. I was on the look-out
  for clues.

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Ms Bs experience

• Ms B pointed out that the immersion into an
  Italian environment, and therefore the motivation
  for having to learn to speak the language, were
  the most significant factors.

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• Is there something we can learn from Ms A and Ms
  B?

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Perhaps we could learn from them

• Their interest in foreign languages
• Their perseverance
• Their initiative
• Their use of the environment
• Their outgoing personality

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Professor Wens case study of two of her students

• Wang Hong
• Li Hua

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Professor Wen Qiufangs research findings
name sex age Eng-lish (entr.) Chi-nese (entr.) Hours Per week CET Band 4
Wang Hong F 19 95 75 20.5 90.5
Li Hua F 20 96 75 40 64.25
32
Wang Hong

• Im very active in class because I think this
  is a good chance to practice speaking. I like to
  talk with my fellow students and my teachers in
  English. I also like to talk to myself in
  English. Sometimes when I work in the kitchen I
  speak English to myself.

33
Li Hua

• I dont like to answer questions in class.
  Sometimes even when I do know the answer, I still
  feel reluctant to speak. I do not practise
  outside class because there isnt such an
  environment. Occasionally I talk to myself. When
  I cannot remember an English word I use gestures
  or simply do not speak at all.

34
Wang Hong

• Wang Hong likes to reflect on the strategies she
  has used. She evaluates her learning. When she
  could not answer the teachers questions fluently
  or got an unsatisfactory score, she would try to
  find out why before she went to bed.

35
Li Hua

• Im not clear what strategies Ive used. I just
  preview, review, do my homework and memorize new
  words. Thats all. Theres no strategy to speak
  of.

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Professor Wens book
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(No Transcript)
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39
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What is common to the GLLs

• A strong interest in the foreign language
• Hard work
• Constantly checking on ones own progress and the
  strategies used

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OMalley and Chamots classification
Learning strategies
metacognitive
meta
cognitive
social/affective
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Metacognitive strategies(?????)

• Advance organizers
• Directed attention
• Selective attention
• Self- management
• Advance preparation
• Self-monitoring
• Delayed production
• Self-evaluation

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Be a good manager of your studies

• You need to be a good planner.
• You need to use your attention wisely.
• You need to make preparations beforehand.
• You need to monitor your studies.
• You need to evaluate the methods you used.

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Cognitve strategies(????)

• Repetition
• Resourcing
• Translation
• Grouping
• Note-taking
• Deduction
• Recombination

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Cognitive strategies(????)

• Imagery
• Auditory representation
• Key word
• Contextualization
• Elaboration
• Transfer
• Inferencing

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Social/affective strategies(??/????)

• Cooperation
• Question for clarification

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Rebecca Oxfords classification

• Direct strategies
• Memory strategies
• Cognitive strategies
• Compensation strategies
• Indirect strategies
• Metacognitive strategies
• Affective strategies
• Social strategies

48
Research findings by Li Jiongying

• The learning strategies Chinese students most
  commonly use are memory strategies, cognitive and
  metacognitive strategies. Next are compensation
  strategies. The least commonly used strategies
  are social/affective strategies. (Li 2003)

49
A study of the differences between English majors
and non-English majors

• Subjects515 non-English majors and 317 English
  majors at a university in Shandong
• Questionnaire consists of two parts personal
  information and 47 questions based on Oxfords
  questionnaire.
• Conducted in May 2002.
• Scores of each student for the six strategies and
  the mean score of English majors and non-English
  majors worked out.

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Differences between English majors and
non-English majors
Non-English majors Non-English majors English majors English majors
m.s. s.d. m.s. s.d.
Meta-cognitive 3.03 .73 3.37 .64
Cognitive 2.80 .63 3.17 .50
Memory 3.35 .73 2.94 .51
Social 2.71 .73 3.14 .60
Affective 2.75 .75 2.98 .68
Compensation 3.19 .68 3.40 .58
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The research shows

• Non-English majors use fewer strategies than
  English majors.
• Non-English majors use memory strategies more
  often than English majors.
• Non-English majors need to improve their learning
  strategies.

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Rubins list of strategies

• The GLL is a willing and accurate guesser.
• The GLL has a strong drive to communicate.
• The GLL is not inhibited.
• The GLL pays attention to form.
• The GLL practises.
• The GLL monitors his own speech and the speech of
  others.
• The GLL attends to meaning.

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Be a good guesser

• Guessing,in a way, is learning.
• You may make a wrong guess, but you learn in the
  process.
• You dont make wild guesses. You use your
  previous knowledge to make an intelligent guess.

54
Now look at this sentence

• Id like to close tonight with words from the
  second inaugural address of Abraham Lincolna
  great leader who knew a few things about healing
  deadly divisions in this land. They are uncannily
  appropriate tonight.

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Have a strong drive to communicate

• Talk to your fellow students, your teachers, your
  foreign teacher or anyone who wishes to listen to
  you.
• Dont be afraid of making mistakes.
• If you have no one to talk to, talk to yourself.

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Dont be shy

• Take the initiative to communicate with people.
• Dont worry about your face.
• Learn to speak in public.

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Pay attention to both meaning and form

• Fluency and accuracy are both important, but at
  the beginning you should not worry too much about
  making mistakes.
• Practise as much as you can.
• Watch what you say and write. Be a good monitor
  of yourself.

58
Be a thinking learner

• Find strategies suitable for yourself.
• Constantly reflect on your study and sum up your
  experience.
• Improve your strategies.

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Beiwais past experience

• Oral activities
• Speaking pairs and small group activities
• Reading aloud contest
• English evening
• Field work
• Summing up learning methods and exchange
  experiences

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Now you can ask yourself the following questions

• Do you actively involve yourself in language
  learning practice?
• Do you make guesses when you come up against a
  new language item?
• Do you try to sum up rules yourself?
• Do you make conscious efforts to overcome your
  shyness?
• Do you seek opportunities to communicate with
  others in English?

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Ask yourself the following questions

• Do you monitor your writing and speaking?
• Do you often use a dictionary and sometimes a
  grammar book?
• Do you sometimes sit down and reflect on your
  learning experience?
• Are you worried when theres something you dont
  understand?
• Are you afraid of making mistakes?

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If your answers to the first eight questions
are all positive and your answers to the last two
are in the negative, Im sure youre a good
language learner.
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Thank you.