5 factors affecting language learning strategies use (slides)Presentation

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1. ge6533 language learning strategies instruction5 Factors Affecting LanguageLearning
Strategies Use Lisa Kwan Su Li (P67239)
2. motivation 1 An important factor influencing strategy use (Oxford & Nyikos 1989) Positive
correlation between motivation level and use of language learning strategies (or LLS) (Yang
1999) More motivated learners used more learning strategies, and more frequently (McIntyre &
Noels 1996) Number of learning strategies associated with motivation level (Chang & Huang
1999)
3. motivation 1 With Japanese students in England, instrumental and integrative motivation had
significant effect on choice of LLs (Tamada 1996) strategy use was affected by motivational
level instead of a particular motivational orientation (instrumental or integrative) (MacLeod
2002) One of the major predictors of the use of LLS by Persian learners (Rahimi et al. 2008)
4. motivation 1 Motivation most significant factor (followed by experience studying English and
gender) affecting choice of LLS (Khamkhien 2010) In a study with Korean immigrant college
students in the United States, no correlation was found between motivation and direct LLS, but
a significant relationship was evidenced between motivation and direct LLS (Stoffa et al. 2011)
5. gender 2 Females use significantly more learning strategies than males (Green & Oxford
1995; Gu 2002; Razak et al. 2012) Females found to use strategies more frequently even
across cultural backgrounds (Brazil, China, German, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia,
Taiwan, Thailand, and Togo) and dis/favoured different strategies than males Females used
Social and Metacognitive strategies most, Memory the least; Males used Metacognitive and
Compensation most, Affective least (Hong-Nam & Leavell 2006)
6. gender 2 In contrast, some studies found males to use learning strategies more than
females Males were more likely to use a variety of learning strategies than females in a study
of adult Vietnamese refugees (Tran 1988) With 678 Singaporean university students, males
used a greater number of strategies significantly more often than females (Wharton 2000)
Although no significant gender differences, males used significantly more social strategies than
females (Radwan 2011)
7. gender 2 Still other studies found no gender differences for LLS use No significant effect on
certain strategies like Memory, Metacognitive and Affective, UNLESS from different majors (Ma
1999) No statistically significant differences according to gender with strategy use (Griffiths
2003) Not one of the variables affecting strategy use choice (Khamkhien 2010)
8. proficiency level 3 High level of proficiency associated with increased use of both direct and
indirect strategies (Green & Oxford 1995; Park 1997; Chen 2002) In Park (1997) and Peacock
and Hos (2003) studies, a linear correlation and significant correlations between strategy use
and proficiency level were found among Korean EFL learners and university students in Hong
Kong respectively Cognitive and metacognitive strategies show high correlations with high
language proficiency levels (Peacock & Ho 2003)
9. proficiency level 3 Differing levels of proficiency gave rise to differing frequencies of strategy
use intermediate students used metacognitive strategies more than beginners, while the latter
used more translation strategies (OMalley et al. 1985) Low-proficiency students used more
communication strategies than high- proficiency ones (Chen 1990) Low-proficiency students
outperformed the high-proficiency ones in their use of compensation strategies (Chen 2002)
10. proficiency level 3 Proficiency level strongest predictor of LLS used by Iranian learners
(Rahimi et al. 2008) Proficient students used more overall strategies, but significantly more
cognitive, metacognitive and affective strategies than less-proficient ones (Radwan 2011) High-
proficiency students used compensation strategies more frequently than others while low-
proficiency ones used social strategies most (Paul 2011) High-level English proficiency
students used more strategies more frequently (Rao 2012)
11. learning style 4 An individuals learning style preferences influence the type of LLS they
use Extroverts show a strong preference for social strategies; introverts use metacognitive
strategies more frequently (Ehrman & Oxford 1990) Learners who favour group study tend to
use social and interactive strategies (Rossi-Le 1995) But, Rahimi, Riazi and Saif (2008) found
no significant difference of learning style on Iranian EFL learners LLS choices
12. learning style 4 There were qualitatively significant differences between Iranian EFL
learners perceptual learning style preferences and LLS (Alireza & Abdullah 2010)
13. experiences in studying 5 Studying abroad (in Europe or the United States) contributed to
language learning strategy choices (Opper, Teichler & Carlson 1990) Purdie and Olivers
(1999) study showed that students who had been in Australia for a longer period of time (3 or
less years and 4 or more) obtained significantly higher mean scores for Cognitive strategies and
for Memory strategies But, frequency of LLS used decreased across increasing time length of
studying the language (Rahimi et al. 2008)
14. Thank you! :)
15. referencesAlireza, S. & Abdullah, M.H. 2010. Language learning strategies and styles
among Iranian engineering and political science graduate students studying abroad.
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learning motivation and language strategies of Taiwanese EFL students. Washington, DC:
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English proficiency students in a technology college. Masters thesis, Changhua Normal
University, Changhua, Taiwan.Chen, S.Q. 1990. A study of communication strategies in
interlanguage production by Chinese EFL learners. Language Learning 40: 155187.Ehrman,
M. & Oxford, R. 1990. Adult language learning styles and strategies in an intensive training
setting. Modern Language Journal 74: 311326.Green, J.M. & R. Oxford. 1995. A closer look at
learning strategies, L2 proficiency, and gender. TESOL Quarterly 29: 261 297.Griffiths, C.
2003. Patterns of language learning strategy use. System 31: 367383.Gu, Y. 2002. Gender,
academic major, and vocabulary learning strategies of Chinese EFL learners. RELC Journal
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students in an intensive Eng-lish learning context. System 34: 399415.Khamkhien, A. 2010.
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learning strategies of a sample of tertiary-level students in the P.R. China. Guide-lines 21(1): 1
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16. referencesMacLeod, P. 2002. Take two language learners: A case study of the learning
strategies of two successful learners of English as a second language with instrumental
motivation. Journal of Language and Linguistics 1: 113.McIntyre, P.D. & Noels, K. 1996. Using
social-psychological variables to predict the use of language learning strategies. Foreign
Language Annals 29: 373386.OMalley, J.M., Chamot, A.U., Stewner-Manzanares Kpper
G.L., & Russo, R.P. 1985. Learning strategies used by beginning and intermediate ESL
students. Language Learning 35: 2146.Opper, S., Teichler, U. & Carlson, J. 1990. Impacts of
studying abroad programmes on students and graduates. London: Jessica Kinglsey
Publishers.Oxford, R. & Nyikos, M. 1989. Variables affecting choice of language learning
strategies by university students. Modern Language Journal 73: 291300.Park G.P. 1997.
Language learning strategies and English proficiency in Korean university students. Foreign
Language Annals 30(2): 211221.Paul, P. 2011. Use of language learning strategies: an
investigation of the use pattern of language learning strategies of Bangladeshi learners and its
correlation with the proficiency level. Thesis submitted to the Department of English and
Humanities of BRAC University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master
of Arts in Applied Linguistics and ELT.Peacock, M. & Ho, B. 2003. Student language learning
strategies across eight disciplines. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 13: 179
200.Purdie, N. & Oliver, R. 1999. Language strategies used by bilingual school-aged children.
System 27: 375388.
17. referencesRadwan, A.A. 2011. Effects of L2 proficiency and gender on choice of language
learning strategies by university students majoring in English. Asian EFL Journal 13(1): 114-
162.Rahimi, M. Riazi, A. & Saif, S. 2008. An investigation into the factors affecting the use of
language learning strategies by Persian EFL learners. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics
11(2): 31-60.Rao, Z. 2012. Language learning strategies and English proficiency: interpretations
from information-processing theory. The Language Learning Journal, (ahead-of-print), 1-
17.Razak, N.Z.A., Ismail, F., Aziz, A.A., & Babikkoi, M.A. 2012. Assessing the use of English
language learning strategies among secondary school students in Malaysia. Procedia-Social
and Behavioral Sciences 66: 240-246.Rossi-Le, L. 1995. Learning style and strategies in adult
immigrant ESL students. In J.M. Reid (ed.), Learning styles in the ESL/EFL classroom. Boston:
Heinle & Heinle, pp. 118125.Stoffa, R., Kush, J.C. & Heo, M. 2011. Using the Motivated
Strategies for Learning Questionnaire and the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning in
assessing motivation and learning strategies of generation 1.5 Korean immigrant students.
Education Research International 2011: 1-8.Tamada, Y. 1996. The relationship between
Japanese learners personal factors and their choices of language learning strategies. Modern
Language Journal 80: 120131.Tran, T.V. 1988. Sex differences in English language
acculturation and learning strategies among Vietnamese adults aged 40 and over in the United
States. Sex Roles 19: 747758.Wharton, G. 2000. Language learning strategy use of bilingual
foreign language learner in Singapore. Lan-guage Learning 50(2): 203243.Yang, N.D. 1999.
The relationship between EFL learners beliefs and learning strategy use. System 27: 515535.




Children vs Adults in Second-Language Acquisition
Posting by Ade Tuty Anggriany | 5:00 PM
2 Comment
1. A Common Belief
Most people believe that children are better than adults when attempting to learn a second
language. Factors involved in second-language acquisition can be divided into two kinds, the
psychological and the social. Intellectual processing which is involved in the determination
of grammatical structures and rules, memory which is essential for learning to occur, and
motor skills which involve the use of articulators of speech, are the psychological factors
that should be considered. While the type of situations, settings and interactions which
affect our ability to learn a second language, in particular the natural and classroom
situations, are the social factors that should be considered.

2. Psychological Factors Affecting Second-Language Learning
a. Intellectual processing

There are two ways to learn the structure and rules of a second language: someone can
explain them to you or you can figure them out for yourself. The first way may be termed
explication, the second induction.
Explication
Explication is the process whereby the rules and the structures of a second language are
explained to the learner in his or her native language. No second language can be learned
entirely by such means. Explication may even be a faster means of learning than induction,
since induction requires that a learner be repeatedly exposed to words, phrases and
sentences along with relevant situation that give some induction as to their meaning.
Induction
Learning by self discovery is the essence of the process of induction. The child who is
exposed to second language speech and remembers what he or she has heard will be able
to analyze and discover the generalization or rule that underlies the speech. Negation and
the plural are learned by induction and become part of a young native speakers language
knowledge quite early long before the child enters school.
b. Memory
Memory is crucial to learning. It is conceivable that a person with severe memory
impairment could ever learn his or her native language, much less a second language. The
learning of the simplest word requires memory. Memory is similarly crucial for the learning
of grammatical structures and rules. It is only through memory that a child can accumulate
the vast amount of speech and relevant situational data which serve as a basis for analyzing
structures and formulating rules, processes which constitutes induction.
The kind of simple memorization where words, phrases and sentences are remembered just
as they are is called rote memorization by psycholinguist. While children at age 5 or 6 still
display a phenomenal ability at rote memorization, it seems that older children do not, with
some decline beginning around 8 years of age and with more of a decline from about 12
years of age. It seems that childrens age can be divided into two categories under 7 years
and 7 to 12 years. By 50, for example there appears to be decrease of about 20 per cent in
the number of the brain cells in the cortex; by 75 years of age that loss will have reached
approximately 40 per cent. In the normally aging brain, long term memories seem relatively
unaffected; with ones knowledge of the world, built up over decades, remaining intact. On
the other hand the ability to deal successfully with material such as list of new names and
words is affected.
c. Motor skills
Good pronunciation, which is related to the ability to control the organs of speech, is clearly
essential part of learning a foreign language. Jaws, lips, tongue; vocal chords are controlled
by muscles, all of which are under the general control the brain. The particular motor skill of
speech pronunciation is best developed at a younger age. Somewhere around the age of 10
and 12 years the ability to acquire new motor skills begins to decline. Children learning a
second language typically learn to speak it with a pronunciation that is indistinguishable
from that of native speaker. Children under the age of 7 years are rated high on all
psychological factors except explicative processing, while, adults are rated high on
inductive and explicative processing but low on memory and motor skills.

3. Social Situations Affecting Second-Language Learning
a. The natural situation
A natural situation for second-language learning is one where the second language is
experienced in a situation that is similar to that in which the native language is learned.
Speaking as one gets older there is a decline in the kind of social interactions which
promotes language learning. For adults, social interaction mainly occurs through the
medium of language. Few native speakers adults are willing to devote time to interacting
with someone who does not speak the language. The adult foreigner will have little
opportunity to engage in meaningful language exchange except for picking up bits of
language that are experienced in the workplace or in shopping. The older the child, the
greater the role that language p[lays in social interaction and the more the person will
experience difficult in being accepted.
b. The classroom situation
The classroom for second language learning is planned, or some might say, an artificially
constructed, situation. In the natural situation, language is but one aspect of life, an aspect
which accompanies other life events. In the classroom language it becomes the prime
aspect of life around which all else revolves. There are characteristic of the planned
classroom which distinguishes it from the natural situation. They are include social
adjustment to group process, the need to attend class in order to learn, the need for long
periods of concentration and having to do home study. Young children will do quite poor in
comparison to older children and adults.

4. Who is better?
a. The natural situation
In the natural situation, younger children will do best. Natural situation is more favorable to
children because adults undergo a marked decline in the quality and the quantity of the
social interaction conductive to good language learning. In a natural situation, the social
activities of children especially young children expose them to massive amounts of good,
natural language. It will be easier for children to learn syntax than it will be for adults.
Because adults undergo decline in memory and without remembered data there nothing to
analyze.
Younger children will have an advantage of over adults in learning the grammar of second
language. Older children can be expected to learn faster than adults because of a better
memory. Children posse the flexibility in motor skills which adults do not have, children will
do much better in acquiring native pronunciation in a second language. It can be conclude
that in all respects of language learning, for the natural situation children will do better than
adults with younger children doing better than older children.

b. The classroom situation
In the classroom situation adults will do better than young children because they know how
to be students. They have sufficient maturity to meet the rigours of a formal learning
environment, where concentration, attention and even the ability to sit still for a long time,
all play a role in learning. The best age to learn a second language in a classroom situation
is probably that age where the individual retains much of the memory and motor skills of
the very young. But where the individual has begun to reason and understand like an adult.
That age would probably be somewhere around 12 years.

5. Critical Age
It is safe to affirm the view that there is no critical age in terms of acquiring the syntax of a
second language. One psycholinguist, Thomas Scovel claimed that no adult can ever be
successful in that regard. The critical period for accent less speech simply means that adults
will never learn to pass themselves off as native speakers phonologically.