Learning strategies

Introduction:
Changes that occurred in language learning methodologies and approaches led to the exploration of
language learning strategies. Emphasis was no more on the teaching techniques but rather on the
learning processes. In other words, focus shifted from the teacher to the learner. As a consequence,
researches have been conducted to understand the strategies employed by successful learners which
would help inform teachers and students alike of how to teach and learn languages more
effectively.Different researches came up with different classifications of learning strategies.

Definitions:
Many researchers and experts have defined language learning strategies from different points of view.
Learning strategies have been described as: Any sets of operations, steps, plans, routines used by the
learner to facilitate the obtaining, storage, retrieval, and use of information (Wenden and Rubin,
1987, p.19). Special thoughts or behaviors that individuals use to help them comprehend, learn, or
retain new information (OMalley and Chamot, 1990, p.1). Behaviors and thoughts in which a
learner engages and which are intended to influence the lerners encoding process (Weinstein,
Mayer, 1983).

The classification:
Omalleys classification: OMalley et al 1985 divide language-learning strategies into three
main subcategories: Metacognitive Strategies, Cognitive Strategies, and Socio-affective
Strategies.

1-Metacognitive strategy:
In this strategy we have two key words which are cognition and metacognition .By the first one we
mean the mental processes involved in gaining knowledge and comprehension, including thinking,
knowing, remembering, judging, and problem solving and by the second we mean knowledge and
understanding of our own cognitive processes and abilities and those of others, as well as regulation
of these processes.
According to OMalley this term refers to the executive skills, strategies which require planning for
learning, thinking about the learning process that is taking place, monitoring of ones production or
comprehension, and evaluating learning after an activity is completed. Strategies such as self-
monitoring, self-evaluation, advance organizers, self-management, and selective attention can be
placed among the main metacognitive strategies.
2- Cognitive strategy:
The cognitive strategies are separate learning activities and they are basically activities that are used
by learners in order to understand the linguistic input and get knowledge. For example, when a
learner finds a difficult word in a text and inferring the meaning of that word from the context, in fact
he used the cognitive strategy.
In addition, cognitive strategies are those that control the input or use a certain skill to complete a
particular task (Holden, 2004; Meang, 2006; Grifith, 2004; Azumi, 2008; Martinez, 1996). According
to O'Malley and Chamot (1990), cognitive strategies are strategies that "reflect mental manipulation
of tasks". Repetition, resourcing, translation, grouping, note taking, deduction, recombination,
imagery, auditory representation, key word, contextualization, elaboration, transfer, and inferencing
are among the most important cognitive strategies.
3- socio-affective strategy:
Socioaffective strategies have close relationship with social-mediating activity and interacting with
others. It consists using social interaction to assist in the comprehension, leaning, or retention of
information. The main socioaffective strategies include cooperation and question for clarification
(Brown, 2007).for example, learning can be enhanced when people interact with each other to clarify a
confusing point or when they participate in a group discussion or cooperative learning group to solve
problem.

Oxfords classification:

In 1990, Rebecca Oxford developed a taxonomy for categorizing strategies.She divided language
learning strategies into two main categories, direct and indirect strategies which are also subdivided
into six classes. Direct strategies are divided into Memory, cognitive and compensation strategies. As
Oxford's (1990) says, all direct strategies require mental processing of the language (p.37). Indirect
strategies provide indirect support for language learning by employing different strategies such as
focusing, arranging, and evaluating.

Direct strategies

1-Memory strategy:
Memory strategies entail the mental processes for storing new information in the memory and for
retrieving them when needed. They are based on simple principles:
A. Creating mental images
B. Applying images and sounds
C. Reviewing well
D. Employing action

These principles are employed when a learner faces challenge of vocabulary learning. The words and
phrases can be associated with visual images that can be stored and retrieved for communication.
Many learners make use of visual images, but some find it easy to connect words and phrases with
sound, motion or touch. Therefore the use of those strategies differs from one learner to another. For
example, to recall a list of words, one could group them into categories like flowers, animals. The use
of memory strategies are most frequently applied in the beginning process of language learning. As the
learners advance to higher level of proficiency memory strategies are mentioned very little.

2- Cognitive strategy:
Cognitive strategies refer the mental strategies that learners use to make sense of their learning and
enable them to manipulate the language material in directways .These are perhaps the most popular
strategies with language learner.They fall into four sets which include:
Practising: This can be achieved by working with sounds, repeating, recognizing, and
recombining.

Receiving and sending messages: when the learners use resources for receiving and sending
messages and try to get the main ideas quickly through skimming and scanning.

Analysing and reasoning: learners use this strategy to understand the meaning and expression
of the target language by translating, reasoning deductively, analyzingexpression,
transferring .by using this strategy learners are not obliged to check every single word.

3-compensation strategy:
Compensation strategies allow the language learner to communicate in the target language despite
limitations in their knowledge. Compensation strategies can be used for any of the four basic language
skills .For instance, when learners do not know new words and expressions, they guess the meaning. It
is based on two principles:
A. Guessing intelligently. For example, guessing the meaning of a new word from the context.
B. Overcoming limitations in speaking and writing. If a word needed is not known then the
learner my seek synonym or try to describe it. For instance, when a learner wants to talk about
an owl he may say a bird that flies at night.

Indirect strategies

1-Metacognitive strategy:
Metacognitive strategies go beyond the cognitive mechanism and give learners to coordinate their
learning. This helps them to plan language learning in an efficient way. When new vocabulary, rules,
and writing system confuse the learner, these strategies become vital for successful language learning.

Three sets of strategies belong to this group and they are: Centering Your Learning, Arrangingand
Planning Your Learning, and Evaluating Your Learning. The aim of centering learning is togive a
focus to the learner so that the attention could be directed toward certain language activitiesor skills.
Arranging and planning learning help learners to organize so they may get maximumbenefit from their
energy and effort. Evaluating learning helps learners with problems like monitoringerrors and
evaluation of progress. Research has found that compared to cognitive strategies
metacognitivestrategies are used less consistently by the learners.

2- Affective strategy:
The affective factors like emotion, attitude, motivation, and values influence learning in an
importantway. Three sets of strategies are included in this group: Lowering Your Anxiety,
EncouragingYourself, and Taking Your Emotional Temperature.
Good language learners control their attitudes and emotions about learning and understand
thatnegative feelings retard learning. Teachers can help generate positive feeling in class by giving
studentsmore responsibility, increasing the amount of natural communication, and teaching
affectivestrategies.
Anxiety could be both helpful and harmful. It is felt that a certain amount of anxiety is helpfulfor
learners because it helps them obtain their optimum level of performance. Too much anxietyhas the
opposite effect where it hinders language learning. Anxiety often takes forms of worry,frustration,
insecurity, fear, and self-doubt. A common high anxiety creating situation for learnersis to perform
before the peers and teacher when they are not prepared.

Sterns classification:
Language learning strategies have been classified into five groups by Stern's (1992). They are as
follows:
1-Management and planning strategy:
These strategies are actually connected with the learners purpose to control his own learning. A
learner has the capability to take responsibility for the improvement of his own planning when the
language instructor supports him as an advisor or a resource person. In other words, the learner must:
1. Decide what commitment to make to language learning
2. Set himself reasonable goals
3. Decide on an appropriate methodology, select appropriate resources, and monitor progress.
 4. Evaluate his achievement in the light of previously determined goals and expectation.

2- Cognitive strategy:
The term "cognitive strategies" in its simplest form is the use of the mind (cognition) to solve a
problem or complete a task.
They operate directly on incoming information and manipulate it in a way that enhances learning.
They are more limited to specific learning tasks and include typical strategies such as:
1-Rehearsal or repetition of certain words;
2-Organization, grouping and classifying words or concepts according to their syntactic or semantic
attributes;
3- Inferencing, i.e. guessing meaning of unknown words in a text, predicting outcomes or
completing missing parts.
4- Summarizing or synthesizing new information.
5-Deduction or applying rules.
6-Using imagery to understand and remember.
7-Transfer of known linguistic information.
8- Elaboration, i.e. integrating new ideas with known information.

3- Interpersonal strategy:
According to Stern (1992), interpersonal strategies monitor the learners development and evaluate
their performance. Learners need to have communication with native speakers and cooperate with
them. Learners need to get familiar with the culture of the target language.
4- Affective strategy:
Evidently, in the process of language learning, good language learners use various kinds of affective
strategies. Sometimes, it can be frustrating to learn another language. It can arouse feeling of
unfamiliarity and confusion. In some other cases, learners might not have a positive perspective
towards native speakers. On the other hand, good language learners are relatively aware of these
emotions, and they try to build positive feelings towards the foreign language and its speakers as well
as the learning activities. To a great deal, training can be of assistance to the students to face these
controversial feelings and to overcome them by drawing attention to the possible frustrations or
mentioning them as they come up (Stern, 1992).
5- Communicative and experiential strategy:
This strategy is one strategy in which gesturing, paraphrasing, or asking for repetition and explanation
are employed by learners to keep the conversation going. In other words, communication strategies
involve the use of verbal or nonverbal instruments for the useful transfer of knowledge.The main aim
of this strategy is to avoid interrupting the course of communication.Within this strategy there are two
sub strategies that are used to transfer knowledge which are:
1-Seeking opportunities for unrehearsed, authentic language use for example by Reading materials of
interest, listening to the radio, watching films, engaging other people in conversation
2-Using communication strategies to maintain the flow of conversation for example by Using
circumlocution, gesturing, paraphrasing, or asking for repetition and explanation.

Rubins classification:
1- Learning strategy:
Rubin divided learning strategies into two main types, being the strategies contributing directly
to the development of the language system constructed by the learner:

Cognitive Learning Strategies:

They refer to the steps or operations used in learning or problem-solving that require direct
analysis, transformation, or synthesis of learning materials. Rubin identified 6 main cognitive
learning strategies contributing directly to language learning:

Clarification / Verification

Guessing / Inductive Inferencing

Deductive Reasoning

Practice

Memorization

Monitoring

Metacognitive Learning Strategies

These strategies are used to oversee, control or self-direct language learning. They involve
various processes such as planning, prioritizing, setting goals, and self-management

2- Communication strategy:
Communication strategies are strategies needed to overcome a misunderstanding or when difficulties
occur during the communication process.A usual communication strategy is to make use of ones
linguistic or communicative knowledge to remain in the conversation. In the course of learning a
second language, learners will frequently encounter common problems caused by a lack of linguistic
resources. To overcome these problems, learners use such strategies in order to convey their intended
meaning. Strategies used may include:
1-paraphrasing: For example, if learners do not know the word grandfather, they may paraphrase it
by saying my fathers father.
2-coining new words:For example, learners might refer to an art gallery a picture place.
3-language switch: learners may insert a word from their first language into a sentence hoping
that their interlocutors will understand.
4-asking for clarification: the strategy of asking interlocutors for the correct word will be
helpful in communication strategies.
5-non.verbal strategies: this can refer to strategies such as the use of gestures and mime to
augment or replace verbal communication.
6-avoidance: learners of second language may learn to avoid talking about topics for which
they lack the necessary vocabulary or other language skills in the second language.
3- Social strategy:
Social strategies are activities in which learners are exposed to the opportunities that can be a great
help to practice their knowledge.
Even though these strategies offer exposure to the target language, they contribute to learning
indirectly since they do not lead directly to the obtaining, storing, retrieving, and using of language
(Rubin, 1987).