Language Learning Strategies.docx
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LanguageLearningStrategies
LanguageLearningStrategies:
AnOverviewforL2Teachers
MichaelLessard-Clouston
z95014[at]kgupyr.kwansei.ac.jp
KwanseiGakuinUniversity(Nishinomiya,Japan)
FirstpublishedinEssaysinLanguagesandLiteratures,8,atKwanseiGakuinUniversity,December1997.
Thisarticleprovidesanoverviewoflanguagelearningstrategies(LLS)forsecondandforeignlanguage(L2/FL)teachers.TodosoitoutlinesthebackgroundofLLSandLLStraining,discussesathreestepapproachteachersmayfollowinusingLLSintheirclasses,andsummariseskeyreflectionsandquestionsforfutureresearchonthisaspectofL2/FLeducation.Italsolistshelpfulcontactsandinternetsiteswherereadersmayaccessup-to-dateinformationonLLSteachingandresearch.
Introduction
Withinthefieldofeducationoverthelastfewdecadesagradualbutsignificantshifthastakenplace,resultinginlessemphasisonteachersandteachingandgreaterstressonlearnersandlearning.Thischangehasbeenreflectedinvariouswaysinlanguageeducationandappliedlinguistics,rangingfromtheNortheastConference(1990)entitled"ShiftingtheInstructionalFocustotheLearner"andannual"Learners'Conferences"heldinconjuctionwiththeTESLCanadaconventionsince1991,tokeyworkson"thelearner-centredcurriculum"(Nunan,1988,1995)and"learner-centrednessaslanguageeducation"(Tudor,1996).
Thisarticleprovidesanoverviewofkeyissuesconcerningoneconsequenceoftheaboveshift:
thefocusonanduseoflanguagelearningstrategies(LLS)insecondandforeignlanguage(L2/FL)learningandteaching.Indoingso,thefirstsectionoutlinessomebackgroundonLLSandsummariseskeypointsfromtheLLSliterature.ThesecondsectionconsiderssomepracticalissuesrelatedtousingLLSintheclassroom,outliningathreestepapproachtoimplementingLLStraininginnormalL2/FLcourses.ThethirdsectionthenbrieflydiscussessomeimportantissuesandquestionsforfurtherLLSresearch.Inthefourthsectionthearticleendsbynotinganumberofcontactsreadersmayusetolocateandreceiveup-to-dateinformationonLLSteachingandresearchinthiswidelydevelopingareainL2/FLeducation.
1.BACKGROUND
LearningStrategies
Inahelpfulsurveyarticle,WeinsteinandMayer(1986)definedlearningstrategies(LS)broadlyas"behavioursandthoughtsthatalearnerengagesinduringlearning"whichare"intendedtoinfluencethelearner'sencodingprocess"(p.315).LaterMayer(1988)morespecificallydefinedLSas"behavioursofalearnerthatareintendedtoinfluencehowthelearnerprocessesinformation"(p.11).TheseearlydefinitionsfromtheeducationalliteraturereflecttherootsofLSincognitivescience,withitsessentialassumptionsthathumanbeingsprocessinformationandthatlearninginvolvessuchinformationprocessing.Clearly,LSareinvolvedinalllearning,regardlessofthecontentandcontext.LSarethususedinlearningandteachingmath,science,history,languagesandothersubjects,bothinclassroomsettingsandmoreinformallearningenvironments.ForinsightintotheliteratureonLSoutsideoflanguageeducation,theworksofDansereau(1985)andWeinstein,GoetzandAlexander(1988)arekey,andonerecentLSstudyofnoteisthatofFuchs,Fuchs,MathesandSimmons(1997).Intherestofthispaper,thefocuswillspecificallybeonlanguageLSinL2/FLlearning.
LanguageLearningStrategiesDefined
WithinL2/FLeducation,anumberofdefinitionsofLLShavebeenusedbykeyfiguresinthefield.Earlyon,Tarone(1983)definedaLSas"anattempttodeveloplinguisticandsociolinguisticcompetenceinthetargetlanguage--toincoporatetheseintoone'sinterlanguagecompetence"(p.67).Rubin(1987)laterwrotethatLS"arestrategieswhichcontributetothedevelopmentofthelanguagesystemwhichthelearnerconstructsandaffectlearningdirectly"(p.22).Intheirseminalstudy,O'MalleyandChamot(1990)definedLSas"thespecialthoughtsorbehavioursthatindividualsusetohelpthemcomprehend,learn,orretainnewinformation"(p.1).Finally,buildingonworkinherbookforteachers(Oxford,1990a),Oxford(1992/1993)providesspecificexamplesofLLS(i.e.,"InlearningESL,TrangwatchesU.S.TVsoapoperas,guessingthemeaningofnewexpressionsandpredictingwhatwillcomenext")andthishelpfuldefinition:
...languagelearningstrageties--specificactions,behaviours,steps,ortechniquesthatstudents(oftenintentionally)usetoimprovetheirprogressindevelopingL2skills.Thesestragetiescanfacilitatetheinternalization,storage,retrieval,oruseofthenewlanguage.Strategiesaretoolsfortheself-directedinvolvementnecessaryfordevelopingcommunicativeability.(Oxford,1992/1993,p.18)
Fromthesedefinitions,achangeovertimemaybenoted:
fromtheearlyfocusontheproductofLSS(linguisticorsociolinguisticcompetence),thereisnowagreateremphasisontheprocessesandthecharacteristicsofLLS.Atthesametime,weshouldnotethatLLSaredistinctfromlearningstyles,whichrefermorebroadlytoalearner's"natural,habitual,andpreferredway(s)ofabsorbing,processing,andretainingnewinformationandskills"(Reid,1995,p.viii),thoughthereappearstobeanobviousrelationshipbetweenone'slanguagelearningstyleandhisorherusualorpreferredlanguagelearningstrategies.
WhataretheCharacteristicsofLLS?
Althoughtheterminologyisnotalwaysuniform,withsomewritersusingtheterms"learnerstrategies"(Wendin&Rubin,1987),others"learningstrategies"(O'Malley&Chamot,1990;Chamot&O'Malley,1994),andstillothers"languagelearningstrategies"(Oxford,1990a,1996),thereareanumberofbasiccharacteristicsinthegenerallyacceptedviewofLLS.First,LLSarelearnergenerated;theyarestepstakenbylanguagelearners.Second,LLSenhancelanguagelearningandhelpdeveloplanguagecompetence,asreflectedinthelearner'sskillsinlistening,speaking,reading,orwritingtheL2orFL.Third,LLSmaybevisible(behaviours,steps,techniques,etc.)orunseen(thoughts,mentalprocesses).Fourth,LLSinvolveinformationandmemory(vocabularyknowledge,grammarrules,etc.).
ReadingtheLLSliterature,itisclearthatanumberoffurtheraspectsofLLSarelessuniformlyaccepted.WhendiscussingLLS,Oxford(1990a)andotherssuchasWendenandRubin(1987)noteadesireforcontrolandautonomyoflearningonthepartofthelearnerthroughLLS.Cohen(1990)insiststhatonlyconsciousstrategiesareLLS,andthattheremustbeachoiceinvolvedonthepartofthelearner.TransferofastrategyfromonelanguageorlanguageskilltoanotherisarelatedgoalofLLS,asPearson(1988)andSkehan(1989)havediscussed.Inherteacher-orientedtext,OxfordsummarisesherviewofLLSbylistingtwelvekeyfeatures.Inadditiontothecharacteristicsnotedabove,shestatesthatLLS:
∙allowlearnerstobecomemoreself-directed
∙expandtheroleoflanguageteachers
∙areproblem-oriented
∙involvemanyaspects,notjustthecognitive
∙canbetaught
∙areflexible
∙areinfluencedbyavarietyoffactors.
(Oxford,1990a,p.9)
BeyondthisbriefoutlineofLLScharacterisitics,ahelpfulreviewoftheLLSresearchandsomeoftheimplicationsofLLStrainingforsecondlanguageacquisitionmaybefoundinGu(1996).
WhyareLLSImportantforL2/FLLearningandTeaching?
Within'communicative'approachestolanguageteachingakeygoalisforthelearnertodevelopcommunicativecompetenceinthetargetL2/FL,andLLScanhelpstudentsindoingso.AfterCanaleandSwain's(1980)influencialarticlerecognisedtheimportanceofcommunicationstrategiesasakeyaspectofstrategic(andthuscommunicative)competence,anumberofworksappearedaboutcommunicationstrategiesinL2/FLteaching2.Animportantdistinctionexists,however,betweencommunicationandlanguagelearningstrategies.CommunicationstrategiesareusedbyspeakersintentionallyandconsciouslyinordertocopewithdifficultiesincommunicatinginaL2/FL(Bialystok,1990).ThetermLLSisusedmoregenerallyforallstrategiesthatL2/FLlearnersuseinlearningthetargetlanguage,andcommunicationstrategiesarethereforejustonetypeofLLS.ForallL2teacherswhoaimtohelpdeveloptheirstudents'communicativecompetenceandlanguagelearning,then,anunderstandingofLLSiscrucial.AsOxford(1990a)putsit,LLS"...areespeciallyimportantforlanguagelearningbecausetheyaretoolsforactive,self-directedinvolvement,whichisessentialfordevelopingcommunicativecompetence"(p.1).
Inadditiontodevelopingstudents'communicativecompetence,LLSareimportantbecauseresearchsuggeststhattrainingstudentstouseLLScanhelpthembecomebetterlanguagelearners.Earlyresearchon'goodlanguagelearners'byNaiman,Frohlich,Stern,andTodesco(1978,1996),Rubin(1975),andStern(1975)suggestedanumberofpositivestrategiesthatsuchstudentsemploy,rangingfromusinganactivetaskapproachinandmonitoringone'sL2/FLperformancetolisteningtotheradiointheL2/FLandspeakingwithnativespeakers.AstudybyO'MalleyandChamot(1990)alsosuggeststhateffectiveL2/FLlearnersareawareoftheLLStheyuseandwhytheyusethem.Graham's(1997)workinFrenchfurtherindicatesthatL2/FLteacherscanhelpstudentsunderstandgoodLLSandshouldtrainthemtodevelopandusethem.
Acautionmustalsobenotedthough,because,asSkehan(1989)states,"thereisalwaysthepossibilitythatthe'good'languagelearningstrategies...arealsousedbybadlanguagelearners,butotherreasonscausethemtobeunsuccessful"(p.76).InfactVannandAbraham(1990)foundevidencethatsuggeststhatboth'good'and'unsucc