The purpose of the present study was to investigate strategies reported by university students to be used while learning a foreign language. It was found that university students make use of different types of learning strategies in a high degree. Actually, adult learners -such as students – seem to consider the use of strategies as a valuable means to overcome the various linguistic difficulties. Learning strategies cannot probably guarantee the successful use of a foreign language but surely they consist a significant precondition for it. In this study, it was also examined whether the reported strategies vary, depending on the proficiency in foreign language, gender, career orientation of the students and knowledge of more than one foreign language.
Proficiency in second language. A significant effect of proficiency in foreign language was observed only for metacognitive strategies. Our study revealed that the Proficiency holders of our sample scored high marks of these three techniques and alternated widely between them in order to achieve high levels of understanding. They also showed high capacity of monitoring (control of understanding and detecting of the appropriate information
The fact that Proficiency holders used significantly more metacognitive strategies is probably due to the fact that, as they are experienced learners, they tend to focus not on cognitive strategies which help them acquire the foreign language, but on the management of the learning situation, demonstrating thus knowledge (language knowledge, task knowledge) and control over the learning process, which are the two basic characteristics of metacognition.
Gender differences. No significant effect of gender in strategy use was found in our research. Some researchers observed that males use a higher number of strategies when dealing with visual stimuli, whereas females proceed to an extensive use of strategies when having to deal with the production of synonyms, literature comprehension, reading and spelling. Consequently the question arises whether other variables, that should be identified, play a role in gender differences found in previous research.
Career orientation. It was also found that career orientation does not seem to influence the choice of strategies. This result contradicts previous researches of Politzer & McGroarty (1985) and Oxford & Nyikos (1989) who claimed that students of human or social sciences use more and better strategies than students of mathematics or physics. It could be said that the career orientation does not seem to influence the strategy use itself but in combination with other parameters such as motivation, knowledge of more than one language, and so on. Knowledge of more than one foreign language.
Finally, despite our hypothesis based on Vygotsky (1986) that knowledge of more than one foreign language raises students’ metacognitive awareness, and thus would be related to choice of metacognitive strategies, this factor had no significant effects on the reported use of strategies. This finding should be reexamined with a different sample, in order to arrive to more safe results.
CONCLUSION Our research provides many insights about variables influencing the choice of learning strategies by university students. We have demonstrated the effect of proficiency in foreign language on choice of metacognitive learning strategies. This study can contribute to the elaboration of specific curricula of English as a foreign language for university students. More research using a larger sample is required for further investigation of gender differences and the effect of more than one foreign language in strategy use.
Z. Gavriilidou, A. Papanis (2009)
Proficiency in second language. A significant effect of proficiency in foreign language was observed only for metacognitive strategies. Our study revealed that the Proficiency holders of our sample scored high marks of these three techniques and alternated widely between them in order to achieve high levels of understanding. They also showed high capacity of monitoring (control of understanding and detecting of the appropriate information
The fact that Proficiency holders used significantly more metacognitive strategies is probably due to the fact that, as they are experienced learners, they tend to focus not on cognitive strategies which help them acquire the foreign language, but on the management of the learning situation, demonstrating thus knowledge (language knowledge, task knowledge) and control over the learning process, which are the two basic characteristics of metacognition.
Gender differences. No significant effect of gender in strategy use was found in our research. Some researchers observed that males use a higher number of strategies when dealing with visual stimuli, whereas females proceed to an extensive use of strategies when having to deal with the production of synonyms, literature comprehension, reading and spelling. Consequently the question arises whether other variables, that should be identified, play a role in gender differences found in previous research.
Career orientation. It was also found that career orientation does not seem to influence the choice of strategies. This result contradicts previous researches of Politzer & McGroarty (1985) and Oxford & Nyikos (1989) who claimed that students of human or social sciences use more and better strategies than students of mathematics or physics. It could be said that the career orientation does not seem to influence the strategy use itself but in combination with other parameters such as motivation, knowledge of more than one language, and so on. Knowledge of more than one foreign language.
Finally, despite our hypothesis based on Vygotsky (1986) that knowledge of more than one foreign language raises students’ metacognitive awareness, and thus would be related to choice of metacognitive strategies, this factor had no significant effects on the reported use of strategies. This finding should be reexamined with a different sample, in order to arrive to more safe results.
CONCLUSION Our research provides many insights about variables influencing the choice of learning strategies by university students. We have demonstrated the effect of proficiency in foreign language on choice of metacognitive learning strategies. This study can contribute to the elaboration of specific curricula of English as a foreign language for university students. More research using a larger sample is required for further investigation of gender differences and the effect of more than one foreign language in strategy use.
Z. Gavriilidou, A. Papanis (2009)
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