The Study Of The Application Of Language Learning Strategies By Non-English Majors And English Teachers

In recent years, the study of language learning strategies has spread widely in China. The majority of the study, however, has focused on the role of students rather than the role of teachers in language learning strategies. So the present researcher makes an attempt to conduct some research into this issue in order to make some contributions in this aspect. The present study has investigated the application of English language learning strategies by the English teachers and the non-English majors coming from the secondary college of Northwest University. The study has been conducted in the forms of interview and questionnaire. The subjects of the study include 20 English teachers, 50 non-English majors of the college. Oxford's (1990) SILL has been adopted as the questionnaire in the study. The objectives of the present study are:â‘ to discover and assess the general tendency of the application of LLSs by the non-English majors and the English teachers in the college;â‘¡to compare and contrast the similarities and differences of the application of LLSs between the teachers and the students;â‘¢to observe and discover the correlation between LLSs and the academic records of the students in English learning. In order to fulfill these objectives, the present researcher conducts the study focusing on three research questions, as shown in Chapter Three. By this means, the presenter researcher expects to present some possible solutions to the problems under discussion in the college:â‘ Is it necessary to conduct language learning strategy instruction in the college?â‘¡If so, how should the language learning strategy be conducted?The quantitative and qualitative research methods have been ued in the present study. Interviews with the non-English majors and the English teachers of the college have been employed as the qualitative method in order to investigate the general tendency of the application of LLSs by the teachers and the students. Questionnaires in English for the teachers and questionnaires in Chinese for the students have been adopted as the tool for the quantitative research. Both questionnaires originate from Oxford's SILL (1990), whose reliability and validity have been guaranteed in various studies of LLSs. The only difference in content between the questionnaire for the teachers and the questionnaire for the students lies in the part of Personal Information.The thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter One provides the background and context for the study, including English education for the English majors and the non-English majors, its related study and research findings. The significance, the objectives and expected findings of the study are also introduced in this chapter.Chapter Two presents a review of related literature and researches on language learning strategies, including the different definitions and classifications of them. Earlier and recent studies of LLSs have also been briefed here to locate the present study in the research area of LLSs.Chapter Three reviews the most common research methodologies for the language learning strategy study and presents the methodologies of the present study: interview and questionnaire. The research questions have been put forward here to help to conduct the present study.Chapter Four analyzes the findings of the interviews and the questionnaires by means of data collecting, information processing and statistical description, and makes further discussion about the research findings. The analysis of the questionnaire for the students has taken the factors of gender and English level into account, while the analysis of the questionnaire for the teachers has taken the factors of gender, age, length of service as a teacher, and the different majors they teach into consideration. The research findings show that the average application of LLSs by the non-English majors is medium, while the average application of LLSs by the English teachers is high according to Oxford's (1990) measure, and that there is some positive relationship between the application of LLSs and the students' academic records in English learning. The research questions raised in Chapter Three have been answered meanwhile.Chapter Five, the last chapter of the thesis, concludes the research findings and analyzes the contributions and limitations of the present study. In addition, the present researcher presents some proposals for further studies in the researches into LLSs and for the language learning strategy instruction in College English teaching as well as in the secondary college under investigation. After collecting the questionnaires from the subjects and processing the data collected, the present researcher draws the conclusion from the study that it is necessary to conduct language learning strategy instruction in the secondary college. Both the teachers and the students must make thorough and objective evaluations of the application of LLSs by themselves before the instruction is started, so that the teachers can form a clear concept of LLSs and the students can make appropriate and efficient use of LLSs in English learning. As a result, both teaching and learning can benefit themselves in this sense.