A Survey Of English Vocabulary Learning Strategies Used By Uygur And Kazak Senior High School Students In Xinjiang

Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is a multi-ethnic place.The population of Uygur accounts for half of the total population,followed by the Han,Kazak,Kyrgyz and other ethnic groups.Xinjiang is located in the border,whatever economy,politics or education are relatively backward.Therefore,education is a difficult and significant task in Xinjiang,especially English education.Vocabulary is the basis of English learning,and mastering the certain amount of vocabulary is the basis of learning English well.However,rehearsal is not enough to enrich the vocabulary,but also need to learn some English vocabulary learning strategies.Effective English vocabulary learning strategies are of great help in learning English vocabulary.Therefore,English teachers should not only teach students vocabulary,but also teach students how to use English vocabulary learning strategies to learn vocabulary.Thus,author attempts to investigate the situation of use of English vocabulary learning strategies adopted by minority senior high school students who are mainly Uygur and Kazak,and further gives English teachers teaching implications.Teachers will have a better understanding of the vocabulary learning situation of minority students,and can adjust the teaching methods according to the actual vocabulary learning situation of minority students.This paper is conducted by the form of questionnaire which was designed in terms of the classification of learning strategies by O'Malley & Chamot(2001)and classification of vocabulary learning strategies by Wu Xia & Wang Qiang(1998)and Zhang Ping(2001).The questionnaire is designed from the following perspectives: meta-cognitive strategies,cognitive strategies,and social/affective strategies.The subjects are the senior three students who are Kazak and Uygur students from No.3 Senior High School in Yining Xinjiang,and there are 73 Uygur students and 50 Kazak students.According to the purpose of this research,the author puts forward the following two research questions:(1)What are the general features of English vocabulary learning strategies of Uygur and Kazak students?(2)What are the differences on English vocabulary learning strategies between Uygur and Kazak students? According to the analysis of the questionnaire,two conclusions can be drawn:(1)The frequency of English vocabulary learning strategies adopted by Uygur and Kazak students is at medium level.Meta-cognitive strategies and cognitive strategies are more frequently adopted by Uygur and Kazak senior high school students than affective/social strategies.(2)There are no significant differences on English vocabulary learning strategies between Uygur and Kazak students,as well as the meta-cognitive,cognitive and social/affective strategies.Whereas,Kazak and Uygur seniorhigh school students have the significant differences in TOP 10 frequently used vocabulary strategies,especially rehearsal strategies,self-monitoring strategies,self-reinforcement strategies,grouping strategies and planning strategies.