LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGY INSTRUCTION
INTRODUCTION Language learning strategies are employed by learners to complete listening, vocabulary, speaking, reading, and writing activities presented in language lessons. Knowing that a task has to be completed or a problem need to be solved, language learners will use metacognitive, cognitive or social/affective strategies that they possess to attend to the language-learning activity (Oxford, 1990). While experienced language learners can approach language learning problems in a systematic way and are successful in selecting appropriate strategies to complete a language-learning task, novices may be less efficient at selecting and using strategies to task (O'Malley & Chamot, 1995). Irrespective of language learning experiences, both groups of learners will need instruction on 'how' to use strategies efficiently to develop their language learning and language performance (Wenden, 1987, O'Malley & Chamot, 1995, Cohen, 1998,). One way to guide learners towards the effective use of learning strategies is to incorporate Language Learning Strategy Instruction into daily language lessons (Kinoshita, 2003). Language Learning Strategy Instruction (LLSI) is also known as strategy training, learner training, learning to learn training, learner methodology training and methodological initiation for learners (Oxford 1990). Language learning strategy instructions are the initiation, structuring and control of the singular individual steps as part of the whole language learning process. In other words, language learning strategies instruction is the operationalization and implementation of strategies to improve the progress in developing language skills (Green and Oxford 1995).
THE IMPORTANCE OF LLSI No one knows everything about how people learn language, but there is strong support for sharing, through strategy training, what we do know. Research shows that learners who receive strategy training generally learn better than those who do not, and that certain techniques for such training are more beneficial than others (Oxford 1990). Lee (1995) in her study pointed out that second language learner can become more autonomous in the language learning process. The results not only showed that students gained better final exam grades than mid term exam grades but also confirmed the previous studies by O’Malley et al (1985b). Her findings also revealed that language learning strategies instruction for second language learner is an efficient means for helping college students at the beginning level.
RESEARCH ON LEARNING STRATEGIES INSTRUCTIONS Research on language learning strategy instruction has been interested in verifying the effectiveness of particular strategy training. Researchers have experimented with instructing language learners to use selected learning strategies as a way to improve language performance (Kinoshita, 2003). Cohen and Aphek (1980) trained learners of Hebrew on how to recall new words by using 'paired associations’ and found that learners perform better in recalling tasks when they form associations (Ellis, 2002). In a study by Weinstein (1978), students in the ninth grade were trained to use a variety of strategies and apply them to reading comprehension and memory tasks. The positive results showed that students trained in elaboration strategies significantly outperformed the students who received no training (O'Malley & Chamot, 1995).
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Wenden (1987) describes that providing students with a checklist of criteria to self-evaluate their oral production resulted in successful use of self-evaluation as a learning strategy. The consensus of these investigations and others (Bialystok 1983; Gagne 1985; Sano 1999; Dadour 1996) tell us that language learning strategies are 'teachable' and training language learners to use selected learning strategies can lead to positive effects on task performance in the language learning process. Research on strategy instruction has also investigated the instructional sequences used by language instructors to implement strategy instruction into foreign language lessons. One of the research interests of Chamot et al. (1988) was to discover how three regular classroom teachers integrated strategy instruction into their Spanish and Russian foreign language class activities. The results showed that although each participating instructor had an individual way of providing learning strategy instruction (O'Malley & Chamot, 1995), all three instructors opted for direct instruction (informing students of the purpose and value of strategies) and followed a structured sequence of introducing, practicing, reinforcing and evaluating strategy use each language activity (Kinoshita, 2003). Research by Robbins (1996) and Grunewald (1999) provides insights into instructional sequences and teaching approaches. Robbins (1996) renders a qualitative description of the instructional sequence used to implement strategy instruction at two universities in Kyoto, Japan. As a framework for strategy instruction, he used the Problem-Solving Process Model. Students were instructed to use the model to plan, monitor, use and evaluate strategies as they attended to language learning tasks. The instructional sequence for each lesson are modeling, explaining, encouraging, and prompting the use of strategies. Grunewald's action research (1999) shows evidence of how strategies instruction can been integrated into foreign language lessons. Grunewald developed an optional supplementary
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useful
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Supplementary learning strategies were identified for each language skill presented in the course book and direct instruction of these language strategies were integrated into the 3
weekly language lessons. The teaching approach used for strategies instruction includes awareness raising, explicit naming of strategies, practice and self-evaluation and monitoring
STRATEGY TRAINING - VOCABULARY One cannot speak, understand, read or write a language without knowing a lot of words (Rubin and Thompson 1994). Research on training second language learners to use learning strategies has been limited to applications with vocabulary tasks (O’Malley and Chamot 1990). Memory training in second language learning has focused on mnemonic techniques that facilitate vocabulary learning (Thompson 1987). Training procedures that use paired associate techniques include the peg-word method, in which second language learners use a list of memorized cue words to learn vocabulary or grammatical categories in the second language (Paivio and Descrochers 1979) and the key-word method, in which students learn sets of words through the combination of an auditory and imagery link (Atkinson and Raugh 1975, Pressley, Levin and Delaney 1982). Cohen and Aphek (1980) trained students of Hebrew to recall new vocabulary words through paired associations. Students were given brief instructions on how to use association, and then they selected their own new words from a reading text and made their own associations for them. At the time of the post test, students most often used the initial association that they had made to recall the new word, and this led to better performance than using a different association or none at all.
STRATEGY TRAINING - LISTENING
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Listening is the most important of the language skills since people spend approximately 60% of their time listening (Rubin and Thompson 1994). The research by Murphy (1985, 1987) explored types of strategies used by college students at different proficiency levels. Seventeen specific strategies were identified and categorized. The results show that proficient and less proficient listeners could be distinguished by the frequency of the strategies they used. For instance, proficient listeners used strategies such as elaborating, inferencing, anticipating, conclusion drawing, self-description, more frequently than less-proficient learners. Murphy (1985) also explores the sequential patterns of the strategies used by proficient and less proficient listeners. Based on her findings, proficient listeners tend to apply a wide range of strategies compared to the less proficient listeners.
STRATEGY TRAINING – READING Studies of learning strategies with first language learners have determined the effects of strategy training on different kinds of tasks and learners. Findings from these studies generally indicate that strategy training is effective in improving the performance of students on a wide range of reading comprehension (Brown et al. 1983; Chipman, Segaland Glaser 1985; Dansereau 1985). Based on a research done in Swanson Middle School among Latino students who are performing at low levels of literacy in the middle school grades, Jimenez and Gamez (1996) initiated that practice of reading fluency has strong potential for promoting and fostering reading abilities. Earlier classroom observations and individual student interviews provided evidence that the students were reading and comprehending at quite a rudimentary level. Jimenez and Gamez (1996) demonstrated the think aloud procedure for the students to improve their reading.
Towards the end of the project, there were
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indications of changes in their motivation to read and their ability to verbalize important information about reading strategies.
STRATEGY TRAINING – WRITING AND SPEAKING (ORAL) In second language learning contexts, language production skills are particularly important because students’ acquisition of speaking and writing competence is crucial to their success in academic settings (O’Malley and Chamot 1990). O’Malley and his colleagues performed a research on seventy five enrollees in ESL program at the secondary leveling three mid Atlantic suburban high schools. The students participating in this study were all at intermediate level. Intermediate level students were described as having little or no skill in reading and writing English, but with some proficiency in understanding or speaking English. Students received instruction and practice in the use of learning strategies for fifty minutes daily for eight days. The students performed two of the three language activities: vocabulary, listening or speaking on random days. Before presenting their 2 minutes talk, students wrote a draft of the oral presentation and then made the presentation to the group. One of the most important findings in this study was that strategy training could be effective in a classroom setting for language tasks such as listening, speaking and writing(O’Malley and Chamot. 1990).
STRATEGY TRAINING – CONTENT BASED The ESL instructional model developed by O’Malley and Chamot (1990) is based on a cognitive theory. The Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA) is designed to develop the academic language skills of limited English proficient students. 6
CALLA integrates grade appropriate content topics, academic language development and direct instruction and practice in using learning strategies. In a research done by Chamot and her colleagues (1993), a study was designed to identify learning and problem solving strategies of students at high, average and low mathematics achievement levels, and to compare strategic approaches of students in high implementation and low implementation classrooms. Students were enrolled in ESL mathematics classes in a project implementing the Cognitive Academic Learning Approach (CALLA). In this approach, the curriculum content that is used to develop academic language and learning strategies are taught explicitly to increase students’ metacognitive awareness and to facilitate their learning of both content and language. The results indicated that significantly more students in high implementation classrooms were able to solve the problem correctly than were students in low implementation classrooms. Of greater interest was the finding that there were no differences in the actual number of problem solving steps used by students in the two implementation levels, but that significant differences for high implementation classrooms were found for correct sequence of problem solving steps, which has been featured in instruction in the high implementation classrooms (Chamot et al. 1993).
TYPES OF LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES INSTRUCTIONS Language learning strategies instructions can be taught in at least three different ways: awareness training, one time strategy training and long term strategy training (Oxford, 1990). Awareness training
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Awareness training is also known as conscious raising or familiarization training. In this situation, participants become aware of the language learning strategies and the way these strategies can help them accomplish various tasks. This training should be fun and motivating so that participants can expand their knowledge of strategies. Participants can be teachers, students or anyone else interested in language learning processes. One time strategy training One time strategy training involves learning and practicing one or more strategies with actual learning tasks. This kind of training normally gives the learners information on the value of the strategy, when it can be used, how to use it and how to evaluate the success of the language strategy. This training is suitable for learners who have a need for a particular and targeted strategy that can be taught in one or a few sessions. In general, this strategy is not as valuable as long-term training. Long term strategy training Long term strategy training involves learning and practicing strategies with actual language tasks. Students learn the significance of a particular strategy, when and how to use it, how to monitor and evaluate their own performance. Long term training is more prolonged and covers a greater number of strategies. This strategy is most likely to more effective than one time training.
ISSUES IN LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIS INSTRUCTIONS There are a few major issues that need to be addressed in language learning strategies instructions. Separate versus integrated instructions
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An unresolved issue in learning strategies instructions is whether instructions should focus only on learning strategy instruction or should be integrated with classroom instruction in the language or content subject (O’Malley and Chamot, 1990 p.152). Arguments in favor of separate training programs advance the notion that strategies are generalized to many contexts (Derry and Murphy 1986, Jones et al.1987). Students will strategies better if they can focus all their attention on developing strategic processing skills rather that try to learn content at the same time (Jones et. al.1987). On the other hand, those in favor of integrated strategy instructions programs argue that learning in context is more effective than learning separate skills whose immediate applicability may not be evident to the learner (Wenden, 1987b) and that practicing strategies on authentic academic and language tasks facilitate the transfer of strategies to similar tasks encountered in other classes (Chamot and O’Malley 1987). Dansereau (1985) suggests that future studies should evaluate a learning strategy system that integrates both content independent strategies and content dependent strategies. Weinstein and her coworkers (Weinstein and Underwood 1985) have developed and implemented both separate and integrated instruction in learning strategies. Direct versus embedded instruction In direct instruction, students are informed of the value and purpose of strategy training, while in embedded instruction, students are presented with activities and materials structured to elicit the use of the strategies being taught but are not informed of the reasons why this approach to learning is being practiced. Early research following the embedded approach found little transfer of training to new tasks (Brown, Armbruster and Baker 1986). More recent studies have added a metacognitive component to training by informing students about the purpose and importance of the strategies to be trained and providing instruction on the regulation and 9
monitoring of strategies (Brown et al . 1986; Palinscar and Brown 1986).A criticism of uninformed strategy training of this type is that students who are not aware of the strategies they are using do not develop independent learning strategies and have little opportunity of becoming autonomous learners (Wenden 1987b). Many researchers recommend that instruction in learning strategies be direct rather than embedded (Brown et al.1986; Palinscar and Brown 1984; Wenden 1987b; Weinstein and Mayer 1986; Winograd and Hare 1988) or that direct instruction be added to a curriculum or instructional material designed with embedded strategies (Derry and Murphy 1986). THE ROLE OF A LANGUAGE TEACHER Teachers are traditionally viewed as authority figures, identified with roles like parent, instructor, director, manager, judge, leader, evaluator, controller and even doctor. The specter of role change may discomfort some teachers who feel that their status is being challenged. Others, however, welcome their new functions as facilitator, helper, guide, consultant, adviser, coordinator idea person and co-communicator (Oxford 1990). Evaluator A language teacher plays the role of an evaluator where he or she assesses student work frequently and later provide feedback that accurately communicates both the quality of student work and, and the specific areas in which improvement is needed. Facilitator /Trainer The teacher must make an effort to expand his or her knowledge base beyond discipline, stimulate discussion when appropriate and stimulate intellectual curiosity among his or her students.
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Mentor A language teacher should help and provide students with multiple methods/tools to stimulate critical thinking, including alternatives to the teacher’s own preferred methodology. He or she should also welcome, encourage, and respect a diversity of opinions. Language Learner Language teachers are also language learners especially when learning a new language and expanding new knowledge.
Researcher The concept of teacher as a researcher encourages teachers to be collaborators in revising curriculum, improving their work environment, professionalizing teaching, and developing policy.
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