Language Learning Strategies Employed by High and Low Language Proficiency University Students in a Thai Context
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Abstract
Since language learning strategies are the main factors that help language students learn a second or foreign language successfully, many studies have been conducted to examine which language learning strategies are mostly employed by language learners in different contexts. This mixed methods study examined the most and least language learning strategies employed by high and low language proficiency students in a university in Thailand and also determined how those students acquired those language learning strategies. The participants were high and low language proficiency students majoring in English for Communication major at Master University (pseudonym). To collect data, the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) questionnaire was employed. Then, they were analyzed by using descriptive statistics. From overall students, 17 students volunteered to participate in semi-structured interview. The finding of this study indicated that the high language proficiency students reported using metacognitive strategies the most to facilitate their own language learning while the low language proficiency students tended to sometimes use the metacognitive strategies. The present study also found that the participating students used cognitive strategies the least. Moreover, the high language proficiency students used overall language learning strategies more frequently than the low language proficiency students. The results of this study highlighted the essential of language learning strategies that would be essential to create a number of useful implications which finally can be used as a guideline to improve an educational situation and also to bridge the gap between EFL students’ language learning strategies and teachers’ teaching methodology.
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