Caete Real Marcela Caete Felipe A. Real H.

Professor Paula Ross Applied Linguistics & Communication LET1723-1 25 June 2007

Learning Strategies in Second Language Acquisition: A Research on Oxfords Taxonomy Introduction Inside the vast array of study fields with which Applied Linguistics interacts, Second Language Acquisition (SLA) has been a phenomenon of the utmost importance on the last thirty years. Now, a variety of external factors such as teachers, textbooks or the learners group, plus the determinant factor of the learner characteristicsaffect directly the way in which Second Language (L2) is acquired. These characteristics, which include age, gender, aptitude, motivation and strategies, can be different in each subject and vary accordingly. Now, amongst this multitude of L2 learning phenomena, Learning Strategies have proved to be one of the most difficultbut at the same timemost enlightening and enlivening field of expertise within SLA framework. This is an easily demonstrable fact, from the numerous amount of research that has put their attention on the strategies themselvesand more importantlyon the consequences for language learners derived from their use. Furthermore, all Learning Strategies taxonomies have been strongly argued, because of the implicit learning theories that they involvedand the possible consequences of one or anothers acceptance. This can be seen on the debate that followed Oxfords six category taxonomy and the appropriate instrument publication, from 1990 to nowadays. As a result, researchers have been arguing for or against Oxfords work, through multiple studies and methodologies.

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Consequently, this research will try to inquire on this fascinating area inasmuch as the data obtained on English Letters Major First Year Students allows. In order to do this, Oxfords taxonomy and her Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (S.I.L.L.) instrument will be used, subsequently using the data obtained to perform a regression analysis with Students results on the ALTE 2 Test. Finally, this research paper is structured as the following: the Introduction that you have already read, the Theoretical Framework on which this research is based, the Methodology of the study, the Analysis of the data obtained and the Conclusions and Projections that result form it.

Caete Real Theoretical Framework

The study of Second Language Acquisition Learning (SLA) is defined by Kramsch in her article A New Field of Research: SLA-Applied Linguistics as the systematic exploration of the conditions that make the acquisition of a foreign language possible, both in natural and in instructional setting. (1.978). In studying the L2 acquisition phenomenon during the last thirty years, a great emphasis has been made on studying the differences between the so-called effective learners those who perform well in tests or examination and those whose performances are not that good. Moreover, Oxford and Hsiao comment the increasing popularity of one individual-difference variable L2 Learning Strategies amongst researchers (Chamot, Barnhardt, El-Dinary and Robbins, Cohen, Hsiao, MacIntyre and Noels, Oxford and Cohen) interested in the language learning process (368). Consequently, much scrutiny has been done in this particular field of expertise, in search for a taxonomy that appropriately reflects the results obtained through data and furthermore, that helps researchers and teachers to advocate for faster and better foreign language learning processes. Nevertheless, SLA scholars do not agree in the definition of L2 Learning Strategies nor in which taxonomy fits the empirical evidence accordingly. This disagreement is presented by various authors, such as Bruen, Kramsch, Oxford and Hsiao, Rivers and Tseng et al., in their own studies theoretical frameworks. However, Oxford six-category allotment (1990) has outshone other L2 learning theories because it has proved consistent with experimental evidence (Bruen, Rivers). This ordering includes: Cognitive strategies involve identifying, retaining, storing and retrieving words, phrases and other elements of the second language. Metacognitive strategies, on the other hand, allow learners to control their own cognition by coordinating the planning, organizing and evaluation

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of the learning process. Social strategies include actions taken to interact with others through the target language while affective strategies serve to regulate emotions, motivation and attitudes. Memory-related strategies help to commit material to memory and finally compensatory strategies include all of those that help to make up for gaps in knowledge.(Bruen, 159) [our emphasis] In contrast, whilst this sorting is theoretically arguable, its most noticeable repercussion is the famous Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) that is described by Bruen as one of the most widely used and comprehensive strategy questionnaires currently available. (158) This instrument has been used in various studies including those that have came to fruition by Bruen, Rivers and furthermore, it was demonstrated to be statistically reliable by Hsiao and Oxford confirmatory factor analysis. In addition to the abovementioned, one of the more relevant aspects of L2 Learning Strategies is the construction of learner autonomy. This can be comprehensively defined as: (a) willingness to perform a language task with little or no assistance, with flexibility according to the situation, and with transferability to other contexts; and (b) relevant action, including the use of appropriate L2 learning strategies for accomplishing the task. (Oxford and Hsiao, 369) This consequence has been thoroughly analyzed in Rivers study Autonomy at All Costs: An Ethnography of Metacognitive Self-Assessment and Self-Management among Experienced Language Learners and has been concluded to be related to the metacognitive category of the learning strategies proposed by Oxford. In opposition to the previously stated, Wen-Ta Tseng, Zoltn Drnyei and Norbert Schmitt have proposed a new approach to study strategic learning. In their study A New Approach to Assessing Strategic Learning: The Case of Self-Regulation in Vocabulary

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Acquisition they affirm that a series of problems [have] weaken the theoretical basis (78) of L2 Learning Strategies studies. Amidst these problems, they identify as a one of crucial importance the psychometric properties of the assessment instruments used. (78) For that reason, they strongly criticized Oxfords SILL questionnaire because [its] scale descriptors indicate frequencies of strategy use which results in behavioural items that [cannot lead to] linear relationship between individual items scores and the total scores. (83) As shown, the SILL scores are not cumulative and therefore, cannot be computed into mean scale scores. In summary, the SILL could possibly lead us to a contradiction with language learning theories; i.e. that extensive and vary learning strategies are better than few but intensive ones. This conclusion that is the theoretical basis for Tseng et al study is absolutely refutable. First, because the SILL Data Analysis always correspond to the researcher as in any investigationand the conclusions extracted from it must be carefully considered beforehand. Secondly, because the fact that an experienced learner has a large number of learning strategies doesnt necessarily mean that they are shallow or not intensive and thirdly and the most important of all because all factual evidence in the last fifteen years have proved congruous with Oxfords survey, in spite of the fact that educational psychologists have abandoned this research area which is another strong argument against SILL proposed by Tseng et al. In conclusion, as a result of all the experimental evidence presented, this study will uphold for Oxfords taxonomy and her SILL questionnaire a self-respond instrument that consists of 50 questions related to Oxfords six-category distribution. All the data gathered will then be analyzed through a regression that will correlate the 2007 English Language I Students results on the ALTE 2 Test, with their answers to the SILL examination for students of English as a second or foreign language. Finally, that inquiry will allow us to determine the significance

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and value of the coefficients factors that statistically give us relevant information so to conclude whether the learning strategies are determinant or not in the achievement of better academic results.

Caete Real Methodology SUBJECTS AND THEIR BACKGROUND

16 Chilean students aged between 17 and 19-years-old participated in this research. They were 14 women ands 2 men, all native speakers of Chilean Spanish. They all have a prior general knowledge of the English Language, as consequence of their studies in secondary and high school or what they have learned via mass media, prior attending to university. They had completed their first semester (consisting of 16 weeks) at the university studying English at an intermediate level (7 modules per week; i.e. 9 hours and 20 minutes plus 2 modules of English Grammar, i.e., 2 hours and 40 minutes) They also have oral activities, one module per week of Speaking i.e. hour and 20 minutes. This module consists in conversations and discussions about relevant current issues. They have also had to go through ALTE 2 Test, which measures the students knowledge of English. The test includes reading comprehension, grammar and writing skills. They all have never been informed about learning strategies and in general they have never heard about them when they answered the questionnaire.

S.I.L.L. INSTRUMENT The S.I.L.L.developed by Rebecca Oxfordmeasures the levels and types of strategic activity on language learners. It is based on Oxfords classification of learning strategies into 6 groups, named metacognitive, cognitive, social, affective, memory-related and compensatory. It consists in 50 questions and was developed for learners of English as L2. The questionnaire requires the subject to rate on a scale of five steps how true each statement is for them. The levels are: 1 Never or almost never true of me, 2 Usually not true for me, 3 Somewhat true

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of me, 4 Usually true of me and 5 Always or almost always true of me. In the survey itself, Questions 1 to 9 (Part A) concern memory-related strategies, whilst Questions 10 to 23 (Part B) are related to cognitive strategies. Questions 24 to 29 (Part C) regard compensatory strategies and Questions 30 to 38 (Part D) pertain to metacognitive strategies. Finally, Questions 39 to 44 (Part E) involve affective strategies and Questions 45 to 50 (Part F) are referred to social strategies.

PROCEDURE The students completed the S.I.L.L in week 16 of the semester (June 2007). The questionnaire was completed during class time, in the first half hour of the first module. They were told that results would be used for research purposes only. The questionnaire took each student approximately thirty minutes to finish it. The results of the ALTE 2 Test were published on University website and are accessible through the Nmero de Alumno that was willingly provided by students themselves.

Caete Real Analysis

Thanks to the linear regression analysis developed by SPSS for Windows from the Inputcomposed by S.I.L.L. questionnaire results and the ALTE 2 Test Results the following statistic reality was obtained (all the results are expressed in percentages). Chart 1: Descriptive Statistics
ALTE 2 Test Results Memory-Related Strategies Cognitive Strategies Compensatory Strategies Metacognitive Strategies Affective Strategies Social Strategies Mean ,7894 ,6075 ,7031 ,6394 ,7087 ,6481 ,7763 Std. Deviation ,14704 ,10376 ,10867 ,11750 ,11690 ,07609 ,13460

This chart shows the mean-for both the dependent and the independent variables- and their respective standard deviations, for n=16. In this sense, the students' mean qualitative measure is always greater than 60 per cent of achievement, along with a standard deviation that reveals that this achievement percentage will not fall beyond a 40, including the 95.54 percentage of the cross-section. Now, regarding ALTE 2 Test results, the mean is roughly a 79 per cent whilst standard deviation shows that 95.54 percentage of the cross-section is above 50 per cent of achievement.

Caete Real Chart 2: Coefficients

Unstandardized Coefficients Variable Label (Constant) MemoryRelated Strategies Cognitive Strategies Compensatory Strategies Metacognitive Strategies Affective Strategies Variable Name B 1,436 -,848 ,569 -,065 ,030 -,469 Std. Error ,457 ,710 ,515 ,393 ,604 ,613 Standardized Coefficients Beta 3,140 -,598 ,421 -,052 ,024 -,243 -,245 -1,194 3,309861 1,106 1,909337 -,165 ,050 -,764 1,329452 -,728 1,486799 1,301264 3,046805 t-statistic Collinearity Statistic

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p-value

VIF

Sig. ,012 ,263 ,298 ,873 ,961 ,464 ,485

1 2 3

4 5

Social 6 -,267 ,367 Strategies a) Dependent Variable: ALTE 2 Test Results

Chart 2 describes regression analysis results. From the coefficients encountered, the model can be expressed in the following equation y = 1.436 0.8481 + 0.569 2 0.065 3 + 0.030 4 0.469 5 0.267 6 In this case, the first noticeable characteristic of this study is the correlation between meaningful variables and the dependent variable. As it can be seen above, memory-related, affective, social and compensatory strategies have been found to be negatively correlated with the independent variable. Hence, it can be deducted that it is not a determinant factor to have learning strategies to obtain better academic results. Also, it is possible to state that a student with metacognitive or cognitive strategies will achieve a better result in the ALTE examination that one without these ones, but with one or more of the aforementioned negative variables. This is directly related to the positive weight of the model's constant In contrast, the VIF's results within the range of 1 to 5, suggests the existence of moderate multicollinearity between meaningful variables. This is a sign of the impossibility of separating one learning strategy form another on the overall effect produced on the learner's

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results. As a result, the coefficients can be mixed up inasmuch as the adjacent nature of the boundaries between learning strategies. Meanwhile, the significance of the modeldetermined by a t-statistic smaller than 1.96allows us to say that the model is not significant at a 95 per cent. This is even more clearly affirmed by the p-value grater than 0.05. In brief words, the meaningful variables-from 1 to 6 are not significant. On the contrary, the constant of the model has a t-statistic equal to 3.140 and a p-value of 0.012. This result indicates that the model is almost entirely explained by the existence of the constant and therefore, the meaningful variables selected are not sufficient to explain the dependent variable's behavior. The constant include in any model has the purpose of explaining the effect produced by other meaningful variables not included in the model. In this case, we could infer that the constant encompasses aspects such as students' aptitude, previous experience on the English Language, Motivation and other learner characteristics, which could possibly explain better the dependent variable than the learning strategies, chosen to be inquired on this research. This can be seen through the R-square parameterthat measures the significance of the model as a wholeand that vary between 0 and 1. The closest this value gets to 0, the less relationship between dependant and meaningful variables exist. Now, since the increase on the amount of meaningful variables affects this measurement, it should be considered the adjusted value for this parameter, which in this case is negative. In conclusion, it can be affirmed that there is no true, statistic relationship between the dependant variableALTE 2 Test Resultsand the meaningful variableslearning strategies according to Oxfords S.I.L.L. instrument present on this research.

Caete Real Table 3: Model Summary

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Change Statistics Adjusted Std. Error R R R of the Square F Sig. F DurbinModel R Square Square Estimate Change Change df1 df2 Change Watson 1 ,564(a) ,318 -,137 ,15679 ,318 ,699 6 9 ,658 ,488 a) Predictors: (Constant), Social Strategies, Affective Strategies, Memory-Related Strategies, Compensatory Strategies, Cognitive Strategies, Metacognitive Strategies b) Dependent Variable: ALTE 2 Test Results

Caete Real Conclusions As a result of the analysis previously developed, it can be concluded that:

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Oxfords S.I.L.L. instrument does not reflect the reality as well as it was thought. Indeed, the dataand the analysis made from it show that Drnyei et. al. critics were wellbased. This is especially clear from the negative relationships that relate 4 of the 6 Oxfords learning strategies categories with the academic measurement. Considering that, it is an obvious inference that Oxfords taxonomy of L2 Learning Strategies is not as accurate as it was supposed to be. To illustrate this, it is only necessary to analyze the significance of the experiments constant. In other words, that the variables not considered in this experimentand that are supposed to be in a ceteris paribus state were more determinant in the academic results that the variables studied. Nonetheless, it is interesting to notice that the only 2 variables that were positively related to the academic results are the ones which have been acknowledged as the most important of Oxfords allotment. These are cognitive and metacognitive strategies. Thus, we can conclude that these variables have still proved to be important in the SLA area. Finally, it is highlight that these outcomes lead to advocate for a new approachas it was proposed by Drnyei et. al.to develop the language learning field of expertise. In brief, it is nevertheless considerable to remember that this research can have suffered from many structural problem; i.e. that the data obtained can have been not properly isolated, producing therefore a non-realistic study and conclusions.

Caete Real Projections From the conclusions obtained in this research, we can project that:

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A lot of research must be done in SLA, especially studies that focus on Native Spanish speakers whom are learning English as a L2. Besides that, this field of expertise must be considered as a foundation for English language classes, so to help learners to develop a better and faster learning processes. A broader spectrum study could be done with English Language I students, to relate their marks on the course with these types of questionnaires, during a larger period of time and accompanied by personal surveys that allow the researchers to avoid the intromission of non-desirable variables in their studies. More research could be done on the New Approaches to language learning, such as the one proposed by Drnyei et. al., to develop comparative studies afterwards between New and Old Theories, so to conclude on guidelines that could lead language learning research and orientation to learners in the future. In summary, it is important to advocate for more research on L2 learning strategies, insofar as they can improve learners experiences and language learning processes. Nowadays, this issue is not less considerable, as a result of the burgeoning interest on learning foreign languages in our country.

Caete Real Works Cited

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Bruen, Jennifer. The Parallel Development of Oral Proficiency and Use of Language Learning Strategies Die Unterrichtspraxis / Teaching German 34, 2. (158-168) 7 June 2007 <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0042062X%28200123%2934%3A2%3C158%3ATPDOOP%3E2.0.CO%3B2-1> Drnyei Zoltn, Schmitt Norbert and Tseng Wen-Ta. A New Approach to Assessing Strategic Learning: The Case of Self-Regulation in Vocabulary Acquisition Applied Linguistics. 27, 1 (78-102) 7 June 2007 <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?RQT=306&TS=1080583443&DBId=4617&cfc=1> Hsiao, Tsung-Yuan and Oxford, Rebecca L. Comparing Theories of Language Learning Strategies: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis The Modern Language Journal 86, 3 (368383) 7 June 2007 <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=00267902%28200223%2986%3A3%3C368%3ACTOLLS%3E2.0.CO%3B2-C> Kramsch, Claire. A New Field of Research: SLA-Applied Linguistics. PMLA 115, 7. Special Millennium Issue. Dec., 2000. (1978-1980) 7 June 2007 <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=00308129%28200012%29115%3A7%3C1978%3AANFORS%3E2.0.CO%3B2-M> Rivers, William P. Autonomy at All Costs: An Ethnography of Metacognitive Self-Assessment and Self-Management among Experienced Language Learners. The Modern Language Journal 85, 2 (279-290) 7 June 2007 <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=00267902%28200122%2985%3A2%3C279%3AAAACAE%3E2.0.CO%3B2-M>