Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Asian EFL Journal Quarterly

Volume

16

Issue

3

Publisher

Asian EFL Journal Press

Publication Date

9-1-2014

First Page

96

Last Page

115

Abstract

This study employed the Strategy Inventory for Language Learners (SILL) to investigate the frequency and types of language learning strategies used by 65 students studying English as a Second Language (ESL) in a university Intensive English Program (IEP) in the western United States. Students came from 15 different countries and represented three instructional levels within the program. Results indicated that frequency of strategy use increased from the lower intermediate to the upper intermediate level and also from the upper intermediate to the advanced level. However, only differences between the lower intermediate and the advanced level were statistically significant. IEP students reported most frequent use of social and metacognitive strategies. The study supports observations from other studies indicating that learners in ESL environments use social strategies more frequently than do learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). The researchers, an experienced EFL teacher in China and a veteran ESL teacher in an American IEP, highlight the differential use of social strategies as a prominent feature that may distinguish ESL and EFL learning contexts. The authors finish with a brief discussion of the implications of this observation for teachers of EFL.

Comments

http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/quarterly-editions/

Download

Share

COinS