5 FACTORS AFFECT LEARNING LANGUAGE
STRATEGY
NOR AZLIN BINTI MUHAMAD
P69067
1. PERSONALITY
There are a number of personality characteristics that are likely to affect language learning, such as Extroversion vs. introversion Inhibition vs. risk-taking Self-esteem (self-confidence) Anxiety Empathy
2. APTITUDE
Aptitude refers to the special ability involved in
second language learning (Douglous et al 1995). The
relationship between aptitude and second language
learning success is a very important one and various
studies, such as Gardner (1980) and Skehan (1989)
have reported that aptitude is a major factor
determining the level of success of second language
learning (Douglous et al 1995).
Students can have a good aptitude for learning.This
can infer various things, such as:
The understanding of the function of words in
sentences .
The ability to understand and use grammatical rules.
Memory of key words, what they mean and how to
use them.
An important point regarding aptitude
and second language learning is that
successful learners may not be strong
in all the components of aptitude and
can still succeed at learning a second
language. For example, some
individuals may have strong memories
but only average abilities in the other
components of aptitude (Spada 1999)
3. MOTIVATION
The social psychological factor of motivation has been proven
to account for differential success in second language learning.
A motivated student can be defined as someone who:
"Expends effort, is persistent and attentive to the tasks at
hand, has goals, desires and aspirations, enjoys the activity,
makes attributions concerning success or failure, is aroused
and makes use of strategies to aid in achieving goals. (Dornyei
2003, p.173).
4. LEARNING STRATEGIES
As in all school topics, learning strategies are a
factor of second language learning. One definition of
learning strategies is:
Steps or actions taken by learners to
improve the development of their
language skills (Gass et al 1993, p.265).
Different learning strategies work best for different
people when learning a second language.
For example, one student may learn vocabulary
through writing and practicing the vocabulary using
cue cards, whereas another student may only read
the vocabulary and learn that way.
Although it is clear that students can be more
successful in second language learning if they adopt
particular learning strategies to suit them, theorists
such as Bialystok (1990) and Cohen (1992), have
found the learning strategies field to have its
problems, as some aspects are not yet clear.
These problems include that it is difficult to
separate the conscious from the unconscious and the
difficulty of showing what contributions they have on
language learning (Gass et al 1993). As Grass
(1993) insights, learning strategies is clearly an
important area but there needs to be more
theoretically sound research.
5. LEARNING DIFFICULTIES
Many people believe that students with learning
difficulties or are Negotiated education plans can not
successfully learn a second language. Research has
found that students on a NEP often benefit from
learning another language.
It allows students to re-visit the basics of how a
language is constructed which helps students with
their native tongue. Research has proven that
second language learning is not linked to
intelligence and therefore (most) students with
learning difficulties can succeed in second language
learning (DECS 2003, p.5).
THE END