FIVE FACTORS THAT

AFFECT LLSNATASHA ZAIREEN BINTI ZUBIR

A148091

LEARNERS STRATEGIES

VARIABLES IN LLS

• LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES DIFFER ACCORDING TO

AN INDIVIDUAL AS WELL AS HIS LEARNING STYLE.

• HOWEVER, WE MUST CONSIDER SOME FACTORS THAT

CONTRIBUTE TO THE VARIETY OF THESE STRATEGIES.

• IN THIS PRESENTATION, WE WILL LOOK AT FIVE OF THEM.

MOTIVATION

• In most activities that we do, motivation is what keeps us doing until a

certain result is achieved.

• Ushida (2005) defined motivation in learning a language as the extent to

which the individual works or strives to learn the language because of the

desire to learn the language and the satisfaction experienced in the activity.

• Johnstone (1999) defined motivation as a stimulant for achieving a specific

target.

MOTIVATION

• Gardner (1985) further added a motivated learner is someone who is eager

to learn a language, willing to expend effort into learning activity and willing

to sustain learning activity.

• Based on numerous research, motivation is proven to be as one of the most

vital elements in a learning process. These researches agree on one common

aspect, that motivation ensures a better learning process therefore producing

students who are more proficient in the second language they learn.

MOTIVATION

• Cook (2000) found that motivated students show better performances in

learning a second language compared to others.

• Ushida (2002) also found that motivation has driven a student to study hard

in her course, then helped her to develop metacognitive learning strategies

and later ensured her success in the end.

GENDER

There has been an endless debate on the impacts posed by gender in one’s

language learning process but they can agree that the percentage of men to

succeed while learning second language is higher than women.

This is influenced by many external factors such as the perception of society

towards women’s participation in education.

Aslan (2009) reported that the speech of men is considered as the accepted

norm, while the women’s speech is to be perceived as deficient.

GENDER

• Besides, some have claimed the methods used by most men in learning

ensuring them to perform better compared to women. This is supported by

Holmes (1995), saying that men use interactions as means of gaining and

exchanging information whereas women use it as a way to connect with

others (as cited in Gascoigne, 2002).

• Gascoigne (2002) also claimed that men tend to dominate classroom

interaction and that educators, at times, reinforce this type of behavior by

giving additional time and attention to males.

AGE

• Each individual has his own capabilities and strength for language learning.

We must not conclude that the younger, the better or vice versa. This is

supported by Stern (1976), as each age in life probably has its peculiar

advantages and disadvantages for language learning.

• Johnstone (2002) claimed that younger learners are at an advantage for

language learning as they are far less inhibited and far more open and

receptive: they seem to soak their foreign language up.

AGE

• Johnstone (2002) futher added that older learners also possess their own advantages such as:

- they are able to anchor new learning on meaningful pegs

- they may be more experienced while handling the discourse of conversation

- they are likely to have acquired a larger range of learning strategies

• Snow & Hoefnagel-Hoehele (1978) have supported the previous research as they found adolescent and adult learners perform better compared to young children under controlled conditions.

AGE

• Bley-Vroman (1989) also found that post-puberty learners would attain

native-like proficiency compared to pre-puberty learners.

• In addition, Singleton (1989) suggested that young learners would take a

longer period of time to emerge as proficient learners because of the scarcity

of informations which they have to access.

• Collier (1988) agreed that older learners acquire faster compared to younger

learners.

PROFICIENCY

• Proficiency also affects one’s learning strategies. As suggested by Motoki

(2006), the degree of their success of language learning is different on

student’s individual differences.

• According to Griffiths (2003), there is a tendency for learners to use different

language learning strategies depending on their proficiency level.

• Besides, Presley & Associates (1990) stated that the use of learning strategies

is demonstrably related to student’s achievement and proficiency.

PROFICIENCY

• Based on the study conducted by O’Malley and Chamot in 1990, they

discovered that high-proficiency level students tend to use a larger variety of

learning strategies compared to students who are less proficient.

• This is supported by a study conducted by Nakashima and Osato in 2000,

whereby students who possess higher proficiency use more strategies than

the others.

SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS

• Benson (2007) stated that economic factors such as access to learning

resources at home and at school.

• Students who come from better background in terms of financial stability

have shown a pattern of performing better than those who are financially-

disadvantaged.

• A study conducted by Kormos and Kiddle in Chile showed that children

from upper-middle class have more access to the latest technology compared

to children from low and middle classes.

SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS

• Their stable economic status have indirectly helped them to perform better

in learning.

• Clearly, the financial means have great influence on student’s school

attendance.

• As proposed by Hu (2003) who conducted a study in China; large class sizes,

under-qualified teachers as well as lack of resources might all contribute to

the diminished levels in motivation to learn foreign languages.

THANK YOU

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