Language Learning Strategies and performance of students in ESL classrooms at UMT
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Date
2018
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University of Management and Technology
Abstract
This study was conducted in order to investigate the language learning strategy use of undergraduate students in ESL classroom in relation with their language performance. Moreover the difference in strategy use on the basis of gender was also part of investigation. Participants of the study were 160 undergraduate students including 97 male and 63 female students, from a private university in Lahore, who were enrolled in an ESL course. Participants were from different fields of study and they were nearly on same proficiency level. The data was collected through Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) by Oxford (1990) which is a recognized instrument for investigating strategy use. SILL is based on 50 items on the pattern of five-point Likert scale which represent six strategies proposed by Oxford (1990) .These strategies include memory strategy, cognitive strategy , compensation strategy , meta-cognitive strategy , social strategy and affective strategy. Students’ GPA scores were collected for the relevant course in order to examine language performance. The data was analyzed through SPSS 15.0 through descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Pearson co-relation was computed in order to examine the relation between the language strategy use of students and their language performance. In order to examine the difference between male and female students’ strategy use t-test analysis was carried out. For detailed evaluation regression analysis was performed on the dataset in order to see the prediction of performance on the basis of strategy use.
Results indicated that out of six, four strategy subscales memory, cognitive, compensation and meta-cognitive were significantly co-related with performance. Out of six subscales three including memory, meta-cognitive and affective were found to be the predictors for language performance. Cognitive and memory strategies were most used strategy subscales while affective and social strategies were less used types. The difference between male and female strategy use was not significant except for affective strategies, though female students use slightly more strategies. These differences however did not create difference in male and female students’ language performance.
Description
Supervised by: Dr. Arshad Ali Khan
Keywords
strategy, cognitive strategy , compensation strategy, meta-cognitive strategy , social strategy and affective strategy. Students, M.Phil