Post on 09-Jul-2015
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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
HAVE A NICE DAY!