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