5 FactorsAffecting Language

Learning Strategy

used by L2 learners

Prepared by : Fatin Ameerah bt Md Zahir | A141168 |

Factors Affecting LLS used by L2 Learners• Each one of L2 Learners uses different and various

type of strategies to learn a second language.• It is depending on few factors that closely related to

the learners themselves.• The factors can be from internal side or external side.• It is more specified as motivation, gender, age,

socioeconomic status and ethnics and cultures.

MOTIVATION

Ellis (1994)Efforts done by the students to learn a second language as resulted from the desire and need to learn it.

Gardner (1985)Level of efforts of someone who learns a language due to his / her desire to do so and the satisfaction when doing so.

• Desire or passion to learn a new language not only derived from the environment (parents, peers, teacher and study environment), but also from the inner side of us called Motivation.

• A motivated L2 learner will have desire to use more effective and specific strategies to learn the language, while a less motivated student will not.

AGE5

20

18

32

Lightbown & Spada, 2003The relationship between age of the learners and the potential to be succeed in L2 learning process is always be discussed about.

This shows how age is closely related to LLS used by a particular person. Young learner tend to use simple and easy strategies compared to adult learner as they are still lack of experience and knowledge. Therefore, adult learners are more advance in L2 learning process rather than young learners as they have more superiority and advantage in many aspects of language. In contrast to it, young learners are able to achieve higher level of

language competency more than adult learner as they learn in natural way.

SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS

Coleman et al. 1996Research on how family socioeconomic status give influence towards the academic achievement has started actively in the middle of 1960s.

• There are bundles of research proved that, parents play a big role and act as an influential part of their children’s learning process.

• Two core elements that have been referred to :

Parents academic background

Parents income

Parents Academic Background : Slavin, 1997

Well-educated Parents

•Physically and mentally prepare to catalyze their children’s physiology and cognition development•Providing children with good language using model (e.g. speaking, reading and outdoor experiences)

Less-educated Parents

•Lack of preparation and intellectual references •Assuming that children’s learning are naturally occur

In fact, parents with high academic background can be an inspiration to their children besides act as a role model.

Parents Income

Parents with higher income can affects the

LLS used by the L2 learners as they are capable to facilitate their children with materials that keep insisting and helpful enough for them to

learn.

ETHNICS & CULTURES

Pennycook 1997 ; Pierson 1996• Students from

different ethnics, cultures and nationality have different learning strategies that are not the same.

Sutridge 1997• The differences

between the cultural background and education system resulted on the strong factor and weakness that are differ in every students

Corbett 1999• Some students tend to

speak out loud as they are raised in that kind of community

• But, some of them are less actively speak out their ideas as they are afraid if they are impolite to others to accept the ideas given. In fact, they have been raised in such way too.

GENDER

• Women tend to become mature earlier than men in various aspects.

• There is no specific study or research that shows how gender really affects

LLS

used by L2 learner.

• Different researches show different points regarding the gender issue on LLS :

women tend to use more LLS compared to men and otherwise

women are more preferring to use social strategies frequently than men

women most likely use memory, meta cognitive, affective and social

strategies compared to men

women are less likely use translation and cognitive strategies than men

women tend to use LLS more than men in class, out of class and during

examination as well

• From the researches conducted before, we can see that BOTH women and

men use LLS to help them learn L2 better.

• Type of LLS use are difficult to be specify because it is various and depending

on an individual choice.

• However, some research show that women tend to use metacognitive strategies

in the process of learning a second language.

• Apart from it, men are said to use more LLS than women do.

Thank you!