Abstract
This study explores the most frequently used learning strategies of a group of older adults in the city of Cuenca, Ecuador, attending an English course. Sixty-six participants (with an average age of 71.05) responded to the 50-item questionnaire on learning strategies of Oxford (1990). Statistical analyses and an analysis of correlation between sociodemographic variables were conducted to determine the prevailing learning styles of the intervention group and its relationship with the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants. The results indicate that older adults use all the strategies categorized by Oxford, predominantly the metacognitive ones, meaning that they mainly reflect, plan, monitor, and evaluate their own learning process. In addition, the results reveal the positive correlation of the variables age, level of English, and level of education and occupation before retirement. The three last-mentioned were found to be determinant in the preferences of the participants.
Highlights
The study of learning strategies has been widely reported, regarding the benefits of using them in an academic setting
This study explores the most frequently used learning strategies of a group of older adults in the city of Cuenca, Ecuador, attending an English course
Some consider the expression learning strategies to be a synonym of the terms learning behaviors, tactics, resources, skills, and others (Griffiths, 2008), while others regard them as different (Gómez, 2013), stating that learning techniques are specific activities students use mechanically, whereas learning strategies are the reflective use of those techniques
Summary
The study of learning strategies has been widely reported, regarding the benefits of using them in an academic setting. A pertinent definition is that of Dansereau (1985), who conceives them as “a set of processes or steps which might facilitate the acquisition, storage and use of information” Another important definition is provided by Monereo (1994), who states that learning strategies are “planned behaviors which select and organize cognitive, affective, and motor mechanisms in order to cope with global or specific learning situations”. In the field of foreign languages, Rebecca Oxford, a very well-known researcher in learning strategies, points out that such terms can be defined as “specific actions taken by the learner to make learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective, and more transferable to new situations” (Oxford, 1990) This definition is the one that informs the development of this study
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