A Holistic System of English Learning Strategies Grounded on Successful EFL Learners

Abstract

This study investigated successful EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students’ learning strategies in Chinese universities and explored the classification system of English learning strategies, to guide EFL students how to learn English. A total of 24 successful English majors and non-English majors in Chinese universities were interviewed about their English learning strategies and experiences, which were coded in three stages with the grounded theory approach. About 767 items of specific strategies were identified and merged into 66 open codes which constructed four categories: self-management, cognitive, affective, and resource-using strategies. Furthermore, the core of successful English learners’ strategies was generalized: to comprehend and learn English comprehensively in whole contexts, briefly, holistic learning. This idea coincides with the global precedence effect.