Abstract
Studies on strategy research have shown the usefulness and importance of language learning strategies (LLS) for ESL and EFL learners. However, research on content-based learners in relation to English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) has yet to be undertaken. This study, therefore, investigated the learning strategies of students at a public English medium university in Malaysia. The study was mainly motivated by concerns about the standards of English of graduates of Malaysian universities. These concerns have also been expressed by the university authorities. The purpose of the research was to investigate the patterns of LLS as reported by the students according to gender, courses, and undergraduate programmes. A total of 312 students from three degree programmes participated in this study. Their learning strategies were investigated based on the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) (Oxford, 1990). The findings of the study indicated that the students from the different degree programmes differed in the use of LLS. However, there was no statistically significant relationship between LLS and gender.
Highlights
Language learning and teaching have evolved from a teacher-centred to a more student-centred approach and as a result the interest to find out how the students themselves learn a language has become a crucial area of study
Malaysians made up 95.8% of the respondents, and generally spoke their mother tongue Malay at home (95.5%)
Findings of this study indicate that students from the three different degree programmes differed in the use of the six learning strategies
Summary
Language learning and teaching have evolved from a teacher-centred to a more student-centred approach and as a result the interest to find out how the students themselves learn a language has become a crucial area of study. As students are responsible for their own learning, looking at the strategies they adopt in language learning could give insights into the importance of the different strategies used, the extent to which they are used, and the factors that influence strategy use. This interest in LLS is evident based on a good number of valuable research on LLS in the different English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts (e.g., Abdolmehdi Riazi, 2007; Kamarul Shukri Mat Teh, Mohamed Amin Embi, Nik Mohd Rahimi Nik Yusoff & Zamri Mahamod, 2009; Abu Shmais, 2003; Li, 2005). She divided the strategies into direct and indirect strategies which involved information, memory behaviours, knowledge of vocabulary, rules of grammar, thought and mental processes
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