LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNERS: TURKISH LANGUAGE CASE

Abstract

Strategies are learning paths that make learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more directed, more effective and more easily transferable to a new situation. Within this scope, the aim of this study is to determine the learning strategies used by foreign language learners. Therefore, case study design was preferred. The data collected form 15 foreign students through observation and interviews to reach detailed findings. Participants were determined by criterion sampling, which is a subtype of purposive sampling method. The data obtained from the observation form, researcher's notes and interview reports were evaluated by descriptive analysis and were categorized as memory, cognitive, compensatory, metacognitive, affective and social strategies. According to the results, each student's strategy preference and frequency varies regarding to the student's personality traits, comprehension level, language level, socio-cultural characteristics, gender, mother tongue, and the subject learned. Moreover, students prefer memory, cognitive, and compensation direct strategies more than metacognitive, social, and affective indirect strategies. This study theoretically extends the conceptual frameworks of previous measures of language learning strategies from English language learning to L2 Turkish language learning. Important pedagogical and educational implications are provided for L2 Turkish educators to encourage L2 Turkish learners to explore their own learning strategies.