Language Learning Strategies Used by Successful and Unsuccessful Iranian EFL Students

Abstract

The important part language learning strategies play in second language acquisition(SLA) has been noted by many SLA researchers and also, many studies have been conducted to explore them (Rubin, 1975 and 1981; Naiman et al., 1978; O’Malley et al., 1985 and 1990; Ellis, 1985; Oxford, 1990 and Cohen, 2000). Since language is socially mediated and context dependent, it would be expected that learners’ use of language learning strategies may vary with the environment. This study examines the application of language learning strategies by successful and unsuccessful Iranian EFL students. To do so, memory, cognitive, compensation, metacognitive, affective and social language learning strategies were investigated. To collect data, the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL; Oxford, 1990) was administered to successful and unsuccessful EFL students. They, then, were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings of the study indicated that successful EFL students used a wider range of learning strategies and different from those often preferred by their unsuccessful peers. The former often used metacognitive strategies while the latter tended to use surface level cognitive strategies. The results of this study can be beneficial for Iranian language teachers in terms of raising their awareness on narrowing the gap between the students’ language learning strategies and their teaching methodologies preferences.