Teaching Cognitive Learning Strategies and Vocabulary Testing

Abstract

This paper examines the cognitive language learning strategies used by two groups of university students majoring in English in Taiwan. It presents the results of a self-reporting questionnaire regarding which strategies these students used in preparation for test taking and the results of those tests. Based on the data, control group students showed they were already using a wide variety of vocabulary learning techniques that do not differ a great deal from those used by experimental group students who were just ”taught.” After looking at different factors that affect learning, a quick overview will be presented of three major areas: intelligences, as theorized by Gardner; psychological types, based on the theories of Carl Jung; and cognitive learning strategies, listed by Skehan. It will be shown that teaching learning strategies can have some impact on scores in a positive way -- even on ”good learners.” In addition, it reveals which strategies were most favored by both control and experimental group students.