A Study of Learning Strategies in L2 Acquisition:(2)

Some definitions of learning strategies produced by different researchers are as follows:

Tarone (1980):  A language learning strategy is an attempt to develop linguistic and sociolinguistic competence in the target language. The motivation of the use of this strategy is the desire to learn.

Stern (1983): In our view strategy is best reserved for general tendencies or overall characteristics of the approach employed by the language learner, leaving techniques as the term to refer to particular forms of observable learning behaviour.

Chomot(1987): Learning strategies are techniques, approaches or deliberate actions that students take in order to facilitate the learning, recall of both linguistic and content area information.

Rubin (1987): Learning strategies are strategies which contribute to the development of the language system which the learner constructs and affect learning directly.

Oxford (1989): Language learning strategies are behaviours or actions which learners use to make language learning more successful, self-directed and enjoyable.

Cohen (1998) : Learning strategies are learning processes which are consciously selected by the learner. The words “consciously select” are important because they demonstrate the special character of strategy.

Wenden(1998): Learning strategies are mental steps or operations that learners use to learn a new language and to regulate their efforts to do so.( as cited in Ellis, 1994, p. 531)

The above definitions show that no researchers define language learning strategies in exactly the same way. All these definitions provide insights into understanding the process of learning a language. How to define learning strategies is crucial in underpinning the framework of researchers’ study. Definition is fundamental to laying the foundation for the areas of research. However, these definitions of language learning strategies reveals some problems. “Learning strategies” is such a broad word that it can refer to the general approaches or specific techniques used to learn a language.  Maybe it is the main reason why the definitions are atheoretical. There are other two problems:  Are learning strategies to be perceived of as behavioural or mental?  Are learning strategies conscious and intentional or subconscious?

A complete definition of learning strategies is not available. Perhaps one of the best approaches to defining learning strategies is to list the main charcteristics (Ellis, 1994). In this case, it would appear that the areas of consensus outweigh those of disagreement. Cohen (2005) , when he made a survey questionnaire among a group of second-language learner strategy experts to determine how they conceptualize and use the terminology in strategy research and practice, proposed a construct of learning strategy which was viewed not as an absolute, all-or-nothing feature but in terms of how far along a continuum a feature could possibly go before it stopped being descriptive of a strategy. This is an approach of defining learning strategies in terms of how prototypical the feature was. These features as follows are arranged in a descending order of agreement, with the features receiving the lowest level of agreement last.

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