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Key concepts in LT

In this issue, the   ELT Journal   introduces a new

feature for its readership: a glossary, in encyclopedic

form, of key

 concepts

 in the

 ield

 of English

 language

teaching The aim of this feature  is to assist readers to

develop an appreciation  of  central ideas in  ELT and

to approach the content of articles from  a perspective

informed by current debate on aspec ts of theory and

practice.

Learner training

During the 1970s, methodological trends in ELT

moved towards a perspective of adult learners as

capable of self-direction, able to plan and organize

their own learning, and able to proceed in language

learning with the kind of self-reliance they develop in

other areas of their lives. Knowles (1975), for

example, claimed that:

there is convincing evidence that people who take

the initiative in learning (pro-active learners) learn

more things and learn better

 th n

 do people who sit

at the feet of teachers, passively waiting to be

taught (reactive learners).

For reactive learners, becoming more autonomous

seems to imply two things. Firstly, there is the need

for a change in perception about what language

learning involves and a change in the expectation that

languag e can only be learned through the guidance of

a specialist teacher. Secondly, there is the need for

acquisition of techniques with which learners can

manage their self-directed learning. Holec (1980)

regards the learning process as

 

managem ent process

and includes the following among the necessary

techniques of management: fixing objectives for

learning, deciding on the content of a learning

programme, selecting methods, self-monitoring of

progress, and self-evaluation.

The teacher, then, might be assumed to have a

responsibility for fostering autonomy through a

process of  learner  training This can be defined as a

set of procedures or activities which raise learners

awareness of what is involved in the process of

learning a second language, which encourage

learners to become m ore involved in and respon sible

for their own learning, and which help learners to

develop and strengthen their strategies for language

learning.

Much of the research into learner strategies has held

in view the perspective of the self-directed language

learner, and has tried to establish whether it is

possible to facilitate learning through the use of

certain strategies or whether learners can modify their

strategies and learn new, more effective ones. More

work is currently needed in the field to investigate

learner training for strategy use. Pedagogically

speaking, there are now available discussions and

suggestions for learner training programmes and

materials. For example, Dickinson (1987) identifies

two areas of preparation for self-directed learning:

psychological preparation (i.e. building confidence to

work independently of the teacher), and

methodological preparation (i.e. acquiring the

necessary abilities and techniques for such activities

as self-evaluation). Other recent discussions of

training, e.g. Ellis and Sinclair (1989) and Wenden

(1991),

  are informed by strategy research: these

attempt to provide a framework for learners to exploit

in making their classroom learning more effective,

and in building confidence and competence for more

independent learning.

  urther reading

Dickinson, L.

  1987.   Self-Instruction in Language

Learning.   Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press.

Ellis,  G.  and   B. Sinclair.  1989.  Learning to Learn

English: A Course in Learner Training.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Holec, H.  1980.  Autonomy and Foreign Language

Learning.

 Council of E urope.

Knowles, M.

  1975.   Self-Directed Learning.   New

York: Association Press.

Wenden,  A. 1991.  Learner Strategies  for Learner

Autonomy.

 Prentice Hall International.

92

ELT Journal Volume 4711  January 1993 ©O xford University Press 1993

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8/19/2019 ELT J-1993-Key Concepts in ELT-92-3 Learner Strategies

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Learner strategies

Rubin (in Wenden and Rubin, 1987) defines learner

strategies as any set of operations, steps, plans,

routines, used by- the learner to facilitate the

obtaining, storage, retrieval and use of information.

That is, what learners do   to leam and  do to regulate

their learning .

  There is a useful distinction here

between   cognitive strategies   (what learners do to

leam) and metacognitive strategies (what learners do

to regulate their learning).

Cognitive strategies are thought processes used

directly in learning which enable learners to deal with

the new information presented in tasks and materials

by working on it in different ways. For example, this

extract from a lea rner s diary shows her using

analogy in order to distinguish the meanings of verbs

in German.

Today I learnt the distinction between   wissen  and

kennen,

  i.e. to kno w . I was pleased to discover

that because of doing French

  (savoir

  and

connattre I was able to understand this point qu ite

clearly.

Analogy can be seen as part of the general strategy of

deductive reasoning (Rubin, 1987); i.e. looking for

rules in the second language on the basis of existing

knowledge about language. Examples of other

cognitive strategies are repetition, i.e. imitating a

language model, and inferencing, that is making

guesses about the form or meaning of a new item of

language. Thus a learner might guess the m eaning of

 dra wer in the sentence He kept the papers safely in

a locked drawer of the desk from the linguistic and

meaning relationship between locked and draw er ,

from the meaning link with safe ly , and from

knowledge about the structure of desks and the nature

of their use.

Metacognitive strategies involve planning for

learning, thinking about learning and how to make it

effective, self-monitoring during learning, and   self-

evaluation of learning after the language activity is

completed (O Malley and Chamot, 1990). So, when

learners preview the next unit of their course book,

revise vocabulary noted down during a class, or read

carefully through the tea cher s com ments on their

written work, they are using metacognitive strategies

to assist them in their learning.

Two other categories are sometimes included in

frameworks of learner strategies. When learners use

gestures, mime, synonyms, simple explanations,

paraphrases, and cognate words from their first

language to make themselves understood and to

maintain a conversation despite the gaps in their

knowledge of the second language, they are using

communication strategies. The value of these is that

they keep learners involved in practising the

language. A further category relates to social

strategies, those which provide learners with

opportunities for practice, for example, initiating

conversations with native speakers.

Early researchers into learner strategies (e.g. Naiman

et al.,

  1975) acknowledged that observation alone

yielded insufficient information about strategies, and

consequently used interviews with learners. The last

decade has seen a growing interest in using learners

introspections, and learner reports have formed a

major research instrument. However, this approach is

problematic and limited, as it can only investigate

conscious strategies: research in the field still needs

an effective methodology.

There are additional problems for those who w ish to

investigate the literature on learner strategies. For

exam ple, there has been a proliferation of terms such

as tactic s , plan s , technique s , and language

processing s trategies with no easy equivalences

among them. Also, different research studies have

identified different strategies and different ways of

categorizing strategies, so a variety of frameworks

has developed. For example, each of the references

given below for further reading presents a different

framework for strategies. How ever, resea rch into

learner strategies has contributed strongly to the field

of ELT by highlighting the possibility of learners

becoming more self-reliant in their learning and by

generating discussion of how learners can be trained

for taking on more responsibility for their learning.

Further reading

Naiman, N., M. Frohlich, H. H. Stern,

  and

  A.

Todesco. 1975.  The Good Language Learner.

Modem Language Centre, Ontario Institute for

Studies in Education: Toronto.

O M alley, J. M.

 and

 A. U. Chamot.

  1990.   Learning

Strategies in Second Language Acquisition.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Oxford, R.  1990.

  Language Learning Strategies.

Rowley, M ass.: Newbury House.

Skehan,

  P. 1989.   Individual Differences in Second

Language Learning.

 London: Edward Arnold.

Wenden, A.

 and

 J. Rubin.

  1987. Learner Strategies

in Language Learning Prentice Hall International.

Tricia H edge, January 1993

Key concepts in ELT

93

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