Traditionally, the emphasis has primarily been on the teaching side of second language (L2) instruction, rather than on the learner side. It has been assumed that if teachers do their job of teaching well, students would certainly learn and retain the language as well. Yet, it became clear that if students are not learning or are not motivated to learn, it may not matter how well the teachers are teaching.
(Cohen, http://www.carla.umn.edu)
This indicates that it is of high importance for learners of different languages to be more aware of their own learning strategies and the great importance of motivation. Accordingly to Harmer (2005) motivation is nothing more than the inner force that can make individuals achieve goals or do better in specific fields. He states that there are two kinds of motivation: extrinsic and intrinsic, both very important when language learning and development is to be kept in mind. Harmer (2005) believes that extrinsic motivation is caused by all outside factors, for instance, the necessity to pass a test, the possibility of receiving a reward, or a chance of a better employment. Second type of motivation when individual learning abilities is considered, is intrinsic motivation, which by difference, comes from inner needs, such as a pleasure and enjoyment of learning itself.
Great importance of self-motivation is not always completely understood and is therefore carried out by every person. This means that individuals studying foreign languages should gain better awareness of motivation itself as well as the differences between a poor and successful learner. For this reason, this part of essay will provide basic information of dissimilarity concerning poor and successful learners of a language. It is vital to recognize a poor learner as a user of very few learning strategies, and also as a person without awareness and ideas for future learning or goals. Whereas successful learner or ‘good language learner’, accordingly to Grenfell (http://books.google.co.uk:46-47), is every individual that that is in a habit of using many strategies, and what is more, benefits from the whole variety of strategies, and becomes successful.
‘It is crucial to know that some people have strong visual memories, some learn by doing, others learn by discussion, others by reading and making notes’
(Marshall, 1993:58)
Although there are many learning strategies to fulfil this view, this essay will focus on four of them, which are of high importance to every person wanting to achieve success in languages. The first strategy to be discussed in this paragraph is ‘use what you know’ described by Chamot (http://www.nclrc.org). She also describes this strategy as important for the beginning of every task. It includes for instance, the usage of background knowledge, inferences and predictions making, and also transferring knowledge into the native language. The attached questionnaire shows that the majority of people questioned are using this method in order to achieve a better understanding of language itself and their own learning skills.
The second learning strategy accordingly to Chamot (http://www.nclrc.org) is called ‘using your imagination’, which is basically focused on the usage of images, and also on manipulation of real and unreal objects in order to gain a better understanding of the whole context or a word, for example, role-playing in the target language. This method is used by ¾ of questioned people (Attachment 1), which shows its effectiveness when language learning is to be taken into consideration.
Chamot (http://www.nclrc.org) points out another strategy that is ‘organizational skills usage’ focused. She explains the necessity of this strategy through showing examples such as the ability to take notes and summarizing main ideas and pieces of information. She also expresses the significance of the usage of selective attention, for example, by “focusing on specific information, structures, key words, phrases, or ideas’’. Therefore, organizational skills and are really important to every learner that considers reaching the advanced language usage.
Finally, the fourth strategy in language learning is called the ‘use of variety of resources’ as stated in Chamot (http://www.nclrc.org). She indicates that accessing the variety of educational sources, for instance, books, periodicals, internet, feedback given by the teacher or a native speaker, provides students of languages with crucial language and social information. She also suggests ‘’Use your inner resources. Reduce your anxiety by reminding yourself of your progress, the resources you have available, and your goals’’. Therefore, it is fundamental for individuals to be competent of finding information within the variety of sources in order to improve personal skills in the target language.
All in all, this essay provided and discussed four main strategies of effective language learning. It is commonly known that in modern times, understanding and interacting in foreign languages are the necessity for every successful person. The genuine success in language learning derives from the sufficient awareness, of each individual, of the existing learning strategies, and also of the great usefulness and effectiveness when it comes to practising the whole variety of them. Therefore, language learning and the use of what is learned inevitably involve significant memory work, as well as ongoing and important practice. For students of languages, who practise learning strategies in attentive manner, and also who have systematic approach to learning itself, generally find excellent ways of helping themselves to ease the great burden of language learning.
REFERENCES:
Chamot, A. Defining and Organizing Language Learning Strategies. http://www.nclrc.org/guides/HED [2007, November 26].
Cohen, A., D. Styles-and Strategies-Based Instruction. [On-line]. Available: http://www.carla.umn.edu/strategies/SBIinfo.html [2007, November 26].
Fly, B., I, L. Dimensions of Thinking and Cognitive Instruction. [On-line]. Available: http://books.google.co.uk [2007, November 28].
Grenfell, M., Harris, V. Modern Languages and Learning Strategies: In Theory and Practise. [On-line]. Available: http://books.google.co.uk [2007, November 29].
Harmer, J. (2005). The Practise of English Language Teaching. Malaysia: Longman.
Hinkel, E. (1999,pp.196-211). Culture in Second Language Teaching and Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Larsen-Freeman, D. (1986). Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press.
Lynch, T. (1996, pp.3-17). Communication in the Language Classroom. New York: Oxford University Press.
Marshall, L., Rowland, F. (1993). A Guide to Learning Independently. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Appendix 1
Questionnaire
