A Comparison of Turkish and Bosnian EAP Students' Adoption of Language Learning Strategies

Abstract

The number of the undergraduate Turkish students studying at universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina has increased over the past few years. They usually study at universities where the language of instruction is English, namely International University of Sarajevo and International Burch University. This research explores the differences in adoption of language learning strategies between Turkish and Bosnian university students learning English for Academic Purposes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In Fall 2015, one hundred and forty Bosnian (N=140)  and ninety-two Turkish (N=92) freshman university students were surveyed with the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning ‒ SILL 7.0 (Oxford, 1990) at International University of Sarajevo. The results analysis revealed statistically significant differences in the adoption of Memory, Cognitive, and Affective strategies. The analysis revealed no statistically significant differences in the adoption of Compensation, Metacognitive, and Social strategies. However, an independent T-test showed a statistically significant difference in the overall adoption of the SILL strategies. The results imply that EAP instructors need to design courses which personalize instruction and facilitate adoption of different language learning strategies.

Keywords

• EAP,Strategies,Turkish,Bosnian,SILL

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