The ELT Preparatory Class Students’ Strategy Using Profiles and Attitudes towards Foreign Language Learning: Amasya University Sample

Year 2016, Special Issue 2016-I, 22 - 32, 01.01.2016

Ayfer Su Bergin Arif Sarıçoban

https://doi.org/10.17275/per.16.spi.1.3

Abstract

The
unsatisfactory language performance of L2 is among very common complaints
voiced by the language teachers and educators for many years. These complaints
push the applied researchers in the field of learning and teaching L2 searching
for the causes of these kinds of problems and offering recommendations for
solutions. Therefore, the need for this attempt dates back to the early years
of 1970s as the majority of the research focused on developing the teaching
methods and instructional materials. Parallel to the great efforts to
understand the nature of the learning and teaching, since the early years of
1970s, great emphasis has been placed on social, psychological and affective
factors that enhance or inhibit L2 success and achievement. Motivation,
personality, learning style is among these variables that sound important
places in different research. Taking a further step, this research aims to
investigate the role of strategies and attitudes in L2 learning and teaching
settings where English language has a role of foreign language as well. For
this purpose, this research seeks the answers of what strategies the ELT
preparatory class student use,  whether
the students’ achievement differs according to the strategy they use or not,
what the students’ attitudes towards foreign language learning are, whether the
students’ achievement differs according to the attitudes towards foreign
language learning and there is a meaningful relation between the students’
strategy using profiles and attitudes towards foreign language learning or not.
22 Amasya University ELT preparatory class students, enrolling in 2014- 2015
academic year, consist the scope of this research. The data provide basis for
this research have been collected via two different data collection instruments
which are labelled as SILL (Strategy Inventory for Language Learning) and a
questionnaire on attitudes towards learning a foreign language. The strategy
inventory for Language Learning (SILL) is for the students of a second language
developed by Oxford (1990). This inventory consists of 5 parts aimed to define
the students strategy profiles in terms of remembering more effectively, using
all mental process, compensating for missing, organizing and evaluating,
managing emotions, learning with others. The inventory comprises 50 items each
of which is labelled with the options that range from ‘‘1= Never or almost
never true for me’’, ‘‘2= Usually not true of me’’, ‘‘3= Somewhat true of me’’,
‘‘4= Usually true of me’’ and ‘‘5= Always or almost always true of me’’. The
questionnaire on attitudes towards foreign language learning was adopted
by  Tunçok (2010) from Horwitz’s (1988) Beliefs About Language Learning
Inventory (BALLI) and the Attitude/ Motivation Test Battery (AMTB) by Gardner
(1985) adding
eight more items. The questionnaire consists of 31 items and the answers are
labelled as 7 point likert-type format sequencing from 1(totally disagree) to 7
(totally agree). In the study, both qualitative and quantitative research
methods were applied together. For the data analysis of this study, SPSS 17.00 package program for social sciences was
used throughout the whole process. According to the findings, this research
shares the information and insight that learners’ strategy using profiles and
attitudes towards foreign language learning should be kept in mind during the
applications of all classroom activities especially in the foreign language
learning settings. Moreover, the findings have significant implications for
research on classroom instruction, material design and teacher education as
well

Keywords

Language learning, strategies, attitudes, foreign language learning and teaching

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