The Use of Language Learning Strategies by Iranian Students as Compared to the Learners of Other Ethnic Groups

Abstract

Research has demonstrated that in addition to such learner variables as intelligence, age, sex, etc., language learning strategies can play some parts in successful language learning. However, language learners are different in their use of such strategies. In spite of some studies in Iran on the use of learning strategy by Iranian learners, to the best of our knowledge, there has not been any research on whether the strategies used by Iranian EFL learners are similar or different from those used by other ethnic groups. So the focus of this study was to find out whether the type and range of language learning strategies used by Iranian learners are similar to or different from the strategies used by learners from other cultures. To do this, 200 Iranian students (100 studying in high school and 100 at university) were chosen. The Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL version 7 for ESL/EFL learners), a self-report questionnaire, (Oxford, 1990) was used to assess the frequency of learners' strategy use. The findings of this study revealed that Iranian learners used cognitive strategies the most and the affective strategies the least. The comparison revealed that Iranian learners were similar in some respects to and different in some other respects from the language learners of other nationalities in the use of language learning strategies.