Language Learning Strategies That Primary School 8th Grade Students Use While Learning English (Nevşehir Sample)

Abstract

Current developments in English language curriculum and students’ increasing level of consciousness seem hopeful for Turkish education system. However, in spite of the improvement in teaching English in both public and private schools, it is obvious that the present situation is not satisfactory. The aim of the research is to determine the learning strategies that 8th grade students use and their level of strategy use while learning English.The data were gathered through strategy inventory for language learning (SILL) of Oxford (1990), which was translated to Turkish by Cesur and Fer (2007). The collected data were computed and analyzed via descriptive statistics, t-test, and one-way ANOVA. As a result, total strategy use average of 8. grade students is found out to be 3,03 which reflects intermediate level. The analysis revealed that metacognitive strategies were favored the most while cognitive strategies were favored the least. The results of this study showed that statistically significant differences were found in the use of strategies with regard to gender in favor of female students. Students of private schools were found out to have significantly higher level of strategy use from those of public school. Finally, it is possible to state that successful students are likely to use more language learning strategies than less successful students