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Date Posted: 19:17:36 10/15/04 Fri
Author: Maria Tereza
Subject: Re: Task 3
In reply to: Aparecida dos S. SIlva 's message, "Re: Task 3" on 11:07:18 10/12/04 Tue

APARECIDA`S TEXT
Aparecida, I just did some corrections which are in parentheses. About the cotation and the paraphrasing, you did a good job.

Task 3 - The awaraness of Learning Strategy in the Learning Process of Foreing Languages.

Strategy is a plan designed for a specific purpose. In Ancient Greece strategy meant the art of war whose tactics were tools for success. Everytime we have to carry out a plan most of us think about the best way to perform it . It is through this process of planning and thinking that we come to the strategies to achieve our goals. Although it seems very important that we have strategies for every action we need to perform, the tactics which we choose does (DO) not guarantee that we will carry out the task in a skillful way. Thus, when it comes to learning, having strategies is not enough, it is necessary to know which one is more effective and how to use it.

Regarding foreign languages learning , more specifically, Languages Learning Strategies came as a new perspective to learning as they are communicative and mental procedures that student (STUDENTS USE, PLURAL IT`S BETTER) uses to learn the target language. So, Learning Strategies are efficient techniques a student should know in order to support learning of a foreign language.

The student may not be able to find out which is the best strategy for him to use and it is up to the teacher ( TO) introduce it in the ongoing process of the language lesson (as soon as possible).
According to Richards (pp.63) “an important aspect of teaching is to promote learners’ awareness and control of effective learning strategies and discourage the use of ineffective ones”.

There are a number of studies on Learning Strategies, such as the ones by D. Nunan , J. Richards & C .Lockhart and Rebecca Oxford, among many others. All of them give important suggestions on how to acquire and learn a foreign language with the aid of Learning Strategies. The ones classified by Rebecca Oxford (1990) will be outlined in this essay.

According to Oxford (p.9) Learning Strategies are “specific actions taken by the learner to make learning esier( EASIER), faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, and more transferable to new situations”. It is clear that although the student should be oriented by the teacher of how and when to make use of the strategy (ies) – he is the one who will be responsible to (RESPONSIBLE FOR) the process.

Oxford (p.9) has categorized the Learning Strategies into two categories: Direct and Indirect . The first example of Direct Strategies is the Memory Strategy, which helps the student recalls/accesses what he has learned in a more effective way. For this to happen he has to establish links with what is stored on his mind and what he is learning. It is necessary that the student makes a great effort to use his memory as much as possible. Good examples of activities can be the use of flash-cards to remember new words; review of previous lessons and role-play new words.

Cognitive Strategy and Compensation Strategy are also classified in the Direct Strategies. Cognitive Strategy is how to make use of all mental process, the student can do this by reciting and writing words of the target language; speaking to native speakers; practicing the sound of the language: using the same word in a different way; getting in touch with authentic materials; receiving and sending messages through letters or e-mails for example.

The Compensation Strategy - It is how the student compensates his lack of knowledge. This requires a great effort ( ATTEMPT, SYNONYM) such as not looking in the dictionary everytime he needs to know the meaning of a new word, instead he should try to guess it intelligently. When listening to a tape, the student should pay attention to non linguistic clues in order to guess the meaning of what has been said.

The Indirect Strategy are: Metacognitive Strategy, Affective Strategies and Social Strategies. The first one is how the student organizes and evaluates his learning. He can do this by scheduling the necessary time he needs to study the target language; paying attention to his mistakes in order to improve; trying to find a better way of being a good learner.

Both Affective and Social Strategies are very similar, in fact they come together. Affective Strategy is how the student lowers his anxiety and this is possible by encouraging himself, testing his emotial temperature talking to other people. By doing this he will be ready to use the Social Strategy which is related to how the students interact with one another and the environment of studies. It is very important to ask questions, asks for clarification or verification, emphatizing with others.(NOT CLEAR)

To conclude, the main objective of a learner of a foreign language is the communicative competence and if he, from the beginning of his learning process be aware that there are effective tools to support his learning, he will certainly succeed.


References:

Oxford, R, 1990. Language Learning Strategies: What Every Teacher Should Know. Boston: Newbury House.

Nunan, D, 1999. Second Language Teaching & Learning, Chaper 6 The Learning Process. Boston, Massachusetts.

Richards, J. Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classrooms, Learning Strategies, City University of Hong Kong.

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  • Re: Task 3 -- Fernanda, 08:49:37 10/17/04 Sun
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