The Effectiveness of Strategy Training and Its Relationship with Learning Styles

This dissertation, "The Effectiveness of Strategy Training and Its Relationship With Learning Styles" by Yuen-mei, Chan, 陳婉媚, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: Abstract of thesis entitled The Effectiveness of Strategy Training and Its Relationship with Learning Styles Submitted by Chan Yuen Mei For the degree of Master of Arts At the University of Hong Kong 23 August, 2004 The use of learning strategies is one of the key factors affecting second language acquisition. Appropriate strategy training is believed to be able to enhance learning performance. Learning style is one of the factors that is implicated in the effectiveness of strategy training. There are many studies into styles and strategies in Western contexts, but relatively few in Hong Kong. With the promotion of strategy training by the Hong Kong Curriculum Development Council, and the emphasis on learner-centred approaches in language teaching, research in these areas may bring insights and contribute to the effectiveness of language teaching in Hong Kong. The aims of this study were to identify strategy use among 32 F.4 ESL Chinese secondary students of average ability, to test if strategy training would lead to greater strategy use and to compare the effectiveness of the training among different learning styles. The 10-week training programme included the use of journal and classroom teaching. The participants were asked to complete a strategy inventory before and after the training. Frequency of strategy use was compared before and after the training. Changes in strategy use among different learning style groups were also compared. The findings showed that the participants generally used compensation strategies most frequently while affective strategies were the least frequently used. The participants' strategy use in certain areas increased significantly after the training. Among the learning style groups, none was found to ibenefit significantly from the training. However, certain style groups seemed to respond more positively to the training. The nature of the training may have different impacts on different learning style groups. It is hoped that findings obtained in this study can give insights to language teachers in the planning and implementation of strategy training. ii DOI: 10.5353/th_b2967948 Subjects: Second language acquisition Learning English language - Study and teaching (Secondary) - China - Hong Kong