Download resource

Please enter your details to download this resource
Login
 

Enter your details to access this video

Or if you already have an account login to watch the video (if you don't you can register here).
Login
Download Language learning strategy document
Email share link LinkedIn share link Twitter share link Facebook share link
Approximate reading time: 1 minute

Language learning strategies are tools to facilitate language learning that should be adapted to suit the needs of each individual.

There aren't a set of language learning strategies that makes you a perfect language learner, each student learns differently. However, there are some guidelines on the strategies others have found successful that can be provided to students to help them make more effective use of their time studying.  It's important that students understand how they learn and what strategies are more effective than others.

Rebecca Oxford produces a fantastic book on Language Learning Strategies 'Language Learning Strategies, What every teacher should know.' She outlines a huge variety of language learning strategies and groups them under 'direct' and 'indirect' strategies. Direct strategies are those directly involved in the target languages e.g. memory or compensation strategies and indirect strategies are those that involve the business of language learning e.g. metacognitive or social language learning strategies.

It's important to highlight each language learning strategy you are teaching,  ask the learners to try to see if it works for them and not to get overwhelmed with the huge variety available. Focusing on a few specific language learning strategies that are likely to work for the learner. This is a language learning strategy in itself.

Here's a short questionnaire to support learners who are reflecting on the kinds of language learning strategies they might use (see link below).

It's useful to deliver a lesson or series of lessons on the types of language learning strategies available. We need to be explicit about the possible language learning strategy options available to learners and ensure that they have a go before committing to new ones.

References:

Oxford, R (1990) Language Learning Strategies, What every teacher should know, Heinle & Heinle

Download Language learning strategy document
Email share link LinkedIn share link Twitter share link Facebook share link

More articles from our blog

EAL and language learning mindmap

What is EAL? - Talking to other teachers about EAL

Created: Mon 16th Aug 2021

You're the EAL lead in your school - or a teacher with responsibility for EAL. You're a class teacher who's been asked to look into EAL - or a teaching assistant who runs a special EAL group. But do your colleagues really know what you do? Do they know what EAL is - and why it matters for all staff in a school, and not just you?

What games work well in the language learning class?

Created: Tue 23rd May 2017

Brewster, Ellis and Girard (2012) discuss the idea of playing Bingo or Dominoes as games for connecting various curriculum areas. Brewster (2012) explains that playing games like these can be a support for learning target vocabulary, for example, playing a Dominoes game before or after reading where learners can either match the words or the pictures together as they listen is an excellent way to learn the target language. You may be studying the human skeleton vocabulary in the game and making connections to the class book e.g.

Learning Village illustration

Assessment for learning: EAL learners

Created: Thu 4th Jun 2020

Effective assessment for learning (AfL) is ‘informed feedback to pupils about their work’ (Shaw, 1998). As Broadfoot et al (1999) discuss, there are five key ways in which we can enhance learning by assessment. These steps can be universally applied to all learning and all learners, and thus address the learning needs of EAL learners in physical and virtual classrooms. They are:

Back to Blog