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Title
Strategies Dealing with Language Learning of Thai Engineering Students: a qualitative perspective
Presenter
Asst. Prof. Dr Channarong Intaraprasert
Language learning strategies have been defined in this particular investigation as any set of techniques or learning behaviours, whether observable or unobservable, which Engineering students reported employing for the purpose of enhancing their language learning either inside or outside the classroom settings. Furthermore, the author recognises that different learners can make their own choices of learning strategies to facilitate the learning of the target language. The purpose of the paper was to present how the emergent language learning strategy inventory was generated as well as the inventory itself.
Different researchers have different ways of classifying language learning strategies based on their own or other researchers’ works, or on a review of related literature in the subject areas. It is also noted that no single classification system is perfect. What is suitable for a researcher to use to elicit the use of language learning strategies with one group of language learners may not be suitable for another. Against this background, the author carefully planned that the most suitable and effective method for the task in hand to elicit language learning strategies from Engineering students in Thailand was to make use of the information reported by Thai Engineering students themselves. The subjects of this study were 39 Engineering students learning English at four different institutions located in different regions of the country. The semi-structured interview was used as the main data collection method.
The emergent Language Learning Strategy Inventory, as the result of the student interviews, originally consists of two main categories: classroom-related and classroom-independent. The former comprises seven purposes and twenty-nine individual strategies, and the latter comprises five purposes and twenty individual strategies. However, later on, the language learning strategy inventory has been slightly modified as the author always keeps track of how his students go about their language learning.
Key words: language learning strategies, engineering students
Biographical Data
Asst. Prof. Dr Channarong Intaraprasert has been teaching English to Thai students at all levels for 25 years. He has also taught English to Vietnamese university students and faculty members. His research interests mainly lie in language learning strategies and beliefs about language learning. Apart from teaching research in ELS, he presently supervises PhD students at his home university.
contact asian_efl_journal@yahoo.com
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