Exploring Strategies in Language Learning: The Case for Mandarin As A Foreign Language

Abstract

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has compelled the educational sector to revise its strategies and use technology as the educational system's saviour. The pandemic has stopped all faceto-face teaching and learning activities in educational institutions, forcing the adoption of online learning. The objective of this study is to identify the learning strategies used by learners when they learn Mandarin as a foreign language. This quantitative research is done to investigate how learners use cognitive and meta cognitive strategies when they learn Mandarin. The instrument used is a survey adapted from Wenden & Rubin (1987). A total of 366 respondents were chosen to respond to the survey. The respondents are students who are learning the Mandarin Language in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). The survey has 4 main sections which consist of demographic profile, cognitive components, metacognitive self-regulation and resource management. The findings of this study showed that the cognitive strategies most often used are rehearsal, elaboration, followed by organizational and critical thinking. The metacognitive self-regulation strategies were also applied by students to learn Mandarin online. Most students agreed that when they are confused about something they are reading for their classes, they will try to figure it out on their own when their classes have ended. The students also practiced resource management strategies in the process of learning Mandarin. They preferred environment strategies the most, followed by help seeking strategies and effort management strategies. The findings of this study can help educators to identify effective learning strategies to enhance students' Mandarin language proficiency.