Individual Learner Differences and Language Learning Strategies

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate what language learning strategies were frequently used by English as a foreign languageundergraduates at a public university in Bangkok, Thailand and the significant differences in the use of language learningstrategies based on individual differences, including gender and self-rated English proficiency. The research was conductedwith 392 Thai undergraduates through administering a quantitative method. Instruments for the study included ademographic questionnaire and Oxford’s Strategy Inventory for Language Learning. The findings revealed that researchparticipants reported a low-to-medium use of language learning strategy. The strategies most used by learners werecompensation strategies while the least were cognitive strategies. Regarding gender differences, female participants usedthe all six strategy categories more than did the male counterparts. The results also demonstrated that participants withdifferent English proficiency employed learning strategies at different levels with a statistical significance at .05 in almost sixstrategies, except affective strategies. Research participants who were good at English most used metacognitive while socialstrategies were most used by participants with less English proficiency. Keywords: Individual learner differences, language learning strategies.