A contrastive analysis of esl and efl learning strategies

Abstract

This study examined language context effect on selecting language learning strategies. The participants were 150 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students, and 150 English as a Second Language (ESL) students. Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) was used for data collection. The data were analyzed quantitively using Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS). At the individual strategy level, ESL and EFL students differed significantly in the use of 18 (36%) out of 50 strategies. There was also some agreement between them as both ESL and EFL students used 12 (24%) of individual strategies most often, 18 (36%) to a medium degree and 2 (4%) least often. At the category level both groups used the metacognitive strategy category “organizing and evaluating your learning” most frequently, and used both the affective category “managing your emotions”, and the memory category “remembering more effectively”, least frequently, with no significant differences. The overall strategy use for both groups was medium.