5 FACTORS THAT AFFECT LLS

BY,

LEE PUI HAR

(P63824)

INTRODUCTION

• Men commonly think according to their inclinations, speak according to their learning and imbibed opinions, but generally act according to custom. (Francis Bacon Sr)  

FACTORS THAT AFFECT LLS

• Gender

• Motivation

• Personal Attributes

• Social & Cultural Beliefs

• Learning Style

GENDER

• Men & Women brains really are wired differently. (Lewis and LiveScience 2013)

• According to Hong-Nam and Leavell (2006)• Females engaged in strategy use more frequently than males

• Female using Social and Metacognitive strategies most and Memory strategies the least.

• Males use Metacognitive & Compensation strategies most and Affective strategies the least.

MOTIVATION

• Gardner and Lambert Motivation Theory (1959)

• Instrumental motivation involves wanting to learn the L2 for a specific goal or reason, for example, learning a L2

• Integrative motivation is defined as wanting to identify with another ethnolinguistic group

• The learners’ motivation may be influenced by the types of learning contexts they are in. 1• EFL : Instrumental motivation

• ESL: Integrative motivation (Nitta 2006)

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

• Anxiety • Formal learning context & Informal learning context

• Self-confidence• self-confidence consists of a combination of positive self-evaluation

of one’s competence in the L2 and the absence of anxiety when learning and using the L2.

(Nitta 2006)

Social & Cultural Beliefs

• The degree of social & psychological distance a learner experiences between his or her language and culture and that of the target language group also affects his or her experience of learning the language. (Nitta 2006)

LEARNING STYLE

• Oxford also categorized language learning strategies into two domains: (Khamkhien 2010)• Direct Strategies (Memory, cognitive, compensation)

• Indirect Strategies (Metacognitive, affective, social)

• Learning Style Approach (Fleming 2011)• Visual, Auditory, Read & Write, Kinesthetic

CONCLUSION

• Identifying LLS used and understanding factors that might affect LLS are one of the many possible ways to assist Learners & also teachers in making the language learning process less difficult and more effective.

REFERENCES

Fleming, N.D. 2011. VARK a guide to learning style. http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=biography

Khamkhien, A. 2010. Factors affecting language learning strategy reported usage by Thai and Vietnamese EFL learners. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching 7(1):66-85. e-flt.nus.edu.sg/.../khamkhien.htm [26 March 2014]

Lewis, T. & LiveScience. 2013. How men's rrains are wired differently than women's. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-mens-brains-are-wired-differently-than-women/ [26 March 2014]

Nitta, T. 2006. Affective, cognitive and social factors affecting Japanese learners of English in Cape Town. etd.uwc.ac.za/usrfiles/.../etd_gen8Srv25Nme4_4868_1210749958.pdf [26 March 2013].