Abstract

The study explored how Spanish is learnt at a South African university by analysing students’ self-reports on the use of language learning strategies. A mixed methods design was used. Considering that learning a foreign language poses particular and distinct challenges (as opposed to learning a second language), special attention was paid to aspects related to the learners’ ability to learn and the actions that they undertake to self-regulate their learning. The study found that the most frequently used strategies as perceived by students were compensation and metacognitive strategies. However, the study only found a statistically significant positive correlation between the perceived use of metacognitive strategies and the final marks received in the beginners’ course. Students who intended to continue studying Spanish also reported using statistically significantly more metacognitive strategies than those who eventually passed the beginners’ course but did not continue.

摘要

该研究通过分析学生关于使用语言学习策略的自我报告，探索了如何在南非大学学习西班牙语。使用了混合方法设计。考虑到学习外语会带来特殊而独特的挑战（与学习第二语言相对），因此特别注意与学习者的学习能力以及他们自我调节学习行为有关的方面。研究发现，学生最常使用的策略是补偿和元认知策略。但是，该研究仅发现元认知策略的使用与初学者在课程中获得的最终成绩之间存在统计学上的显着正相关。