This study examines the ways in which adult male students approach learning English as a
second language. A number of recent studies have indicated that many male learners
experience considerable difficulty participating in language classes. In particular several
studies have found that course failure rates of male language students were higher than
those of females. The objectives of the present study, therefore, are to: describe the
preferred strategies of a group of male students for approaching language learning;
describe the strategies they use when interacting in class discussion; and to examine the
relationship between learning strategies and ESL academic achievement.
This broad subject has been narrowed down to a specific focus on how male ESL
students develop oral and aural skills. The subjects are a small group of students of the
Adult Migrant English Service Program, Canberra. Data have been obtained through
questionnaires, interviews and observations in classroom settings. The questionnaires and
interviews aim to reveal how frequently, and in what situations, certain learning strategies
appear important to the male students' participation in language learning. These strategies
include those of memory, cognition, compensation, meta-cognition, social communication
and emotion. The observations examine patterns in interaction. Both the questionnaire
and observations provide the basis for statistical analysis.
Literature covering the role of strategies and styles in second language learning, the
characteristics of adult learners; and gender differences in the range of strategies used by
adult learners has been examined and used as a foundation for the present study.
Strategies for listening and speaking are often used without conscious attention given to
them. However, given the right learning environment, male students may develop a range
of strategies that may assist them in ESL learning. This environment exists both
informally, in the community, and in the ESL classroom. It was found that students who
used ESL frequently in community life, such as in a workplace setting, had developed a
"strategy awareness" and were able to call on a broad range of strategies to help them
when interacting with other speakers. Within the classroom, it was observed that
unstructured discussions using open-ended themes encouraged male students to use a
variety of strategies, such as asking questions, asking for clarification and expanding
ideas, to enable them to participate in the communication.
The findings of this study suggest that an awareness of and ability to apply appropriate
learning strategies have an important place in helping male students participate in selected
language learning activities and to develop their ESL skills. An examination of Australian
Second Language Proficiency Rating scores and the Certificate in Spoken and Written
English III results revealed that students who were successful in these assessment
measures, were those who were observed and who reported frequent awareness and
utilisation of the above mentioned strategies.
Finally, it can be suggested that because not all male students have equal opportunities to
use ESL in community life, the English language teacher is in an ideal position to develop
students' strategy awareness. For this to occur, the teacher also needs to create a learning
environment whereby students are encouraged to select from these strategies and to
utilise them in appropriate ways.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/218933 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Fiedeldy, John, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Languages & International Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright John Fiedeldy |
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