Effective Learning Strategies

Language learning strategies are the conscious steps or behaviors used by language learners to enhance the acquisition, storage, retention, recall, and use of new information. 

The more proficient learners use learning strategies that are appropriate to the material, to the task, and their own goals, needs, and stage of learning.

For example, strategies could be techniques such as diaries, think-aloud procedures, observations, and surveys.

More proficient learners appear to use a broader range of strategies in a significant number of situations than less skilled learners. For example, more proficient learners:

• employ appropriate language learning strategies that often result in improved proficiency or achievement overall or in specific skill areas.
• tend to use strategies that work well together and which are tailored to the requirements of the language task. These learners can easily explain the strategies they use and why they employ them.
• use metacognitive strategies, such as translating and analyzing, and other strategies, such as planning and organizing. Using combinations of strategies often has more impact than relying on a single strategy.
• use specific strategies or clusters of strategies that are linked to particular language skills or tasks. 

Learners may have created their own strategies or may have picked up some strategies from their teachers, their parents or siblings, or their friends. They may also have gained some useful strategies from a library or internet search.

There are many different and preferred strategies that learners may use. The following list is not definitive but it will give you a good idea of the commonly-used types of strategies that some students use. Note that no definitive list of strategies has been agreed on by language researchers.

Anyhow, you can pass on some of these ideas to those of your students who have no concrete strategies for learning and studying.

1. Circumlocution

This is best explained via an example. The more proficient learner doesn’t know the word ‘nephew’ but she doesn’t give up. So, she uses different words or phrases to express the intended meaning, e.g. my brother’s son.

2. Avoidance

Avoidance is where a more proficient learner may learn to avoid talking about topics for which she lacks the necessary vocabulary or other language skills. She may also come to a halt mid-utterance once she realizes she does not have the language resources needed to complete her communication.

3. Word coinage

This is the term for more proficient learners creating new words or phrases for words that they do not know. For example, the learner doesn’t know the word freezer and she constructs and uses a new word ice cabinet instead.

4. Language switching or code switching

This is where a more proficient learner doesn’t know a word and uses a word with the same meaning from her first language, hoping that her communication partner will understand. For example: My aunt and uncle are coming for Christmas. They will be staying chez nous.

5. Clarification and comprehension checks

Some learners are often too shy or embarrassed to say anything when they do not understand the other speaker. More proficient learners, however, use clarification and comprehension checks. For example:

For clarification check:

• Do you mean ...?
• Could you explain what you mean by ...?
• Could you give me an example, please?

For comprehension check:

• Sorry, I don’t understand.
• Sorry, I don’t know what you mean.
• Sorry, I’m not sure I’m following you.

Note that this appeal for assistance may also be done indirectly via a puzzled expression, raising the eyebrows, etc.

6. Non-verbal strategies

This refers to strategies such as the use of body language, gestures, mime, facial expressions, sound imitation to support or replace verbal communication. 

7. Approximation

This is where the more proficient learner uses an alternative term which approximates to the meaning of the target word or phrase as closely as possible. For example, she may say ship instead of (the more difficult) word yacht.

8. Use of all-purpose words

When the more proficient learner lacks a specific word in a conversation, she may use a general, empty lexical word or phrase to replace it; for example, stuff, thingie.

9. Using minimal responses 

More proficient learners build up a stock of minimal responses, to help them engage.

Minimal responses are predictable phrases that conversation participants use to indicate understanding, agreement, doubt, and other responses to what another speaker is saying; for example: Oh, I see. Is that so? That’s good. Oh, sorry. I didn’t catch that. 

These minimal responses enable a learner to concentrate on what the other participant is saying, without having to plan a reply simultaneously.

10. Recognizing scripts/patterns opportunities

More proficient learners understand that many communication situations are associated with a predictable set of spoken exchanges. For example, greetings, compliments, apologies, invitations, and other functions that are influenced by social and cultural norms often follow scripts or patterns. For example:

Can I help you?

Yes, please.

It's the same with exchanges involved in activities such as obtaining information and making a purchase. In these scripts, the relationship between a speaker's turn and the one that follows it can often be anticipated.

11. Fillers and hesitation devices

This is where the more proficient learner uses fillers or hesitation devices to fill pauses and to gain a bit of time to think.

Fillers: 

• em …
• er …
• mm …
• uh …
• As a matter of fact, …
• Well, …
• Actually, …
• To be honest/frank, …

Hesitation devices/stalling for time to think

Let’s see, …

Wow, that’s a difficult one.

Now, let me think.

Now, just a minute.

That’s a good question.

I’ll have to think about that for a moment.

What I’m trying to say is…

How shall I put it?

How can I best explain this?

Let’s put it this way.

Where should I start?

12. SMART goals

More proficient learners know how to set SMART goals:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Realistic
• Time-based

Smart goals provide the benchmark, focus, and plan for surging ahead. The more proficient learner also knows and understands what it is to be too ambitious. It will take lots of practice and lots of time before she can consider how fluent she is. But it will all be worth it in the end.

13. Using authentic material and practicing in authentic situations

The more proficient learner listens to the teacher’s advice that the best route to fluency is through consuming lots of authentic material. What is learned and practiced in the classroom is not enough. Consuming lots of authentic material outside the classroom, in different formats, is vital for fluency success. As is practicing the language in real-life situations with native speakers.

14. Self-monitoring

The more proficient learner does not just rely on teacher comments and the institution’s assessments to tell her how she is doing. She assesses her own capabilities frequently by taking relevant, external proficiency tests and quizzes. This helps her to further determine what areas she needs to develop.

She knows that another way to assess her own skills without a proficiency test/quiz is to think through what she’s most comfortable with. If she had to communicate with a native speaker, would she feel more comfortable with:

• Listening to the native speaker, then responding in speech
• Speaking with the native speaker and responding in speech
• Writing to the native speaker
• Reading about the native speaker and then responding to some questions

It’s likely that the option she chooses is her strongest skill and, thus, she knows what other skills she needs to focus on.

The four skills (listening, speaking, writing, reading)

Finally, with regard to the four skills, the more proficient learner will likely demonstrate a cocktail of some of these strategies:

1. Listening: Comprehension gains from strategies of elaboration, inference, selective attention, and self-monitoring. 

2. Speaking: Speaking demands strategies such as risk-taking, paraphrasing, circumlocution, self-monitoring, and self-evaluation.

3. Writing: Writing benefits from the learning strategies of planning, self-monitoring, deduction, and substitution. 

4. Reading: Comprehension benefits from using strategies like reading aloud, guessing, deduction, and summarizing.

Help your students to develop and enhance their learning strategies so that, eventually, they will become independent learners with the ability to use robust strategies in a variety of contexts.

Time for another little break. Then, come back, check out the Module 1 discussion, and have a go at Quiz 1. 

It’s not difficult. Good luck!

After that, we’ll move on to Module 2, where we will focus in-depth on Your EFL/ESOL Learners.