A Study of Language Learning Strategies Used by Chinese Graduate Students of Science at Qingdao Technological University in the People's Republic of China (PRC)

摘要

The purpose of this study was to investigate language learning strategies used by Chinese graduate science students at Qingdao Technical University, located in Shangdong Province, the People's Republic of China (PRC). In order to present a deep and rich picture of the use of learning strategies by Chinese students, multiple data collection methods were employed. Questionnaires,interviews, a think-aloud protocol and diary writing were used to investigate the use of language learning strategies by Chinese EFL students. The study found that the Chinese graduate students of science at Qingdao Technical University generally used all six strategy categories at the intermediate level. Specifically,they used metacognitive strategies most frequently and social strategies least often. The high-level students employed metacognitive strategies most often,followed by cognitive and compensation strategies. The low-level students preferred metacognitive, followed by compensation and cognitive strategies. There was a significant difference between the high-and low-level students in terms of their use of language learning strategies (p=.018).