Manu LLS in a Classroom

8/2/2019 Manu LLS in a Classroom

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LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES INSTRUCTION IN A MALAYSIAN

ESL CLASSROOM: A CASE STUDY

Abstract

Although researchers have found learner training to be useful in enhancing language

skills, language learning strategies instruction in second language classrooms,

especially in Malaysia, is rare. How can a Malaysian English ESL classroom teacher

implement LLS instruction (learner training) within the constraint of a tight and rigid

timetable? This paper reports the findings of an investigation into implementing

Learner Training in the use of language learning strategies in Learning English in a

Malaysian Form Four classroom. Multiple data sources such as the teachers journal,

students learning dairy and weekly journal report, interview and pre- and post-test

scores were used to elicit the data. Both the quantitative and qualitative results showed

that learner training seemed to have a positive effect in enhancing the performance of

the students. Results also showed that learner training plus the systematic provision ofopportunities for learners to reflect on their learning process seemed to lead to greater

sensitivity to the learning process over time.

INTRODUCTION

Within the field of education in the last two decades or so, a gradual but significant shift

has taken place, resulting in less emphasis being placed on teachers and teaching and a

greater stress on learners and learning. Learner training in language teaching and

learning is just such a case in point. This issue has of late been receiving a fair amount

of attention from language experts around the world.

A peek into the background of learning in Malaysia, however, shows that the conscious

teaching of language learning strategies (LLS) has rarely been emphasized or carried

out in practice. This fact is obliquely acknowledged in the very Compendium, Ministry

of Education (1991) itself:

It cannot be deniedthat up to now, our curricula have not paid much

attention to this aspect of training our students. These have encouraged

teaching that has tended to put students in a dependent position, forcingthem to rely solely on the guidance and instructions of the teacher in


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order to make progress neither are students made aware of the

strategies they can employ to become more efficient learners. [Emphasis

researchers]

(Ministry of Education, 1991: p 9)

This paper describes a case study of the conscious teaching of language learning

strategies in a mainstream classroom, offering possible insights and solutions into some

of the events surrounding the planning and implementation of a leaner training

programme.

WHY LEARNER TRAINING?

The major aim and theory of language learning underpinning the KBSM English

syllabus point towards the need for learner training. For example, The KBSM

Curriculum of Specification for English Language for Form 4 states that the English

Language Programme for the upper secondary school level aims at equipping students

with the skills and knowledge of English to communicate in certain everyday activities

and certain job situations. (Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia, 1992). Within

communicative approaches to language teaching, a key goal is for the learner to

develop communicative competence in the target L2 or FL, and language learning

strategies (LLS) can help students in attaining this goal. An understanding of LLS is

crucial for all L2 teachers who aim to help develop their students communicative

competence and language learning abilities. As Oxford (1990) puts it, language learning

strategies are especially important for language learning because they are tools for

active, self-directed involvement, which is essential for developing communicative

competence. (p.1)


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In addition to developing students communicative competence, LLS are important

because research suggests that training students to use LLS can help them become

better language learners. Various research (Chamot and Rubin, 1994; Oxford, 1990;

OMalley, 1987) show us that learners who receive learner training generally learn

better than those who do not and theories in L2 learning done on learning strategies

(OMalley & Chamot, 1990) also point towards the usefulness of LLS in L2

acquisition. The earlier investigations in the 70s on good language learners (Naiman et.

al., 1978) suggest that good language learners use a variety of strategies to assist them

in gaining command over new language skills. This implies that less competent learners

should be able to improve their skills in L2 through training on strategies used by the

more successful language learners. This sentiment is reinforced by Hosenfield (1977)

who states that successful strategies can be used to good effect by less effective

learners. A study by OMalley and Chamot (1990) also suggests that effective L2/FL

learners are aware of the LLS they use and why they use them. Grahams work (1997)

in French further indicates that L2/FL teachers can help students understand good LLS

and should train them to develop and use them.

It is submitted that once the strategies of good language learners are identified, they can

be made available and, wherever useful, be used by less successful learners to enable

them to learn a FL/L2 more effectively (Oxford, 1990). With successful training, less

competent learners should be able to apply strategies in the acquisition of a variety of

different language skills, enabling the transfer of the strategies to similar language

tasks.


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Research also shows that consciousness-raising is not incidental to learning, but can

lead learners to learn better (Skehan, 1989). It is submitted that making learning

decisions conscious can lead both poorer and better learners to learn better(OMalley &

Chamot, 1990; Oxford, 1990). Teachers can play an important role in this training by

conveying strategy applications to students. It is assumed that once the range of

possible learner strategies is identified, one important role of the teacher would be to

provide an environment that facilitates the identification by students of those strategies

which work best for them. Once trained, students become the best judge of how to

approach the learning task. It is submitted that once students develop an ability to

evaluate their own learning processes, each in turn becomes the best judge of how to

approach his/her own learning task (Graham, 1997).

As self-direction promotes learning both inside and outside the classroom, students who

use effective strategies would be able to work better outside the classroom by

themselves, once the teacher is not around to direct them or provide them with the

necessary input. As language learning is like any other kind of learning, it is essential

that students be able to assess their own knowledge. The importance of learner training

is neatly encapsulated in the following quotation from an ESL teacher interviewed by

Nunan (1991),

As a teacher I see my role as being twofold. One is, yes, I am teaching

the language, but I feel my other very important role is to assist the

learners to take a growing responsibility for the management of their

own learning. Within our programme, learners are with us for only a

relatively short time, and we have to prepare them so that their learning

can continue outside.

Nunan, p.185


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Since most of the literature on learner strategies training or instruction is American-

based, the need for an in-depth study of a typical Malaysian secondary school, with

significant differences in linguistic and cultural requirements, makes the present study

all the more pressing. Also, despite the progress made in understanding the application

of learning strategies to vocabulary and reading, there is an evident lack of studies done

to provide information on the effect, process and outcomes of developing and

implementing LLS instruction in a mainstream classroom with secondary school

students in ESL/EFL contexts. Not much is known about incorporating learner training

within a teaching and learning context with secondary school students, especially where

English is taught merely as a general subject among the myriad of other learning

subjects.

OBJECTIVES AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The objective of this study is to describe the events surrounding the process of

implementing LLS instruction in a Malaysian Form 4 mainstream classroom. This

study attempts to analyse the effects of strategy training on two types of language

learning tasks - reading and vocabulary learning. It also attempts to look into the effects

of learner training on the development of the learning process of the students. Hence

this study seeks answers to the following questions:

1. What are the opportunities and constraints in implementing LLS instruction in a

Form 4 Malaysian mainstream classroom?

2. What are the effects of strategy training on two types of language tasks -

vocabulary learning and reading - on learning English as a second language?


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3. What is the impact of learner training on the development of the

students learning process?

METHODOLOGY

Research Design

This study adopted a qualitative approach where the researcher functioned as a

participant observer, both as the researcher as well as the language instructor.

Participants

The participants (38 Form 4 Science students) were naturally formed and were all

students of the same class. The students were between 16-17 year old, of intermediate

level in English proficiency (21 obtained A, 7 obtained B and 7 obtained C, 2 obtained

D and one obtained E in their 1999 PMR examinations), consisting of 17 boys and 21

girls of which 5 are Malays, 32 are Chinese and one of Indian parentage.

Overview of Training

The students were put through a one-month strategy training programme in two areas of

their learning tasks, vocabulary learning and reading comprehension, emphasizing

mainly in the use of a few selected language learning strategies, as summarised in Table

1.

Table1:Language Learning Activities and Learning Strategies Used

Strategy Type Language Tasks

Vocabulary Reading

Metacognitive Self-monitoring &

Self-evaluation

Self-monitoring & Self-

evaluation

Cognitive Imagery/word-linking Semantic-mapping

Social-affective Cooperation Cooperation


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Students were instructed in the use of learning strategies for 180 minutes per week. The

training sessions were conducted from Mondays to Saturdays following the researchers

time-table with the class. On any single day of training, students received two language

learning activities: vocabulary and reading. The same learning strategies were always

repeated with each language activity, although new content was presented each time a

language activity recur. Students could therefore practice transfer of strategy

applications to similar materials. Direct instructions to use the strategies were reduced

over successive weeks of treatment for each activity, until at the post-test only a

reminder of the strategies was enough. Pretesting and post-testing were carried out on

the first and last days of the one month period.

Outlined below is a brief description of the training procedure for the two language

tasks and the three language learning strategies:

Language Learning Tasks:

Vocabulary

The vocabulary task that the students were required to undergo involved learning 100

new words using the imagery/word-linking strategy. The imagery/word-linking strategy

involves creating mental images of the key words in the mind or pegging them to some

vivid events or past experience. Recall is facilitated by re-entering the scene and

extracting the required words.


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Reading Comprehension

The reading task that students were requested to perform was semantic-mapping on the

reading passages given. Semantic mappingembraces a variety of strategies designed to

display graphically information within categories related to a central concept (Johnson,

1986 in Carrell, P.L. et.al., 1989). In other words, categories and associations are

indicated visually in a diagram or map. This strategy was chosen over others because

semantic mapping could be used not only to introduce the key vocabulary from the

passage to be read, but also to provide the teacher with an assessment of the students

prior knowledge, or schema availability, on the topic. In addition to that, this strategy

was extremely useful in doing text summarization.

Language Leaning Strategies:

Metacognitive Strategy

The metacognitive strategy emphasised were self monitoring and self-evaluation. For

self-monitoring and self-evaluation, students were instructed to note in their journals

what they have learnt, what they found difficult and what they found useful in the

process of using semantic mapping.

Cognitive Strategies

The cognitive strategies were semantic-mapping for reading comprehension and

imagery/word linking for vocabulary instruction.


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Social-affective Strategy

The social-affective strategy was cooperation or group dynamics. Students were

instructed to use cooperation as a strategy to verify the accuracy of their semantic-

mapping, enabling them to fill in gaps in information or clarify areas of confusion by

using their peers as a resource.

Data Collection

Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. The quantitative data is based on

both the pretest and the post-test scores of both the vocabulary and reading

comprehension learning tasks. The qualitative data included the reflective journals of

the students (recorded in daily and weekly journals), researchers reflection (based on

observation and feelings) and structured interview with selected subjects.

Instruments Used

Two pre-tests were administered to the learners before starting the program, one on

vocabulary learning and the other on reading comprehension. At the end of the one-

month training, the learners were given the same tests (post-test) and the scores were

recorded and computated.

The Learning diary (both daily and weekly) contained the following sentence starters,

which students were asked to complete.

Today/This week I studied:

Today/This week I learned:

Today/This week I used English in these places:


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Today/This week I made these mistakes:

My difficulties are:

I would like to know:

My learning & practicing plans for tomorrow/next week are:

As a participant observer the researcher recorded field notes in the form of field

jottings to record what transpired during the process of implementing strategy training.

The field jotting included all those that the researcher has heard, seen, experienced and

thought about in the course of collecting and reflecting on the training.

Structured interviews were conducted with three selected individuals. These subjects

were chosen on the account that they provided the most revealing and insightful

responses in their guided reflection during the duration of the training. The purpose of

interviewing the selected individuals was to verify their reflection and to seek richer

and deeper insights pertaining to their opinions and feelings towards learner training.

The topics and issues asked during the interview were mainly based on the following

outline:

1. What do you think of the Learner Training project?

Which part of the training do you think was the most memorable to you and why?

Which part of the training was the least memorable to you?

2. What would you like to see changed in the way things were done in your

3. training?

4. How do you feel about the Learner Training project?


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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Quantitative Results

To get an objective view on the project, pre and post-tests results were analysed.

Pre- and Post-tests Findings

The quantitative results for both vocabulary instruction and reading generally showed

impressive overall gain in the raw scores in almost all the subjects. There is also an

overall improvement in the average mean for the post-test for both the learning tasks.

For vocabulary instruction, it can be seen in Figure 1 that almost all subjects (31

altogether) showed significant increase in their raw scores.

Figure 1: Bar Graph Showing Raw Pre and Post-test Scores for Vocabulary

CASE NUMBER

31

29

27

25

23

21

19

17

15

13

11

9

7

5

3

1

MARKS

40

30

20

10

0

PRE-TEST

POST-TEST

The average mean for the pre and post-test also registered big gains, from a mere 15.51

initially in the pre-test to 31.77 in the post-test implying that the training has helped in

raising the learners performance in their vocabulary acquisition. Table 2 below shows


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the mean difference. Further statistical analysis via the paired samples T-test shows a

positive correlation between the pre and post-test means with a significant value of

0.006 (2 tailed).

Table 2: Paired Samples Statistics

Mean N Std.

Deviation

Std. Error Mean

Pair 1 VOCPRE 15.52 31 4.36 .78

VOCPOS 31.77 31 5.04 .90

Pair 2 READPRE 49.78 27 8.12 1.56

READPOS 54.63 27 6.90 1.33

Table 3: Paired Samples Correlations

N Correlation Sig.Pair 1 VOCPRE &

VOCPOS

31 .481 .006

Pair 2 READPRE &

READPOS

27 .816 .000

For reading comprehension, a similar increase in raw score was also recorded. Figure 2

and Table 3 show the increase in raw score and means of both the pre and post-test

respectively.

Figure 2: Bar Graph Showing Combined Raw Sores for Pre and Post-test for Reading.

Case Number

27

25

23

21

19

17

15

13

11

9

7

5

3

1

Raw

Score

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

Pre-Test

Post-Test


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The results from paired samples t-test analysis show that there are significant

differences in the mean scores before and after the training, implying that the training

has effected an improvement in achievement.

However, caution ought to be taken in generalising on the effectiveness of learning

training alone in improving students performance. The improvement in scores could

also be due to other factors such as maturity of the participants, familiarity with the

content and construct, heighten motivation of the learners due to the novelty of training,

etc.

To get a clearer picture of whether the training alone has effected the improvement, a

look at the qualitative data would be interesting.

Qualitative Results

Learning Diary (Journals)

The journals provided qualitative information of the subjects feelings and thoughts

about the training. While the written reflections were not really exhaustive and thus less

revealing, they nevertheless provided the researcher enough details to make some

generalizations. Exemplified below are some remarks written by students (quoted in

verbatim) in response to some guided statements; and the conclusions made:

There was a gradual shift from a linguistic focus to a more applied focus.

Students began to see language less as an object to be studied than as a tool to

be used, as seen below:


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I studied

At the beginning of the course At the end of the course

An article on soft drink, The real thing in

soft drink. (S5)

Adjectives vocabulary on describing

people (S21)

Using semantic-mapping to map out the

main ideas of the passage on teenage

problems. (S5)

how to use those strategies of learning. I

dont know how I learn, but I hope to find

out soon. (S21)

Students comments began to take on more of a process rather than a product

focus. In other words, they began to reflect on how they learned as much as

what they learned.

I learned


More information about soft drinks

especially the ingredients and the effects of

it if we take took much of it. (S28)

I have learnt more vocabulary about

describing people and the article on learner

and learning. Im happy to study like this, I

feel comfortable with friends. We are braver

in giving our own ideas. (S28)

Students began to reflect on their needs to seek out opportunities to use English

outside the classroom.

I use English in these places


I use English in the classroom while

discussing the article on soft drinks. (S6)

I use English to talk to my teacher.

Although my English is not good, Im still

brave enough to speak in English. (S6)

I use English to talk to my group members

when discussing. Need to use less Mandarin

. (S22)

There is a shift in focus from errors of pronunciation and vocabulary, that is,

product errors, towards process errors. The students seemed to be comparing

and contrasting the strengths and weaknesses of their known strategies with the


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new ones. This awareness implied that they were beginning to take a more

active role in their learning process.

The mistake(s) I made At the beginning of the course At the end of the course

Dont know how to spell and pronounce

some words. (S23) (S26) (S28)

I still cant grasp the method of doing

semantic-mapping (S23)

I failed to memorize all the new words by

using imagery strategy. I still use my own

way of rote memorization. However, I will

try to use imagery-word linking to

memorize. (S26)

Students responses gradually became more detailed, and the same time more

precise, i.e. the students exhibited awareness that the strategies needed to be

further practiced before they are good at using them.

My difficulties


I dont know how to pronounce the words

and cannot speak well in English. (S7)

Although I find imagery/word linking

interesting, I still find it difficult to use

them. I have to force myself to use thismaterial. When I use rote learning, I find

that I could memorize easily. (S7)

Reflections seemed to shift from focus on the content of learning towards the

process of learning. If initially they mentioned that the some of the texts were

difficult to understand (due to the difficult vocabulary), their tone of reflection

towards the tail end of the course was that, they would like help in using

semantic-mapping in other areas of their study. In vocabulary learning, some

students wondered how they could apply the strategy ofimagery to learn other

vocabulary which they could not establish mental-linkages.

I would like to know


more information about soft drinks. (S30) how to overcome my learning problems. I

find that my old style of learning which is


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rote learning is not very suitable in some

areas or subjects. However, I am also

aware that it is very difficult for me to

change my style of learning. Teachers

suggested strategies are interesting, but I

need more training on them. (S30)

Students began to make connections between their English study and their other

subjects. They exhibited awareness that the strategies they learned in English

were not only confined to language learning, but could be applied to other areas

as well.

My learning & practising plans At the beginning of the course At the end of the course

I hope to use the new vocabulary in my

essays in future. (S19)

To know more vocabulary to improve my

writing skill. (S15)

I tried using semantic-mapping with

Sejarah. Its so time consuming but I think it

is quite helpful. I can remember better.

(S19)

I hope I can start using the new strategies

as fast as I can in order to see whether there

is any improvement in my English and also

other subjects. (S15)

The illustrative examples above provided some insights into how learning strategy

training has on the development in the learning process of the subject. What is obvious

from the above illustration is that it seemed that learner training plus the systematic

provision of opportunities for learners to reflect on their learning process has led to

greater sensitivity to the learning process over time.

Interview

To probe deeper into the insights demonstrated so far, a structured interview was

conducted with three selected participants. Summarised below are excerpts taken and

quoted in verbatim from the learners when responding to the following structured

questions.


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1. What do you think of the learner training project?

S18 : Time is not enough. I feel just when we are about to understand what we are

doing, time is up.

S13: For me, the vocabulary and reading training were useful. For example, the

vocabulary training, I still have deep impression of some of the words that we

have learned. I could still remember some of them, so its useful.

S27: For me semantic mapping has been very useful. I tried it on History and its

helped me to remember better. But, I am not too sure about using imagery and

grouping. They are difficult to learn. I still prefer my old style of memorising

words.

2. Which part of the training do you think is the most memorable to you and

why?

S13: The different ways of learning vocabulary. I can now remember more words.

S18: The semantic mapping but I still think it is too time consuming to do one. In

exam you dont have enough time to draw one.

S27: Journal writing and semantic mapping. I think journal writing is good. It helps

me to keep track of my own learning. It also forces me to write in English.

3. Which part of the training is the least memorable to you? I mean, which

part of the training do you think you can do without?

S13: I enjoyed everything so far very relaxing, sonothing needs to be changed. I

hope it will continue.

S18: Group work. We should not do it all the time. Perhaps teacher could teach 70%

of the time and allow us to work in groups for the remainder 30%. I think I

learn better that way.

S27: The daily journal writing. Sometimes I dont have enough time to write. Writing

once a week is quite okay though.

4. What would you like to see changed in the way things are done in your class?

S13: I hope this thing will continue. Not only for this training, but continue forever.

S18: It will be nice if we can learn strategies on speaking and writing also.


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5. How do you feel about the training?

S18: Good, but we need a longer time.

S13: I enjoy the training because its relaxing. Ive benefited a lot. I hope it could be

continued.

S27: It has been quite interesting so far. I am now more aware of what I am doing or

what I should do.

From the illustrative examples above, it can be concluded that all the three subjects

generally had a good impression of the strategy training. They generally thought that

the training ought to be made a permanent feature in the class teaching and learning

process. They also wanted the time spent on the training to be extended and the skills

(tasks) to be covered to include others such as writing and speaking. The interviewees

also expressed interests on journal writing as it has benefited them. Although they

found group work to be interesting, they thought the 30:70 ratio in terms of group work

and teacher instruction respectively be ideal. This issue raises a very interesting but

diabolical issue. While they appeared to like the learner training programme, they still

wanted the teacher to take the centre-stage, which in its essence is very much against

the main objective of learner training. This interview also confirmed the earlier view

that our learners are all different they have their own preferences and learning styles.

Researchers Reflections

The researchers field jottings are summarised and presented in the form of reflections

for the ease of presentation. Some of the more significant events affecting the process

and outcome of the implementation of learner training within the mainstream classroom

are shown below:


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The subjects enthusiasm wavered throughout the duration of the training at

times they were enthusiastic and excited; and at times at their normal docile and

reserved selves. Among the possible reasons that have affected these changes

are the initial novelty of the training; the topic/theme selected; the timing and

the occasion when the training was carried out.

Implementing learner training within the rigid school time-table was indeed

difficult. The 5-period-a-week schedule made planning and implementing a

comprehensive training programme difficult. Students found it hard to keep

pace, stay motivated and participate actively throughout the training.

Amalgamating a comprehensive learner training programme within the gambit

of the English language KBSM curriculum required careful planning and

tedious preparation to get the students attracted. This is made more difficult due

to the many chores teachers had to attend to such as class teacher duty and other

curricular and extra curricular responsibilities.

Designing teaching and learning materials within the confine of the syllabus

was a challenge the teacher is constantly faced with the dilemma of allowing

students a free hand in choosing what they want to learn against the

responsibility of covering the necessary topics stipulated in the KBSM

Curriculum Specification and some of the skills in the Syllabus.

However, learning training provided both the researcher and students the

opportunity to reflect on the teaching and learning process.

Learner training has invariably helped the learners to play a more active and

responsible role in their learning process

Learner training also provides the researcher an opportunity to peep into the

learning preferences, attitude and learning styles of his learners.


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This has helped the researcher to be more aware and critical of the pedagogical

approaches and techniques that he had employed or going to employ.

PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS

The results above prove that the process of learner training has increased the awareness

of students to the importance of direct language learning strategies in learning English.

It has also raised the students awareness to the importance of indirect language

learning strategies, such as metacognitive and social-affective strategies. The students

have become more aware that metacognitive strategies can help to improve

organization of learning time, self-monitoring, and self-evaluation. The students are

also more aware that social-affective strategies can be used to facilitate peer teaching

and learning, especially working together on a particular language problem. All these

strategies are necessary, as attests by Fedderholdt, F (1998), when she states that

possessing these skills help the language learner build up learner independence and

autonomy whereby she can take control of her own learning.


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The study also highlighted that Malaysian ESL learners can tell a lot about their own

learning process. The excerpts exemplified earlier show that learners do

think about the process of their own language learning. It also demonstrates

that learners are not mindless people who simply follow whatever their

teachers tell them to do. They are constantly thinking about the process of

their own learning. Secondly, although there appear to be some general

agreement in terms of the effectiveness of learner training, there is no

conclusive evidence that the learning strategies are indeed usefulto all

learners..

What generalisations can be made about the effects of learner training?

Students began to see language less as an object to be studied than as a tool to be

used

Students reflect on how they learned as much as what they learned.

Students reflection shift from focus on the content of learning towards the process

of learning

Students show more awareness of learning strategies and its transferability to other

subjects.

Students show greater sensitivity to the process of language learning.

The above mentioned generalizations show quite similar resemblance to what Carrell

et.al. (1989) and OMalley (1987) have found in their studies, that language learning

strategies are effective in enhancing second language learning in reading and

vocabulary acquisition. What this means is that learner training has exacted a positive


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effect on the development of the learning process of the learners, thereby signifying that

learner training is worthwhile implementing.

This study also points towards the need for teachers to encourage their students to talk

about their own learning process. The use of journal or diary writing in class has

generated a lot of interests among the researchers students and could be used as a tool

to stimulate and enhance the teaching and learning process.

In addition to that, this study also reinforces the idea that it would be useful to talk

about ways of language learning. Naiman et al (1978) echoes that when he says,

Hints from the teacher or periodical brief exchanges with students about

different ways of learning would change classroom language learning

from a fairly mechanical routine into a more deliberate cooperative

understanding.

(p.103)

This would then allow different learning strategies to be planned and to be tried out in a

more conscious way than has been customary. This study also shows that most of our

learners are active learners and they have their own idiosyncrasies, preferences and

learning styles. It also shows that every learner has his or her own characteristics and

learning strategies which contribute to his or her own success in language learning. If

each learner has different characteristics, and if it is too much to expect a teacher to be

responsible for managing all aspects of learning, then there is a strong case for helping

learners to become responsible for their own learning. At best, the most sensible


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approach would be the teacher abdicating his or her role (Allwright, 1978) as the sole

provider of information to take up the role of facilitator of learning by self-empowering

learners who are capable of deciding what is best taught or learnt.

Pedagogically speaking then, learning how to learn should be given higher priority as

the mode of learning and learner training be made a more inherent part of the teaching

and learning scenario in schools.

CONCLUSION

This study shows that the process of implementing learner training in a mainstream

classroom is viable and worthwhile, though hindrances and constraints were aplenty.

Nevertheless, learner training in certain explicit areas can broaden the horizons of our

learners and may empower them to become autonomous in some aspects of their

language learning. In becoming actively involved in the process of learning the students

may set their own objectives and by working independently of their teacher both inside

and outside the classroom, and in selecting and using the strategies best suited to the

occasion, they may realise a sense of autonomy.

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Documents

Manu LLS in a Classroom