Strategies of Learning Speaking Skill by Senior High School EFL Learners in Indonesia
Strategies of Learning Speaking Skill by Senior High School EFL Learners in Indonesia
Keywords: Learning strategies, speaking strategies, EFL learners
Junaidi Mistar
Islamic University of Malang, Indonesia
Alfan Zuhairi
Islamic University of Malang, Indonesia
Atik Umamah
Islamic University of Malang, Indonesia
Bio
Junaidi Mistar, Ph.D is a senior lecturer at English Education Department, Islamic University of Malang, Indonesia. His research articles mainly about English learning strategies and classroom assessment have been published in AJELT Hong Kong, Korea TESOL Journal, and TEFLIN Journal, Indonesia. Email: junaidimistar@hotmail.com
Dr. Alfan Zuhairi is a lecturer at English Education Department, Islamic University of Malang, Indonesia. His research interest concerns with language learning strategies and language attrition. Email: alfan_zuhairi@yahoo.com
Ms. Atik Umamah is a young lecturer at English Education Department, Islamic University of Malang. Email: atik.umamah@yahoo.com
Abstract
Incorporating theories of language learning strategies and theories of speaking strategies, the present study posed three research objectives: (1) identifying the categories of strategies of learning speaking skill employed by EFL learners of Indonesian senior high schools, (2) measuring the intensity of use of each strategy category, and (3) comparing the use of the identified strategies by successful and less successful students. The subjects were 743 second year students, selected from eleven senior high schools in East Java, Indonesia. They were asked to complete a seventy item questionnaire assessing their strategies of learning English speaking skill and a ten item self-assessment measuring their speaking competence. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed eleven categories of strategies, including cognitive interaction maintenance, self-improvement, self-evaluation, fluency-oriented, metacognitive planning, time gaining, resources-based, compensation, interpersonal, affective, and memory strategies, which all together accounted for 54.50% of variance of English speaking skill learning strategies. Further analyses revealed that learners employed the overall learning strategies of speaking at the moderate level (M=3.17), with resources-based strategies being the most intensively used (M=3.46) and self-improvement strategies (M= 2.83) being the least frequently employed. Finally, the present study found that successful learners reported using the eleven categories of strategies significantly more frequently than less successful learners did. The results of this study imply the need of explicit strategies-based instruction for developing students’ speaking skill, particularly for the less successful students.
See page: 65-74
Category: Monthly Editions
