Investigating Learner Preferences in the Application of Language Learning Strategies: A Comparison between Two Studies

Abstract

The general topic of this article is language learning strategies, i.e. activities that foreign language learners purposefully choose to improve their skills in a foreign language and to reach desired learning outcomes. To highlight the importance of combining quantitative and qualitative information in a study about strategic language learning, the article uncovers some weaknesses that may be created by a one-sided perception. It hence looks exclusively at the quantitative data gained in a mixed-methods study (Amerstorfer 2016) that used a popular strategy inventory (SILL; Oxford 1990) to collect numerical information about the language learning strategies of five English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. The core of the article is a comparison of the quantitative data with three strategy categories that resulted from a previous study (Griffiths 2013). The article closes with the statement that a one-sided perception is not appropriate for a study about strategic foreign language learning.