LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES AMONG POLYTECHNIC STUDENTS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

With the shift to cognitive psychology since the 60s, the learner and his strategies have become central in research on language learning. In tertiary education where independent learning is needed for academic tasks, reading is viewed as essential in achieving that goal. This study investigates a sub-set of language learning strategies -- reading comprehension strategies -- among polytechnic students in Singapore. The specific sample consists of ten first year Engineering students at a selected polytechnic. The objective of the study was to identify the reading comprehension strategies of polytechnic Engineering student<; while reading technical texts. Two hypotheses were developed in investigating differences in strategy use that may be influenced by language proficiency and in relating the efficacy of strategy use to comprehension performance. They were: (a) high language proficiency subjects use a greater variety of strategies in comprehending technical texts compared to average language proficiency ones, and (b) readers with successful comprehension performance use strategies more effectively compared to those with average comprehension performance. Findings from think-aloud and summarisation data indicate that the subjects used a wide array of strategies in comprehending technical texts. High language proficiency subjects were seen to be using a higher proportion of text-initiated strategies compared to average language proficiency subjects who used a higher proportion of reader-initiated strategies. Not all high proficiency subjects were successful readers as reader-initiated strategies. Not all high proficiency subjects were successful readers as determined by their summary scores. Readers with successful comprehension performance showed further differences compared to those with average comprehension performance. Successful readers used interactive, recursive text-processing strategies while average readers tended to follow the order of elements in texts. The findings also revealed successful readers to be 'integrators' and average readers 'non-integrators' who relied on strategies involving personal association to facilitate comprehension. The findings provide the basis for pedagogical implications in introducing reading strategy training into the curriculum for the study's sample of polytechnic Engineering students.