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VOLUME XV, NUMBER 25

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS

PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD), COLLEGE OF EDUCATION,

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN « WITH SUPPORT FROM THE W K KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE SID W. RICHARDSON FOUNDATION

Wanted: Strategic, Self-Regulated Foreign Language Learners

Why are the task demands of foreign language learning so difficult for many college-level students to conquer? What are the unique task demands associated with language learning that face foreign language leamers? For many students, learning a foreign language may seem similar to other academic learning, e.g., they must attend class, assimilate new information, and budget their time for study outside of the classroom. Yet, if you were to ask those students who are enrolled in foreign language classes if they believe that learning a foreign language was a different kind of learning than that associated with other academic classes, I would suspect that they would consider language learning to be a unique undertaking.

Most college-level language instructors would affirm that the major purpose of enrolling in a language class is the development of optimal communicative proficiency in the foreign language. On the other hand, college-level foreign language students will have quite different and divergent motivations and/or goals for enrolling ina foreign language class. Perhaps some are there primarily to complete the minimum language requirement in order to receive a degree. Others may want to learn the lan- guage to better their employment opportunities. Some older learners may be in class for the intellectual stimulus. Nevertheless, this diverse group must be given maximum opportunities for success and achievement.

The Unique Demands of Language Learning

For many students the sometimes intense demand that English be used only sporadically in the foreign language class may cause stress; and instructor demands for early oral production in the foreign language may increase students’ levels of anxiety. There may be student beliefs or misconceptions about how foreign languages are learned which may negatively impact their learning.

Therefore, from the onset of language learning, it is important for the language instructor to know something of students’ goals and current beliefs about language study. An assessment questionnaire such as the FLLASSI (Foreign Language Learning and Study Strategies Inven- tory) (Dies, 1992), the BALLI (Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory) (Horwitz, 1983), or an instructor- generated questionnaire about language learning may prove to be valuable in aiding students to become more

aware of the unique demands associated with language learning. This assessment should help the instructor to aid the students by pinpointing areas where incomplete, erroneous information or beliefs exist about language learning and language learning tasks; which existing learning strategies will be applicable for language learning tasks; and a brief appraisal of the learner’s current goals or attitudes related to foreign language learning. As students become more aware of themselves as learners in general, they should have more opportunities to develop appropri- ate, efficient, and effective strategies for dealing with the unique demands of language learning.

Self-Regulation and the Language Learner Self-regulation refers to the degree that leamers are aware of themselves as learners and the actions that they

take to learn more effectively. Unfortunately, many language instructors concern themselves exclusively with delivering linguistic input in the foreign language to their students. They profess to having neither the time nor inclination for student strategy or study skills training to help their students be more successful.

Skill and proficiency in foreign language require learmers to assimilate the target language through rich sources of linguistic input. However, without the student being a very active, knowledgeable, and willing partici- pant in the process, it is unlikely that optimal foreign language proficiency will be acquired.

Consequently, foreign language learners must be given opportunities for developing strategies that will optimize the attainment of acceptable skill levels. Foreign language instructors must be attuned to their students’ needs and help them develop appropriate learning strategies and study skills that facilitate the process.

During initial exposure to a foreign language, learning task demands may seem overwhelming. The develop- ment of appropriate and diverse strategies to deal with these task demands will require practice and diligence if the strategies are to become a permanent part of the learner's strategy repertoire. Once the strategies become more automatic, learners will derive the greatest benefits from them. Self-regulated foreign language learners use self-evaluation and monitoring of the effectiveness of strategy use as an important element during the language

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD) Community College Leadership Program, Department of Educational Administration College of Education, The University of Texas at Austin, EDB 348, Austin, Texas 78712