Language learning strategies from the perspective of undergraduates in a private engineering technology university in Johor

Abstract

Language learning strategies play a prominent role in second language learning as the information on students’ preferred learning strategies may guide lecturers to select suitable teaching and learning activities. Hence, the objective of this study is to find out preferred language learning strategies employed by the students of engineering technology at UniKL MITEC, a private university in Johor Bahru offering engineering technology programs. A total of 146 students involved in this study and they were from semester 2 and semester 3 students enrolling in an English subject. Nevertheless, the respondents from semester 1 were not involved in this study since they were very new to the environment at the university. In order to determine students’ preferred language learning strategies, Strategy Inventory of Learning Strategies (SILL) was employed. The questionnaire which consists of 50 items was provided in bilingual to ensure the clarity of every statement and to ensure the respondents to answer the questionnaire sincerely without guessing the meaning of certain words or statements. For data analysis, the findings were analysed statistically according to mean and standard deviation. Based on the analysis, it was found that the most preferred learning strategy is metacognitive strategies, followed by cognitive and compensation strategies, while the least preferred strategy is affective strategy. Thus, it shows that the engineering technology students employed less memory strategy. They prefer to manage their learning by making proper planning, monitoring and evaluating their learning. Thus, based on the findings of this study, lecturers are able to determine suitable activities which are more towards metacognitive strategies and followed by other strategies as to ensure the student will be exposed to various strategies.