The effect of strategy instruction on strategy use by Muslim students learning English as foreign language 1Zoe Gavriilidou & 2Alexandros Papanis 1&2D

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of strategy instruction on strategy use by
Muslim pupils learning English as foreign language. 122 pupils attending minority schools in Xanthi
and Rodopi, aged from 10 to 12 years old, participated in the study. The sample was divided in an
experimental group (N=68) who followed a specially designed program aiming at raising learning
strategy use and a control group (N=54) who followed only the typical program of English language
teaching. Strategy use in both groups was evaluated with a standardized questionnaire based on
previous work of Oxford (1990) and O’ Malley and Chamot (1990) before and immediately after the
cessation of the program. The results showed that there was a significant improvement in the use of
metacognitive strategies (F=56,037, df 1, sig 0,000), cognitive strategies (F=52,868 df 1, sig 0,000)
and socio-affective strategies (F=188,055, df 1, sig 0,000). These results stress the need for designing
special curricula for raising pupils’ or students’ strategic use of language in second or foreign language
teaching.
References
O’ Malley, M. & Chamot, A 1990. Learning Strategies in second language acquisition. Cambridge University
Press.
Oxford, R. 1990. Language Learning Strategies. Heinle & Heinle Publishers, Boston.