This writing was my assignment from my school. In my opinion this topic is quite interest to be discussed and some of us could take several positive things from my article. This article has been summarized from a book which was written by Carol Griffiths in 2008. Specifically, I did my summary in one chapter, it was in sixth chapter entitled: "Strategies and Good Language Learners"
In this chapter, I focused on learning strategies and why learners called as good language learners. This writing consisted of several learning strategies which can be used by the language learners to learn foreign language, hence also about the frequency of use strategies which decide someone as good language learners.
I wish through my writing, it helpful to be used.
Enjoy my writing..
Teaching and learning English consists of some elements, such as methodology, strategies, regulation, and concept. In specific field, such as students need, there are some other elements related to the students’ learning process. From Carol’s book, he mentioned that to become a good language learner, we have to have a “strategy” to find the way. Rubin (1975) defined the term “language learning strategy” is the technique or ways used by the students to gain the language (Griffiths, 2010).
Strategy is not used only by the teachers, but strategy is also useful for language learners. The issues of definition of strategies are being discussed for several years by some experts. Based on (Griffiths, 2008) mentioned that learning strategies as a powerful and influencing tools to help students achieved their learning goals. In his book, has some experts discussed about the definition and the effect of “learning strategy” for language learners.
The current definition of “language learning strategies” (Rigney, 1978, O’Malley, and his colleagues) defined as “a set of steps used by the pupils that will help them to get acquisition, understanding, and re-set of information”. Rubin divided strategies into two groups, as direct and indirect, whereas O’Malley et.al defined into 26 characteristics that narrowed into three groups, metacognitive, cognitive, and social.
Hence, O’Malley said, one of good way for realizing the meaningful learning strategies is applied through communicative approach to language learning and teaching which is accepted in a classroom (Littlewood, 198; Widdowson, 1978), as cited from (Griffiths, 2008).
The alternative meaning about language learning strategy has been explained by the O’Malley and Chamot (1990) as special thoughts or behavior which are someone (learner) use to help them understand, retain, learn, and explore their knowledge. And the concept of it obviously cannot be separated from cognitive aspect, cited from (Dörnëy, 2008).
On the other sources, language learning strategies were explained in Oxford (1990; P.8) as “a specific step taken by the students in order to create a good circumstances which help them to get the knowledge easily, quickly, enjoyable, effective –to himself-, and flexible” (Griffiths, 2008).
From Griffith’s book, “Good Lessons from Good Language Learners”, there are so many definitions about learning strategy used by the students to help them. Oxford, after doing a research about language learning strategy by conducting questionnaire known as SILL (Strategy of Inventory Language Learning), found that strategy was defined into six categories: memory, cognitive, compensation, metacognitive, affective, and social (See. Oxford, 1990).
strategies.
There are some learning strategies stated in this book are, (see Griffiths’s book, 2008), p. 90 for more strategies)):
And about good language learners.
Becoming a good language learner is suggested to find own strategy or the personal learning style to gain the learning targets (Griffiths, 2008). After finding their own style for learning, they will be responsible to the learning process and at the end, they will accustom with the regulation.
The good language learners take charge, do what they think is the best, take responsibility for their own learning targets, in the other word, good language learners don’t wait to be taught (Harmer, 2001). From Harmer (2001), found that the good of language learners are the students who are able to listen, ask questions, find and do experiments, and think about how to get the knowledge.
Good language learners, actually, is the one who are capable to follow the regulation of learning process without a teacher. But, if the teachers are available to teach, the learner will follow as a guidance and additional sources. So, the students will not waste their time and still find the material by themselves (Thompson, 2005).
On another perspective, Davies also stated the definition of language learners from another perspective. He disagreed that “good language learners” have the specific definition. To him, this term is only a relative concept. In his statement, he said that, if there is a definition of language learners, it should be a term for “a bad language learner”, meanwhile. Therefore, he said that the definition of this “language learner” term is indefinable (Davies, 2011).
According to Rubin and Thompson (1983), cited from (Nunan, 2001) decided 13 characteristics about the good language learners, as follows “good learners are”:
For instance, the characteristics of good language learners, Brown (2007), adapted from (Davies, 2011), are:
In addition, I do hope, you can adapt this article in your real life as solution toward your problems faced in learning other language, especially English as a foreign language.
