Mixed-methods in the study of language learning strategies of bilingual students in Denmark

Presentation by Aisara Yessenova.

Abstract

Currently, the focus in second language acquisition research is shifting from teaching methods to concerns with learner agency and language learning strategies (Hajar, 2019). Strategies reinforce learning and refer to “actions chosen by learners to learn or regulate the learning of the language” (Griffiths, 2015, p. 476).  Although the strategy research has been flourishing since the seminal publication on good language learners (Rubin, 1975), there is a need for more novel research methods. In this vein, my presentation is aligned with rethinking methods in strategy research that had been predominantly quantitative.

Specifically, I will discuss methodological choices underpinning my mixed-methods PhD project on language learning strategies among multilingual learners in Danish public schools. I will share my considerations on incorporating learner-centred methods and balancing “insider-outsider” perspectives of being a language educator and a Danish learner myself. I will draw on my proposed methodology as well as previous research worldwide.

References

Hajar, A. (2019). International Students' Challenges, Strategies and Future Vision: A sociodynamic perspective. Multilingual Matters.

Griffiths, C. (2015). What have we learnt from good language learners? ELTJ, 69(4), 425– 433. doi:10.1093/elt/ccv040.

Rubin, J. (1975). What the "Good language learner" can teach us. TESOL Quarterly, 9(1), 41-51. doi: 10.2307/3586011