The concepts of learning strategies and autonomy in the pronunciation of students of EFL

• Autores: Lorena Barrera Fernández
• Localización: Proceedings of the 30th International AEDEAN Conference: [electronic resource] / María Losada Friend (ed. lit.), Pilar Ron Vaz (ed. lit.), Sonia Hernández Santano (ed. lit.), Jorge Casanova García (ed. lit.), 2007, ISBN 978-84-96826-31-1
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This study, part of a larger project examining the appraisal of pronunciation learning strategies used by fifth year university students, aims to identify which pronunciation learning strategies (henceforward PLS) 30 students from the University of Santiago de Compostela prefer to employ. Our aims are humble and are directed to clarify the labels pronunciation learning strategies and language learning autonomy. We like to know if PLS and autonomy are connected, if autonomous learners employ learning strategies and, conversely, if the fact of using PLS entails an autonomous behaviour. We try to investigate how often our subjects resort to these strategic methods, which are categorised according to Oxford (1990). We have mainly focused on the division of PLS into direct and indirect types with its sub-divisions and its implication for autonomy rather than on presenting a whole category of different sub- types. We found that learning strategies are intimately blended to autonomy to make language learning an efficient process. Moreover, PLS facilitate the learning trajectory of these informants (they know how to go about certain tasks, they remember pronouncing issues much more easily...) However, our participants barely rely on metacognitive strategies, a very outstanding feature in autonomous learners. These results will lead us to draw some pedagogical conclusions about this direct relation.