EFL Learning Strategy Use of University EFL Learners in Taiwan - Chih-hui Chang

The present study, using a Chinese-English Strategy Inventory for Language Learning based on Oxford’s 50-item SILL, Version 7.0 (ESL/EFL), examines the self-reported language learning strategy use by 279 learners of English as foreign language in Taiwan. Five additional items relating to the use of media, the internet and self-access language center were regarded important in an EFL context, and findings and analysis of these five strategy items were dealt in a different paper (Chang, 2009). The importance of current study is that two never dealt with variables, starting age of English language learning (ELL) and previous ESL learning experience in English spoken countries, and two well-studied variables, gender and academic major subject, were first time put together to examine their effect on the strategy use of Oxford’s 50-item SILL from 279 Taiwan EFL learners. It is interesting to find out that major subjects and ESL experience to be significant in participants’ overall strategy use, and interactions among the four variables also have significant effects on both overall strategy use and the use of individual strategy items.