An Empirical Study on the Learning Strategies of Trilingual Learners
Abstract
Double-foreign-language programs have been set in many Chinese universities in the past 20 years. In these universities, some learners have succeeded in learning the second and the third languages, whereas others have not. To explore tentatively the reasons of the learners’ success(or failure) in the language acquisition, the researcher conducts the current research from the perspective of learning strategies. By investigating 126 Chinese-English-Japanese trilingual learners in a Chinese university, the research attempts to answer the two questions: 1. Are learners succeeding in learning the second language also successful in learning the third one? 2. What are the differences between the successful trilingual learners and the poor learners in terms of their use of learning strategies? Based on the data of the test results, questionnaires and interviews on the said participants, the researcher finds that learners successful in the second language learning tend to be successful in the third one. Meanwhile in contrast to poor learners, the good trilingual learners have stronger and more balanced motivations in learning both languages, and they use the metacognitive strategies, affective strategies and social strategies more frequently.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Bu, J. F. (2018). Problems and solutions in bi-foreign-language talents cultivation in China’s universities. Studies in literature and language, 16(2), 50-52.
Cenoz, J. & Valencia, J.(1994). Additive trilingualism: Evidence from the Basque Country. Applied Psycholinguistics, 15, 157-209.
Cenoz, J. (2013). The influence of bilingualism on third language acquisition: Focus on multilingualism. Language Teaching, 46(1), 71-86.
Chen, M. R. (2009). Reflection on the cultivation mode of English-Japanese talents. Journal of Zhejiang University of Technology, (2), 210-214.
Cheng, X. T. & Zheng, M. (2002). English learning strategies: From theories to practice. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.
Cummins, J. (2007). Rethinking monolingual instructional strategies in multilingual classroom. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 10(2), 221-240.
Cummins, J. (2009). Multilingualism in the English-language classroom: pedagogical considerations. TESOL Quarterly, 43(2), 317-321.
Ellis, R. (1994). The study of second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Gillette, B. (1987). Two successful language learners: an introspective approach. In C. Farch (Ed.), Introspection in second language research. Avon: Multilingual Matters.
Hirosh, Z., & Degani, T. (2018). Direct and indirect effects of multilingualism on novel language learning: an integrative review. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 25, 892-916.
Huang, X., & Van Naerssen, M.(1985). Learning strategies for oral communication. Applied Linguisitics, 6, 287-307.
Lasagabaster, D. (2000). Three languages and three linguistic models in the Basque Educational System. In J. Cenoz & U. Jessner (Eds.), English in Europe: The acquisition of a third language (pp.179-197). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
McLaughlin, B., & Nayak, N. (1989). Processing a new language: Does knowing other languages make a difference? In H. W. Dechert & M. Raupach (Eds.), Interlingual processes (pp.5-16).Tubingen: Gunter Narr.
Naiman, N., Frohlich, M., Stern, H. H., & Todesco, A. (1978). The good language learner. Research in Education, Series 7. Toronto: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.
Nation, R. & McLaughlin, B. (1986). Experts and novices: An information processing approach to the “good language learner” problem. Applied Psycholinguistics, 7, 41-56.
Nayak, N., Hansen, N., Krueger, N., & McLaughlin, B. (1990). Language-learning strategies in monolingual and multilingual adults. Language Learning, 40, 221-244.
O’Malley, J., & Chamot, A. U. (1990). Learning strategies in second language acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Oxford, R.(1990). Language learning strategies: What every teacher should know. New York: Newbury House.
Rubin, J. (1975). What the “good language learner” can teach us. TESOL Quarterly, 9, 41-51.
Rubin, J. (1981). Studies of cognitive processes in second language learning. Applied Linguistics, 2(2), 117-131.
Safont, M. P. (2005). Acquiring writing skills in a third language: The positive effects of bilingualism. International Journal of Bilingualism, 7, 27-42.
Sanz, C. (2007). Bilingual education enhances third language acquisition: Evidence from Catalonia. Applied Psycholinguistics, 21, 23-42.
Todeva, E., & Cenoz, J. (Eds.) (2009). The multiple realities of multilingualism. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Tonkin, H. (2009). Where art and nature meet. In E. Todeva & J. Cenoz (Eds.), The multiple realities of multilingualism (pp.191-208). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Wen, Q. F. (1996). English learning strategies. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language and Education Press.
Zeng, L., & Li, L. (2010). Reflection on third language acquisition as an independent research field. Foreign Language Teaching and Research, (2), 6-9.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/12873
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2023 Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Online Submission: http://cscanada.org/index.php/sll/submission/wizard
Reminder
How to do online submission to another Journal?
If you have already registered in Journal A, then how can you submit another article to Journal B? It takes two steps to make it happen:
1. Register yourself in Journal B as an Author
Find the journal you want to submit to in CATEGORIES, click on “VIEW JOURNAL”, “Online Submissions”, “GO TO LOGIN” and “Edit My Profile”. Check “Author” on the “Edit Profile” page, then “Save”.
2. Submission
Go to “User Home”, and click on “Author” under the name of Journal B. You may start a New Submission by clicking on “CLICK HERE”.
We only use three mailboxes as follows to deal with issues about paper acceptance, payment and submission of electronic versions of our journals to databases: caooc@hotmail.com; sll@cscanada.net; sll@cscanada.org
Articles published in Studies in Literature and Language are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY).
STUDIES IN LITERATURE AND LANGUAGE Editorial Office
Address: 1055 Rue Lucien-L'Allier, Unit #772, Montreal, QC H3G 3C4, Canada.
Telephone: 1-514-558 6138
Website: Http://www.cscanada.net; Http://www.cscanada.org
E-mail: office@cscanada.net; office@cscanada.org; caooc@hotmail.com
Copyright © 2010 Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture