Language Learning Strategies and Self Efficacy

This is a great paper on language learning and it resonated with me since I really enjoy the process of learning languages. I have been learning Chinese for the past 10 years and if I were totally honest with myself, I struggled with it the for the first 7 years! If you don't care to read the details, the punch line here is that motivation (of which self-efficacy is one factor) is a key component in how effectively you can learn a new language.

Source: If you are wondering why I am reading random literature on language learning, I am always interested in the discovery process of getting to new books or papers. I have been a SCRIBD subscriber (competitor to Audible.com) and it has a vast library of audio books, books you can read, pdf's of scientific papers, podcosts etc etc. As a service it is very helpful to track down pretty much any subject you have an interest in learning about. I have found it very useful and I highly recommend it (~$10/month, less if you pay for 1 year in advance).

My takeaways: If you want to learn a new language (or have your kids learn a new language), find a reason to motivate yourself/them. I have found few instances where someone just decides to randomly learn Portuguese or French (for example) and learns it quickly. But I know lots of examples where there was a motivating factor and that led to a genuine interest in learning a language.

The study found that self-efficacy had a significant relationship with learning strategies. High student self-efficacy was found to have a good learning strategy; in contrast, low student self-efficacy would have a weak learning strategy. Social psychology has tons of data that demonstrates that motivation is an important factor in language learning, and self-efficacy is one of the motivational factors. In fact, there are lots of studies that show that motivation is a critical factor in learning a new language - its not IQ, access to resources, teachers etc but what motivates you to learn a new language.

Another notable aspect of language learning is the role of speaking (or communication). There are 3 components to learning a language: learning, production and communication. We spend a lot of time on learning and production, but less on communication. I guess its easier to give students homework than change behavior by having them speak a new language. I see this with my own 2 kids who are learning mandarin every week at Sunday School.

A final point: Students rarely understand abstracts, such as the relationship between content knowledge and daily experience, since it is not important to them, is not used every day, and is difficult and/or tedious for them. I think this makes it even more important for teachers to connect the learning of a new language with the speaking. Once we find context, then self-efficacy is higher and it drives each one of us to utilize more creative learning strategies. Without that self-drive, no amount of homework is going to convince any new language learner to speak a new language with strangers.

Some snippets from the paper:

• Learning strategy is not enough to improve student achievement. Students should be motivated to use strategies, and organize cognitions and their efforts (Paris, Lipson, & Wixson 1983). Motivation is the internal power that drives individuals to act in order to satisfy their desire (Amstrong 1995). The internal power can be triggered either by the individual himself or by the environment. 
• Self-efficacy Shunk (1985:208) defines self-efficacy as ‘personal judgments of performance capabilities in a given domain of activities’. Bandura (1997:2) states that ‘perceived self-efficacy refers to beliefs in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the course of action required to manage prospective situations’. Bandura (1994) points out four primary factors influencing students’ self-efficacy. The first is the positive impact of the learning experience and the self-efficacy enhancement when students attain success. In contrast, the negative experience of frequent failure in a subject lowers their self-efficacy. The second factor that influences students’ selfefficacy is when students are role models with their peers; they become more ‘efficacious’ and try to do their best in any given task (Bandura 1986; Kitsantas, Zimmerman & Cleary 2000). Third, praise and words of encouragement from teachers will positively stimulate students to continue studying, despite challenging tasks. Finally, psychological factors such as fatigue or a poor diet will reduce efficacy, and negative emotional states such as anxiety also reduce efficacy.
• Students who have high self-efficacy are more willing to accept a challenging task, work harder, have a calmer disposition despite experiencing failure in the beginning, practice effective learning strategies, and generally generate better performance than students who have low self-efficacy, even if they have the same ability and skill.