Good language learner studies
Encyclopedia
The good language learner (GLL) studies are a group of academic studies
in the area of second language acquisition
that deal with the strategies that good language learners exhibit. The rationale for the studies was that there is more benefit from studying the habits of successful language learners than there is from studying learners who fossilize
at an early stage or stop studying altogether. It was thought that if the strategies of successful learners could be found then that knowledge could help learners who were not getting such good results.
The original studies were made in the 1970s, but petered out in the 1980s as researchers concentrated on individual learning strategies. However, some research on the topic has also been carried out in more recent years. The main body of GLL research investigated language learning
in classroom
situations. It found that good language learners could not be distinguished on the basis of observable behavior
alone, although personality
did seem to have an effect. It also found that teacher
s did not treat these learners differently from other students, although they could distinguish good language learners from learners who were not so effective.
(OISE) which investigated 34 language learners with good learning habits. This study found a list of six different strategies, which were similar to those proposed by Rubin and Stern:
In the new millennium, Norton and Toohey re-visited the GLL. Their new perspective emphasized the influence of situation, investment and identity on successful language learning.
Seven years later, Griffiths, harking back to Joan Rubin's original title, published "Lessons from Good Language Learners". Whereas the early work in the GLL field had tended to emphasize the role of strategies, Griffiths' work took a broader view and presented the GLL as a highly complex being involving many different variables, including motivation, age, style, personality, gender, metacognition, autonomy, beliefs, culture and aptitude. In addition, the target variables (including grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, function and skills) and some of the situational factors (including method and error correction practices) which learners must manage if they are to be successful were discussed.
Scientific method
Scientific method refers to a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on gathering empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of...
in the area of second language acquisition
Second language acquisition
Second-language acquisition or second-language learning is the process by which people learn a second language. Second-language acquisition is also the name of the scientific discipline devoted to studying that process...
that deal with the strategies that good language learners exhibit. The rationale for the studies was that there is more benefit from studying the habits of successful language learners than there is from studying learners who fossilize
Interlanguage fossilization
Interlanguage fossilization is a stage during second language acquisition. When mastering a target language , second language learners develop a linguistic system that is self-contained and different from both the learner’s first language and the TL...
at an early stage or stop studying altogether. It was thought that if the strategies of successful learners could be found then that knowledge could help learners who were not getting such good results.
The original studies were made in the 1970s, but petered out in the 1980s as researchers concentrated on individual learning strategies. However, some research on the topic has also been carried out in more recent years. The main body of GLL research investigated language learning
Language education
Language education is the teaching and learning of a foreign or second language. Language education is a branch of applied linguistics.- Need for language education :...
in classroom
Classroom
A classroom is a room in which teaching or learning activities can take place. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, including public and private schools, corporations, and religious and humanitarian organizations...
situations. It found that good language learners could not be distinguished on the basis of observable behavior
Behavior
Behavior or behaviour refers to the actions and mannerisms made by organisms, systems, or artificial entities in conjunction with its environment, which includes the other systems or organisms around as well as the physical environment...
alone, although personality
Personality type
Personality type refers to the psychological classification of different types of individuals. Personality types are sometimes distinguished from personality traits, with the latter embodying a smaller grouping of behavioral tendencies. Types are sometimes said to involve qualitative differences...
did seem to have an effect. It also found that teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
s did not treat these learners differently from other students, although they could distinguish good language learners from learners who were not so effective.
Original studies
The first studies in the good language learner tradition were made by Joan Rubin and David Stern, both of which were completed in 1975. Both of these studies proposed similar lists of strategies that good language learners use. On the basis of this, a large-scale study was performed at the Ontario Institute for Studies in EducationOntario Institute for Studies in Education
The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto is a teachers' college in Toronto, Ontario.-History:OISE/UT traces its origins to the founding of the Provincial Normal School in 1847...
(OISE) which investigated 34 language learners with good learning habits. This study found a list of six different strategies, which were similar to those proposed by Rubin and Stern:
- Good language learners find an appropriate style of learning.
- Good language learners involve themselves in the language-learning process.
- Good language learners develop an awareness of language as both system and communication.
- Good language learners pay constant attention to expanding their language knowledge.
- Good language learners develop the second language as a separate system.
- Good language learners take into account the demands that second language learning imposes.
Later work
In spite of the flurry of interest in the GLL in the mid to late 70s, in the 80s and 90s interest moved more in the direction of socio/cultural influences and individual differences, as well as developing the concept of communicative competence into a communicative approach to language teaching.In the new millennium, Norton and Toohey re-visited the GLL. Their new perspective emphasized the influence of situation, investment and identity on successful language learning.
Seven years later, Griffiths, harking back to Joan Rubin's original title, published "Lessons from Good Language Learners". Whereas the early work in the GLL field had tended to emphasize the role of strategies, Griffiths' work took a broader view and presented the GLL as a highly complex being involving many different variables, including motivation, age, style, personality, gender, metacognition, autonomy, beliefs, culture and aptitude. In addition, the target variables (including grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, function and skills) and some of the situational factors (including method and error correction practices) which learners must manage if they are to be successful were discussed.