A descriptive study on ESL learners’ vocabulary knowledge through cognitive and metacognitive strategies

Abstract

The present research was carried out to study the cognitive and metacognitive vocabulary learning strategies of 36 ESL learners’. Schmitt’s Vocabulary Learning Strategies questionnaire was used to conduct the study. The study revealed the subsequent array of cognitive and metacognitive strategies employed by ESL learners. Additionally, semi-structured interviews were also conducted with 10 ESL learners’ who completed the questionnaire to get more reliable information about learners’ strategies with vocabulary learning. The findings indicated that ‘Using English Language Media’, ‘Verbal repetition’, ‘Take notes in class’ were the most popular strategies, whereas ‘Skip or pass new word’ and ‘Put English labels on physical objects’ were least used. The results of this paper provide many implications for English language teaching. Detailed explanations of the participants’ cognitive and metacognitive strategies were given in the discussion.

Tracing the Use of Cognitive Strategies by Non-English Students in Learning English

“…The use of cognitive strategies in learning will be more profitable if Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, 8(2), 2023 teachers can design prompts as procedural guidance to make students easier leading to the fulfillment of tasks to do and to what to learn. Students can be temporarily dependent on provided prompts, but later on they are able to build their own internal structure to complete given tasks (Rajasekaran, 2020;Suparman, 2021). A teacher can see how one of the learners does the tasks or solves a problem he faces when doing the tasks.…”

“…Therefore, since previous studies (Andini & Prastiyowati, 2021;Aravind & Rajasekaran, 2020;Hidayatullah & Dayu, 2017;Luqman, 2020;Rahmawati et al, 2021;Suyitno et al, 2017;Talok, 2006) sought to identify the cognitive strategies of students who basically have the interest and sufficient knowledge in learning a language, the current study aims to fill the gap of finding the cognitive strategies used by non-English students, whom might have a lower motivation and competence in learning a language. Additionally, the current study seeks to identify students' cognitive strategies based on sub-learning strategies classified by O' Malley & Chamot (1995).…”