Exploring Strategies in Language Learning: The Case for Mandarin As A Foreign Language

Abstract

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has compelled the educational sector to revise its strategies and use technology as the educational system's saviour. The pandemic has stopped all faceto-face teaching and learning activities in educational institutions, forcing the adoption of online learning. The objective of this study is to identify the learning strategies used by learners when they learn Mandarin as a foreign language. This quantitative research is done to investigate how learners use cognitive and meta cognitive strategies when they learn Mandarin. The instrument used is a survey adapted from Wenden & Rubin (1987). A total of 366 respondents were chosen to respond to the survey. The respondents are students who are learning the Mandarin Language in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). The survey has 4 main sections which consist of demographic profile, cognitive components, metacognitive self-regulation and resource management. The findings of this study showed that the cognitive strategies most often used are rehearsal, elaboration, followed by organizational and critical thinking. The metacognitive self-regulation strategies were also applied by students to learn Mandarin online. Most students agreed that when they are confused about something they are reading for their classes, they will try to figure it out on their own when their classes have ended. The students also practiced resource management strategies in the process of learning Mandarin. They preferred environment strategies the most, followed by help seeking strategies and effort management strategies. The findings of this study can help educators to identify effective learning strategies to enhance students' Mandarin language proficiency.

The Influence of Metacognitive Self-Regulation on Learning Strategies in Mandarin Learning

“…The analyzed data indicates that during the acquisition of the Mandarin language, the most commonly utilized metacognitive self-regulation strategy is to revisit and clarify confusing material encountered during class readings. This finding is aligned with the previous studies (Seng et al, 2023;Min et al, 2022;Idris et al, 2022). Regarding cognitive strategies, rehearsal emerges as the most frequently employed technique among the four strategies.…”

“…This finding shows that students often choose to enhance their Mandarin proficiency by memorizing key vocabulary and repeatedly practicing the material, which is consistent with prior research (Umeanowai and Lei, 2022;Gao, 2020), where the memory strategies had been highly used in Chinese language learning. In terms of resource management strategies, environment management and help-seeking are frequently employed by Mandarin learners, in line with a previous studies (Min et al, 2022).…”

“…Several researchers have investigated how learners use learning strategies to acquire Chinese/Mandarin as a foreign language. Tan et al (2019), Thamrin (2021), and Min et al (2022) found that the most frequently used learning strategy by learners in acquiring Mandarin was the metacognitive strategy, which focuses on language learning, planning, organizing learning, and evaluating independent learning. Moreover, Tang (2022) and Shuang et al (2022) reported that learners applied the cognitive strategy, involving mental processes and thinking in language learning activities such as practicing, receiving and sending messages, analyzing and reasoning, and constructing input and output structures, most often in their pursuit of learning Mandarin as a foreign language.…”

Exploring The Use of Language Learning Strategies Through Reciprocal Determinism

“…Meanwhile, Chin et al (2021) pointed out that students used strategies from the cognitive category most often, but the metacognitive category was the least favoured when learning Mandarin vocabulary. Min et al (2022) in their study about exploring strategies in Mandarin language learning discovered that the cognitive strategies most often used were rehearsal, elaboration, organizational and critical thinking. The students applied metacognitive self-regulation strategies and practiced resource management strategies, favouring environmental strategies, help-seeking and effort-management strategies in learning Mandarin online.…”

On Chinese learning strategies of learners from Central Asian countries: an analysis of gender, age, and learning duration effects

“…However, most studies have focused on English education due to its status as a lingua franca in second language education ( Radwan, 2011 ; Chou, 2018 ; Gong et al, 2020 ; Zhang et al, 2022 ; Ibrahim et al, 2023 ). In contrast, there is a lack of research on L2 Chinese acquisition despite the increasing number of international students studying Chinese as a foreign language worldwide ( Ding, 2016 ; Wang, 2017 ; Li et al, 2021 ; Zhang and Tsung, 2021 ; Min et al, 2022 ). With the ongoing implementation of the “Belt and Road” initiative, China has witnessed closer exchanges and collaboration with Central Asian countries.…”