Despite undeniable advances in research on language learning strategies in the last several decades, empirical investigations of actions and thoughts that learners engage in to better understand and use grammar structures in different contexts, or grammar learning strategies (GLS), remain scarce. Moreover, there is a paucity of studies examining…

Previous findings on the relationship between private tutoring and self-regulated learning are inconsistent. In this study, we assumed that the inconsistency of these findings was due to a combination of methodological issues, differing definitions of self-regulated learning and failure to account for the amount of time spent in private tutoring.…

The purpose of this study was to analyze six English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' trajectories of discriminating near-synonyms in a data-driven learning task. Since the learners find it considerably difficult to learn subtle meaning differences of near-synonyms, corpus-based data-driven learning may provide an opportunity for them to…

This state-of-the art paper focuses on the issue of linguistic giftedness, somewhat neglected in the second language acquisition (SLA) literature, attempting to reconceptualize, expand and update this concept in response to latest developments in the fields of psychology, linguistics and neurology. It first discusses contemporary perspectives on…

This year marks the fortieth anniversary of the publication of two landmark articles concerning the "good language learner". In the years since, vigorous debate has revolved around both theoretical issues (including definition, classification, theoretical foundation, and the relationship of strategies to successful learning) and…

The current paper presented theoretical assumptions behind language learning strategies (LLS) and an overview of methods used to identify learners' strategies, first, and then summarized what have been reported from large number of descriptive studies of strategies by language learners. Moreover, the paper tried to present the variety of…

This study aims to explore the nature of definitions and classifications of Language Learning Strategies (LLSs) in the current studies of second/foreign language learning in order to show the current problems regarding such definitions and classifications. The present study shows that there is not a universal agreeable definition and…

Since the phenomenon of fossilization in interlanguage is proposed by Selinker in 1972, it has drawn much attention and commonly acknowledged at home and abroad. This paper introduces the definition, classification, presentation, and causal factors of fossilization in an attempt to help Chinese students better understand the phenomenon and avoid…

This paper reports on an empirical study of educators' perceptions of learning concepts, reviews the cognitive learning literature, and argues for an expanded view of conceptual knowledge and its role in education and training. The report begins with discussions of changing views of concept learning and declarative and procedural components of…

Language learning strategies (LLS), here defined as specific actions or mental procedures that assist in fulfilling language learning goals, have attracted increasing attention as one of the factors that impact second language acquisition. A key reason for their appeal is that language learning strategies can be manipulated to an extent that most…

A discussion of second language learning strategies (LLS) first reviews research on defining, classifying, and listing LLS, then looks at studies on factors affecting learners' LLS choices, and finally examines their application in second language teaching. A definition of LLS as "specific action taken by the learner to make learning easier,…