WhatMakesGoodLearners：learningstrategiesinwriting

杨柳

【Abstract】Consider that to be a good learner is related to many factors， language learning strategies will be mainly discussed in this paper.Next， according to previous discussion， writing skills will be chosen to present how the teacher may help students in using strategies to develop their competence in writing.

【Key words】learning strategies； writing skills； develop competence

1.Introduction

It is undeniable that many elements need to be taken into consideration while describing “a good language learner”.Rubin （1975） indicates that a good language learner is willing to be an accurate guesser； lives with uncertainty； has strong desire to communicate； not afraid of making mistakes； insists looking for analysis and patterns； makes full use of practice opportunities； good at monitoring speech as well as that of others； and focuses on meaning.In effect， a number of characteristics can influence language learning， which makes some learners more successful than others， including individual differences， such as personality， age， beliefs， as well as learning styles and learning strategies.Consequently， it is hardly to define whether he or she is a good language learner who processes one or several characteristics in second language learning.Many researchers used standardized written or listening comprehension test to determine a good learner.This methods， however， are not reliable because other aspects are easy to be neglected， namely， learners backgrounds， the speed of acquisition and exposure English to real life （Sewell， 2003； Harmer， 1998）.

Therefore， consider that to be a good learner is related to many factors， language learning strategies will be mainly discussed in this paper.Next， according to previous discussion， writing skills will be chosen to present how the teacher may help students in using strategies to develop their competence in writing.

2.The Importance of Teaching and Learning Language Learning Strategies

According to OMalley and Chamot （1990）， findings from studies indicates that strategies training is beneficial for improving students performance on second language learning， such as reading and listening comprehension， as well as problem-solving tasks.Strategies training is defined as “the explicit teaching of how， when， and why students should employ foreign language learning strategies to enhance their efforts at reaching language programme goals” （cited in Chen， 2007：20）.Because many students lack awareness on developing strategies that may prevent them to acquire language in new learning context， it is necessary for the teacher to guide them how to quickly and appropriately master learning strategies in order to obtain achievement of the target language.Although some students know about the importance of learning strategies that help reach the goal successfully， they may have limited ability to employ them to the fullest extent.

Cohen （1998） states that strategies training can empower students to take control of process in learning language.The aim is that pays attention to long-term changes in learners behaviours and attitudes， rather than rapidly get improvement in language proficiency.In other words， if the instruction of strategies only focuses on the end of product or development of language knowledge， the potential expectations may be reduced.What is worse， if students are ideologically or motivationally opposed to the strategies， the teaching strategies are supposed to be failed.Thus it is probably not to say that relevant strategies are taught to students that will improve their learning or skill development.In order to avoid failure of teaching strategies， the teacher may consider adjusting students performance only under specific situations （Bialystok， 1985）.

On the other hand， according to MacInyre and Noels （1996）， students can take advantage of strategies which can be understood， felt effective and easy to be implemented （cited in Sewell， 2003）.Many evidence shows that after a series of strategies training， students are able to establish their own learning system， in order to help them specify a clear direction， to promote their autonomy such as self-regulation and self-evaluation， and encourage them to take more responsibility for learning language （Cohen， 1998）.In Chens research （2007）， for example， some learners report improvements in their listening comprehension skills and benefits result in the strategy training for their progress.One of the learners described how she got improvement in her listening through using the repetition and prediction strategies， “when I watched the movies on HBO for the second time， I found that I could comprehend some of the dialogues.I could even guess what the actors were going to say next” （25）.

3.Ways of Teaching Writing Strategies

Because language learning strategies are teachable and students can benefit from applying strategies， the remainders of this paper will be regarded writing as one skill to discuss how the teacher may train students with learning strategies to facilitate their writing ability.

Process approach is one of the three approaches （the others are product and genre approach） to teach writing， which “emphasizes the composing process writers make use of in writing （such as planning， drafting and revising） and which seeks to improve students writing skills through developing their use of effective composing processes” （Richard and Schmidt， 2002：421）.Seen the definition above， it seems that process approach and metacogniative strategies are compatible with each other， in that metacognitive strategies also encourage students to plan， monitor， evaluate and organize their learning process.Also， these stages may reflect what the good writer should do----“organize， plan， and re-write throughout the writing process， changing things lots of times if necessary， and writing multiple drafts” （cited in Harwoods handout， 2009：slide 16）.As a matter of fact， in China， many teachers try to combine metacognitive strategies with approaches for teaching writing skills as a process （Zhou， 2005； Zhang， 2008）.To employ metacognitive strategies in teaching of writing enables students not only to clearly specify objectives and tasks to writing， but also to appropriately organize， monitor and evaluate writing as a whole process， in order to raise their awareness of doing writing activities.

3.1.Training Brainstorming

When the teacher set an assignment or give a topic in the classroom， the first step may be to encourage students to work in pairs or in groups， in order to achieve an understanding of the topic through communicating and interacting by questioning and clarifying the key points.According to Rao （2007）， the brainingstorming strategies can be effectively improve students performance on writing.This research was carried out in the foreign language college at Jiangxi Normal University （China）.

The teacher firstly gave the students five minutes and allowed them to think about the given topic individually.The aim of this instruction may be to sharpen students mind and provide some time to prepare for the following discussion stage.When the students were ready， the teacher asked them to work in pairs or in group for interaction and communication.During the process of discussion， the students were allowed to be free to generate ideas and exchange opinions with each other.Through this way， all the students can involve in the activity， even reluctant or introvert students are able to get an opportunity to express themselves.The teacher not only establishes a kind of friendly atmosphere， but also can join in their discussion to listen or convey the idea.The teacher， therefore， is no more than a guider or organizer but a participant and facilitator.

Next， after finishing discussion， the students were encouraged to put forward their ideas to the class publicly.If some ideas were challenged， other students were able to be arguable.In the mean time， the teacher wrote some notes about these arguments on the black board.By doing this， the information can be easily accessible to students mind and store in the memory.Also， “think aloud” strategies can help students record their thoughts in order to employ in the planning， drafting and revising of the composition.

Finally， the students were expected to classify the arguments into categories according to the notes on the black board.This step may guide students for the preparation for the planning.The students may have a logical and clear thread to organize these key terms or phrases as topic sentences or examples which can be used in the composition.Thus a successful brainstorming can be completed， and it is probably to believe that the students no longer complain that they lack enough ideas and can not think out of any interesting or important points to write.Moreover， through these procedures， students may have a sense of taking more responsibility to monitor and control their writing behaviours （ibid）.

3.2.Practicing Planning

Imagine that now a student possesses a lot of ideas about a topic in his mind， the next step may not immediately start producing a composition but make out of a plan or a structure of this topic.A skilled writer may like to use an outline to show the flow of major topics and elaborate details for each.According to my writing experience， making an outline is the most indispensable step in the process of writing.If I did not make out of a good plan of the assignment， I would not begin to write； otherwise， the content of the whole paper was supposed to be in a mess.What was worse， the entire procedures of writing may be delayed.Making a planning， therefore， can not only help learners produce the following writing quickly and logically， but also develop a sense of direction in their writing （Hedge， 2003）.

The teacher may try to train students building good habits of writing； making an outline before starting writing is one of the most important aspects.Basically， the outline may involve key points of introduction， body and conclusion.Take argument essay for example， the basic layout may be introduction to the topic， arguments for， arguments against and conclusion.Different types of writings， however， the teacher needs to remind students of paying attentions to the typical features and structures， so that a model is necessary to be provided， sometimes （Gower， Phillips and Walters， 2005）.Some teachers prefer to offer detailed structures related to specific genres and allow students to store in the memory.Although this strategy is not helpful for students in creative writing， it has certain of advantage for doing writing examinations.

Students need to produce writing in terms of planning； however， it does not mean that the outline can not be changed.After finishing an outline， the teacher may try to discuss with students about the planning individually， in order to change and adjust the content and organization for the progresses （Hedge， 2000）.

3.3.Encouraging Conferencing

Teacher-student conferencing usually does as the teacher meets each student individually， and does oral comment about the students writing （Ferris and Hedgcock， 1998）.Conferencing is a useful strategy， whichever in the stages of planning， drafting and editing.Usually， the teacher meets students in pairs or small groups outside class time， or help students one by one while they are writing in the classroom.

Conferencing provides students with authentic opportunities for interaction and discussion with the teacher； whilst， normal writing activities do not give， in that compared with simply practice， students can gain more achievements on the teachers suggestions and comments.The teachers feedback is more than marking， but advantages and disadvantages can be selected from students essays， in turn to improve in terms of accuracy and appropriacy， as well as express them in oral ways.Also， according recent research on learning styles， some students are predominantly auditory rather than visual learners.These students might learn best if the teacher can give spoken instead of written feedback through conferencing （Hardwoods handout， 2009）.The teacher， therefore， may try to create more opportunities and encourage students to take part in conferencing.

4.Conclusion

To master of a series of language learning strategies is one of significant characteristics that a good language learner needs to possess.To employ strategies to learn a second or foreign language can achieve double results with the half of work； there is no exception to learning writing skills.Appropriate strategies can help students produce writing quickly and logically.Students， however， may not know how to use learning strategies in a proper way without the teachers training.The aim of teaching writing strategies is to help students establish a metacognitive system through brainstorming， planning and conferencing， in order to change their attitudes and learning styles for writing in a long term.Thus the level of writing ability can be increased.

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