Using the SILL to Record the
Language Learning Strategy Use:
Suggestions for the Greek EFL
Population
Dr. Vassilia Kazamia-Christou
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Center for Foreign Language Teaching
What does SILL stand for?
SILL=
The Strategy Inventory for
Language Learning.
SILL
is a questionnaire examining the
frequency of language learning strategy
use.
 The
SILL generates standardized data and
group summaries
but
it does not provide any space for
individual’s creative responses.
(Oxford, 1993)
 Data triangulation (i.e. eliciting data with
different elicitation tools) can
counterbalance such problems.
Alderson
(1992)
suggests
that
a
questionnaire includes a pre-conceived
idea about what is significant on a
particular topic.
However our knowledge expands when
we ask individuals to talk about this
topic.
The present study triangulated data
elicited with the SILL from 356 Greek
adult EFL learners and data elicited
with interviews from 10 learners.
PURPOSE
To compare the two sets of data and
crosscheck SILL data.
Data triangulation questions

Which language learning strategies do
adult Greek EFL learners employ?

To what extent are these strategies
reflected in the SILL?
Structure of the SILL
It comprises 50 items classified in 6 parts.
 Each part includes strategies with similar
function. (Memory, cognitive, compensation,
metacognitive, affective & social parts).
 Learners select one of the 5 options to
indicate strategy frequency.
 The overall score shows how often strategies
are employed.

Since its development the SILL
 Has
assessed the strategy use of more than
10.000 learners.
 Has
been translated into 14 languages:
Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Greek,
Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian,
Serbo-Croatian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai,
Ukrainian
The Research: the sample
10 Greek adult learners studying English
6 were women and 4 men
Mean age: 37 years
Proficiency level in English: Intermediate
The Research: elicitation method
3 long interviews (120-150 minutes each)
7 short interviews (20 minutes each)
Examples of interview questions:
 What do you think are your strengths and
weaknesses in English?
 After all these years of learning English have
you developed any particular learning habits?
The Research: data analysis
 Interview
data were examined and
strategies were identified.
 The frequency of strategy occurrence
was coded.
 Interview strategies were compared to
SILL strategies. Comparison yielded 3
categories of strategies.
Categories of interview strategies
1. Interview strategy is similar to SILL
strategy.
Interview data:
‘I make summaries of what I read or hear’.
SILL item 23:
I make summaries of information that I hear or
read in English
Categories of interview strategies
2. Interview strategy is a variation of the SILL
strategy.
Interview data:
‘I watch English TV serials, never read the Greek
subtitles and try to listen to the words or
sentences as they are pronounced.’
 SILL item 15

I watch English language TV shows spoken in English
or go to movies spoken in English.
Categories of interview strategies
3. Interview strategy does not exist in the SILL.
It is termed as different.
Interview data:
‘If I want to express something in English and
I do not know the words, I look up the words
at the Greek-English Dictionary’.
The strategy of using resources is not included in
the SILL.
Questions to be answered

Which SILL items have been reported in the
interview data?

Which SILL items have been reported in the
interview data as variations?

Which SILL items have not been reported at all in
the interview data?

Which are the different (i.e. not included in the
SILL) strategies that have been reported during the
interviews?
MEMORY STRATEGIES
9
9
MEMORY STRATEGIES OF
THE SILL
8
SILL STRATEGIES REPORTED
IN INTERVIEWS
7
6
5
5
4
3
2
1
3
VARIATIONS
3
1
SILL STRATEGIES NOT
REPORTED IN INTERVIEWS
DIFFERENT STRATEGIES
0
SILL STRATEGIES NOT REPORTED IN INTERVIEWS





I remember a new English word my making a mental picture of a
situation in which the word might be used.
I use rhymes to remember new English words.
I use flashcards to remember new English words.
I physically act out new English words.
I remember new English words or phrases by remembering their location
on the page, on the board, or on a street sign.
5
COGNITIVE STRATEGIES
20
20
18
16
14
COGNITIVE STRATEGIES OF
SILL
SILL STRATEGIES
REPORTED IN INTERVIEWS
VARIATIONS
14
12
10
8
6
7
SILL STRATEGIES NOT
REPORTED IN INTERVIEWS
DIFFERENT STRATEGIES
5
4
2
1
0
SILL STRATEGIES NOT REPORTED IN INTERVIEWS
I try to talk like the native English speakers
1
COMPENSATION STRATEGIES
6
6
5
4
4
3
3
COMPENSATION
STRATEGIES OF SILL
SILL STRATEGIES
REPORTED IN INTERVIEWS
VARIATIONS
3
2
1
SILL STRATEGIES NOT
REPORTED IN INTERVIEWS
DIFFERENT STRATEGIES
1
0
SILL STRATEGIES NOT REPORTED IN INTERVIEWS
I make up new words if I do not know the right ones in English
1
METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES
9
9
METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES
OF SILL
8
SILL STRATEGIES REPORTED
IN INTERVIEWS
7
6
5
VARIATIONS
5
4
3
2
SILL STRATEGIES NOT
REPORTED IN INTERVIEWS
3
2
DIFFERENT STRATEGIES
1
1
0
SILL STRATEGIES NOT REPORTED IN INTERVIEWS

I try to find as many ways as I can to use my English

I plan my schedule so I will have enough time to study English

I look for opportunities to read as much as possible in English
3
AFFECTIVE STRATEGIES
6
6
AFFECTIVE STRATEGIES OF
SILL
5
4
SILL STRATEGIES REPORTED
IN INTERVIEWS
4
VARIATIONS
3
2
2
2
SILL STRATEGIES NOT
REPORTED IN INTERVIEWS
DIFFERENT STRATEGIES
1
1
0
SILL STRATEGIES NOT REPORTED IN INTERVIEWS
•
I try to relax whenever I feel afraid of using English
•
I encourage myself to speak English even when I am afraid of making a mistake
•
I notice if I am nervous when I am studying or using English
•
I write down my feelings in a language learning diary
4
SOCIAL STRATEGIES
6
6
5
SOCIAL STRATEGIES OF
SILL
SILL STRATEGIES
REPORTED IN INTERVIEWS
VARIATIONS
4
3
3
SILL STRATEGIES NOT
REPORTED IN INTERVIEWS
DIFFERENT STRATEGIES
2
2
1
1
1
0
SILL STRATEGIES NOT REPORTED IN INTERVIEWS
•
I practice English with other students
•
I try to learn about the culture of English speakers
2
RESULTS
 25
interview strategies are similar to 25 SILL
items.
 19 interview strategies are included in the
SILL with a variation.
 31 different (i.e. not included in the SILL)
strategies were reported in the interviews
 16 SILL strategies were not reported at all.
What do these results indicate for SILL?
Interviewees’ self report interview data agree up
to 50% with the content of the SILL.
Variations suggest problems in the learner’s
response.
E.g.: SILL 22 ‘I try not to translate word-for-word’.
‘I also translate what I read and I use a
dictionary for this purpose’.
3 Variations present a pattern
1. Formally
 Int:
practicing grammar
How do you learn grammar?
Res: Through the exercises.
Int: Yes…
Res: It’s the theory as well. Well ok, in
theory you learn about the ordinary uses
of words. However in doing exercises you
identify some distinctive features, you see
some rules, you better realize how
language works.
3 Variations present a pattern
2. Repeating
‘I repeat some new words and I write
them down in order to remember them.’
3. Guessing by using the context
‘Nevertheless I carry on and try to
understand the meaning from the
context.’
5 Different strategies present a pattern
1. Using resources (dictionary)
Int: You ’ve said at the beginning [of the
interview] that you write the unknown words on
paper…
Res: If it is a story [I do this]. If it is a
brochure, I ’ll look them up in the dictionary
right away.
5 Different strategies present a pattern
2. Avoiding partially communication
‘I remember once, someone asked me something
but I could not understand a thing. I could not
even understand whether he spoke English. In that
case I said to myself ‘ I do not understand what
he is talking about’ and I left.’
3. Checking the meaning of words
‘If I come across an unknown word I ask its
meaning and write it above.’
5 Different strategies present a pattern
4. Making positive statements
‘…Not that I do not make mistakes; we are all
human so we make mistakes…’
5. Seeking assistance
Int: Do you have any problems writing e-mails?
Res.: No I don’t have a big problem. That is to
say I call friends who know English and they
dictate to me over the phone and I write.
What are the implications?
50% of the SILL content would record the
interviewees’ strategy use.
 SILL strategies would probably not detect
the variations.
 Different strategies are not present in the
SILL.
and


Interviewees do not attribute to the
strategies the same function as the SILL.
Strategy Function
The wording is similar in the interview item
and the SILL item. Yet, the function of
interview item is different from the one the
SILL item carries.
E.g.. Using circumlocution is compensatory in the
SILL and cognitive in the interviews:
‘Sometimes they give us a sentence and we must
write the same meaning with other words. So this
way you are forced to write. Isn’t this so? You
have to use different words. You have to use the
syntax.’
Different function was detected in 2 more
strategies:
Repeating words (memory vs. cognitive
SILL)
Asking questions (cognitive vs. social
SILL)
This can affect:
a. the measurement of the SILL
b. the strategy classification
CONCLUSIONS
SILL records accurately 50% of the
strategy use of Greek adult EFL
learners.
5 new (termed different) strategies and
3 variations could be incorporated if
the SILL is refined so that it examines
more accurately the present
population.
Thank You !
Vassilia Kazamia-Christou
E-mail: vkazamia@lance.auth.gr