The Good Language Learners and the Poor Language Learners
There are many factors that will affect students’ learning in second or foreign
language, particular in language learning styles and strategies. They determine
how–and how well-our students learn a second or foreign language (Oxford, 2001,
p.359). Learning styles are the general approaches that students use in acquiring a
new language or in learning any other subject. For instance, in learning foreign
language, certain learners prefer a highly structured approach with much explanation
in the mother tongue, graded exercises, constant correction, and careful formulation of
rules (Rubin & Thompson, 1994). The learners like this are very analytical and
reflective. They belong to rule learners. A second type of learners rely more on
intuition, the gathering of examples, and imitation. They are willing to take risks. As a
result, different learning styles present different outcome of learning. In light of Fan’s
study (2003), successful learners utilize some ways to develop techniques and
disciplines for learning vocabulary like using dictionary properly or keeping a
notebook. Studies have concluded that good learners do the following things
(Thornbury, 2002, p.144~145). First, they pay attention to which, in vocabulary terms,
means paying attention to the constituents of words, to their spelling, to their
pronunciation and to the way they are stressed. Second, they pay attention to meaning
which means they pay attention to the way words are similar (synonyms) or different
(antonyms) in meaning, to the connotations of words, to their style and to their
associations. Third, they are good guessers. It means they work out the meanings of
unfamiliar words by their form and contextual clues. Fourth, they have the courage to
take risks and are not afraid of making mistakes which means they make the most of
limited resources, and they adopt strategies to cope when the right words simply don’t
come forth. In terms of Oxford (2001, p.362), strategies can make learning easier,
faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, and more transferable to new situation if
the following conditions are fulfilled. (a) The strategy relates well to the L2 task at
hand. (b) The strategy fits the particular student’s learning style preferences to one
degree or another. (c) The student employs the strategy effectively and links it with
other relevant strategies. Finally, they know how to organize their own learning. For
instance, the ways are like keeping a systematic record of new words, using
dictionaries and other study aids resourcefully, using memorizing techniques, and
putting time aside for the “spade work” in language learning, such as repetitive
practice. Schmitt (2000) also pointed out rather than being used individually, multiple
vocabulary learning strategies are often used concurrently. Moreover, good
vocabulary learners actively use a larger number of different strategies than those who
are poor learners (Read, 2000 & Fan, 2003). This means active management of
strategy use is significant. Hence, good learners have features, such as using a variety
of strategies, structuring their vocabulary learning, reviewing and practicing words.
There are some related studies about good language learners and poor language
learners. Based on Ahmed’s study (1989), 300 Sudanese learners of English need to
learn 14 new words. Through think-aloud task, observation, and interview, he
concluded that good learners were more aware of how to learn new words, more
conscious of the semantic relationship between new and previously-learned words,
and compared to poor learners, they employed more strategies (Chamot, 1989, Gu and
Johnson, 1996). Besides, he also found that good learner tended to learn words in
context but poor learners tended to learn new words in isolation. Rubin (1975)
identified and concluded some salient characteristics of successful adult language
learners by observations and intuitions. These characteristics are included, such as has
an active approach to learning like classifying and analyzing, taking advantage of all
practice opportunities, and paying attention to meaning (Oxford, Lavine & Crookal,
1989). In another study, Huang (2005) indicated that vocabulary strategies used by
junior high school is strongly related to their vocabulary learning achievement. She
found students who had better vocabulary learning achievement not only used a wide
range of strategies but also used them more frequently. In addition, they paid much
more attention to textual context, break down words into syllables, use the learning
materials actively and connect the words to their sound, spelling and personal
experience. On the other hand, students having the lowest level of vocabulary learning
achievement paid less attention to the sound of a word.