Learning Strategies and Implications for Second Language Teaching.

Learning Strategy Instructions Should Be Sustained

Strategy training should be integrated into students' regular classes over a long period for them to consciously monitor, evaluate and gradually automatize the learning strategies. It's very important to provide students with a mechanism to evaluate the success of the training and the value of the strategies in multiple tasks in various contexts so as to appreciate their relevance for language learning tasks.

CONCLUSION

This article has provided a brief overview of language learning strategies by examining their background and summarizing the relevant literature. Learning strategies are the key to learner autonomy and direct instruction in how, when and why to use language learning strategies can help learners systematically use various strategies as they learn a second or foreign language (Cohen, 1998).

In addition, by integrating strategy use and instruction into regular language classes, learners are provided with hands- on practice and reinforcement of strategy use (Cohen, 1998). Empirical research has showed that strategies are teachable, and direct and explicit strategy instruction contributes to improved language performance and proficiency. 

Though integrating language learning strategy instruction into ESL classrooms can sometimes be a challenge, all language teachers may as well take it because not only does it help learners become more efficient in their efforts to learn a second language, but it also provides a meaningful way to focus one's teaching efforts.