Language learning strategies: adult and young perceptions

This paper explored the effect of age on perceptions of using language- learning strategies by Iranian adult and young EFL learners. The participants of the study consisted of 384 EFL learners including adult and young at Razavi Khorasan Iran. One instrument used to gather the needed data: A 50-item Likert-type strategy questionnaire, based on Oxford s SILL (Strategy Inventory for Language Learning, Oxford, 1990). The model had been used was Knowles (1984). The results have shown that there are statistically significant differences in the frequency of the learning strategy use: metacognitive strategies are most frequently used ones, while memory strategies are the least frequently used. However, there are differences in the use of learning strategies between adult and young EFL learners, where the Adult more frequently use all types of learning strategies. The results revealed that there was mismatch between adult and young EFL learners perceptions of language learning strategies.

Keywords:

adult learners , language-learning strategies , Perception , Young learners.