SILL

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Bethany.Blaine
Posts: 24
Joined: Wed Oct 26, 2011 4:19 pm
Location: New Jersey

SILL

Post by Bethany.Blaine » Sat Jun 09, 2012 11:01 pm

How helpful is the SILL (Strategy Inventory for Language Learning) version for Speakers of Other Languages Learning English? I think it’s important to get an understanding for both students’ language learning capabilities and their desire to learn English but is there an easier way than through a test such as this? The statements listed in Teaching by Principles appear to be at a level where beginners would struggle to answer truthfully or even comprehend why they were filling out such a form. Most likely beginners would not be filling out the SILL or anything similar. Teachers would be able to gauge their level. There are so many strategies that learners use to control how they learn. It’s a bit intimidating to read about all of them and then remember to implement them in the classroom. Does anyone focus on strategy-based instruction? If so, what are your tricks and do you think it works?

longshikong
Posts: 88
Joined: Mon Oct 26, 2009 1:49 am

Re: SILL

Post by longshikong » Tue Jun 12, 2012 2:04 am

Bethany.Blaine wrote: I think it’s important to get an understanding for both students’ language learning capabilities and their desire to learn ...
For me, it's helpful to get an understanding of whether there's any value to such educational initiatives--the product of ivory tower research that our taxes and student debts so lavishly finance. SILL or just plain SILLy?

Here's Wikipedia's entry:
Language learning strategies have created a great deal of controversy over the years since Rubin and Stern first introduced the concept to the second language literature in 1975, followed closely by Naiman et al. (1978). All of these studies focused on identifying lists of strategies.

In the 80s the emphasis moved to classification. Rubin (1981) classified strategies according to whether they are direct or indirect. Then in 1985 O'Malley et al. divided strategies into cognitive, metacognitive or social categories.

In 1990, Rebecca Oxford published her landmark book "Language Learning Strategies: What Every Teacher Should Know" which included the "Strategy Inventory for Language Learning" or "SILL", a questionnaire which has been used in a great deal of research in the years since. Then towards the end of the 90s, Andrew Cohen (1998) produced his book on strategies for learning and using a second language.

Controversy over basic issues such as definition continued, however, with some (e.g.Macaro, 2006) giving up trying to define the concept in favour of listing essential characteristics. Others (such as Dornyei and Skehan, 2003) abandoned the strategy term in favour of "self regulation". Furthermore, although originally promoted as a means of helping students to success in language learning, some well-known studies (e.g. Porte, 1988; Vann and Abraham, 1990) produced negative results.

Interest in the potential of strategies to promote learning remains strong, however (e.g. Cohen and Macaro, 2007). From an exhaustive review of the literature, Griffiths (2008) synthesized a definition according to which language learning strategies are activities consciously chosen by learners for the purpose of regulating their own learning. Griffiths also demonstrated a significant correlation between language learning strategy use and proficiency. More recently (2011), both Oxford and Cohen have published new books on the subject.
Those are:
Cohen, A. (2011). Strategies in Learning and Using a Second Language (2nd edition). Harlow, UK: Longman.
Oxford, R. (2011). Teaching and Researching Language Learning Strategies. Pearson Longman.

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