The use of language learning strategies in English reading at Doan Ket secondary school - An investigation

students’ LLS use, mainly English reading strategies. The study detected the correlation among LLS at DK School and considered DK school as a representative for an entire lower secondary education. Besides that, good teaching methodologies have contributed to the learner’s reading strategies through language reading comprehension, and the well-chosen learning strategies emphasize much on learner-centeredness.

This study explored a real result of the DK students’ LLS use and some other results inferred from this perspective, that helped both language teachers and students recognize the role of LLS use, LLSI so that the participants themselves can decide which LLS to be applied or modified. Obviously, this study also revealed the students’ learning result at the primary schools in Vietnam affected the 6-grade student’s learning style. The application of LLS in secondary education is essential to improve the quality of English learning and teaching in DK school in specific and in the entire secondary education in general. The encouragement of LLS, especially the reading strategies on students’ English learning will bring to the language learning success, promoting their English communicative competence or a potential competence.

Another identification from English scorecards is that the quantity of good-grade students in DK school was not high because of lacking LLS. This showed that learner’s comprehensive reading achievement has correlated with the LLS choice, LLS instruction, and additionally learner’s awareness. In spite of the largely used LLS of students may somehow be different among Secondary Schools, High Schools, Tertiary Education, or even Higher Education, most language studies affirmed the two identical tendencies of language learning strategies: “The more use of LLS, mostly with reading strategies among students, the better reading performance they are. Conversely, the less use of reading strategies, the worse reading performance

of students get”. Nevertheless, it also depends on the language competency of students in each school to identify if they themselves can set up the suitable LLS in their learning environments or if they need an LLSI at school.

In summary, this study provides theoretical and practical implications on the valuable guidelines for language learning satisfaction, if the intervention is to be considered for promoting the improvement of English language learning and teaching at the DK school thanks to English reading strategies. All of the above are the messages for secondary school students from this study. The experiences among studies about students’ learning styles infers an optimum solution for the sixth-grade participants at DK School is to make a rhythmical combination between learning styles and learning strategies, creating a harmonious relationship to both teachers’ teaching quality and students’ English language ability (at the different levels of education as the earlier explanations).

5.2. Implications

5.2.1. Limitations of the study

The study has several limitations. First, the observation time was so long (up to the whole school year with the two semesters, plus Covid-19 time off). Students had to spend their learning time, learning activities and join in the survey questionnaires at the end of the school year. Second, the questionnaires were only implemented once at that time to discover if these students have used any language learning strategies or not, and which learning strategies they have used. Hence, the student participants did not have a chance to change their own learning strategies at present after being recognized by the teacher/ researcher (can only alter their English LLS next school year, if any). Third, the scattered questionnaires were for the sixth graders, not for other grades (i.e. not for the population of Grade 7, Grade 8, Grade 9), so the researcher does not have

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enough findings for the entire secondary system at a Secondary School, just inferring from merely one representative for a whole. Finally, as mentioned before, the location of the investigation was at Doan Ket Secondary School – one of the secondary schools in District 6, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

And from the prospect of the DK school, the researcher may infer the similar results to the rest of secondary schools in other places in Ho Chi Minh City (i.e. no real experiences in other schools). However, the investigation merely focused on the use of language learning strategies from students’ performance in reading English, neither on any of the rest language skills nor other related factors. Thereby, the study may suggest some appropriate implications during or after their learning process.

5.2.2. Suggestions

Together with the technologies and the applied principles in language teaching, the proposals on reading strategies get diversified making learners’ English language reading easier and more convenient. Surely, an FL can be acquired by practicing English reading every day under different activities. Language 1 (L1) competency has been the prerequisite in English comprehensive reading, intensifying learner’s comprehensive ability and helping learners acquire English language sooner. Reading strategies are usually suggested and employed in diverse contexts for FLA. L1 competency (Vietnamese) can supported to transcode L2 (English) into learners’ L1 successfully for an easy understanding during a language learning program and vice versa (e.g. L1 has been translated into L2 in use during the learners’ process of language acquisition).

It was suggested that reading strategies as the vital ones in English language learning because where a memorization was depending on the reading strategy use and literature remembering. Continuously, this study contributed

to the development of secondary school teacher staff and students; therefore, the language teachers also notice the practical situations of every school environment to make LLS choices, especially encourage practicing as many reading strategies as possible, use other LLS appropriately to support English learning, and raise the learning motivations in each student for better foreign language development (English). Something acceptable to students’ informal learning activities from different cultures, in which reading strategies as an initial direction among LLS and applicable for secondary school students.

This study stirred up the need for applying reading strategies as well as instructing LLS to secondary school students which created a trend of flexible combination in the process of English apprehension. In comparison with Oxford (1990), the later studies from Oxford (2003, 2013, 2017) ever presented that the frequent use relates to the style preferences and positive outcomes from its learning strategy use, thus secondary school students should employ as many reading strategies as they can. Next, these students should actively coordinate their learning styles and their own LLS to acquire a FL because of the difference from these students’ proficiency levels and needs. In this way of matching, secondary school students can quickly enhance their academic achievement, learning attitudes and behavior. Teachers can help extend their students’ learning styles through some trial LLS or instruct the students how to use learning strategies relevantly to increase English proficiency as well. LLS instruction or any support in teaching learning EFL will bring unexpectedly positive effects for English proficiency in general and for reading competence in particular since the significance of English reading strategies via comprehensive reading. Therefore, another suggestion is the complete support from language teachers that helps develop students’ comprehension strategies and skills or obtain the learning outcomes, simultaneously motivate students’

language communicative competence at every step of the teaching and learning following Oxford’s strategy direction (2020).

Thanks to the recognition of LLS use and its correlation with the students’ English achievement, secondary school teachers can timely intervene and do training programs for the students as well as improve students’ English language ability through the reading strategies instruction. Inversely, students can identify the necessary objectives of language skills, the way to employ reading strategies and other LLS in order to respond to other language skills/ areas and prepare for their English language competency in future. To sum up, the English LLS use, especially reading strategies as well as the LLS instruction to secondary school students are really essential in the current context of education. This study cultivates students’ awareness on LLS, motivates their self-study ability, or to promote their autonomous learning afterwards that can be expressed in the Vietnamese proverb as the following:

“Có chí thì nên.”

(translated into English as: “Where there is a will, there is a way.”)

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