Language Learning Strategies Employed by Students of Foreign Languages at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

The purpose of the present study was to examine the language learning strategies of undergraduate foreign language students at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. Also, this study examines variables such as age, grade average, field of study and monolingual / familiar with two or more languages.

This study’s participants included second-year undergraduate students of foreign languages. Group interview and a questionnaire (Oxford, 1990) were the research instruments of the study. Correlation and one-way ANOVA were used for statistical analysis.

The results revealed that most of the learners used metacognitive strategies. The results showed that there was a significant positive relationship between all learning strategies (except for compensatory strategies) and GPA. There was a significant difference among various fields of studies in usage of five strategies of cognitive, compensatory, metacognitive, emotional and social. There was no significant difference between monolingual / familiar with two or more languages students regarding memory, compensatory, meta-cognitive and emotional strategies, but in cognitive and social strategies, there was a significant difference among monolingual / familiar with two or more languages students.

By examining learning strategies in different fields, this study emphasized on the impact of education and the application of strategies on language development of students. Learners' knowledge of learning strategies was very significant in using those learning strategies. Conducting such research studies on learning strategies can provide an opportunity for language learners and even teachers to become familiar with different learning strategies.