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The relationship between language learning strategies, affective factors and language proficiency

  • Marga Stander ORCID logo EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: December 6, 2022

Abstract

Students with a mother tongue other than English often struggle with the demands of an academic programme at tertiary institutions where the medium of instruction is English. If their English language proficiency is inadequate, it may hamper their academic progress. Students feel that their command of English is unsatisfactory, and this causes tension and anxiety. This influences their motivation, self-confidence, self-image, and self-efficacy and serves as an affective filter which prevents comprehensible input necessary for successful learning. Therefore, a study amongst first-year university students was carried out to establish the relationship between language learning strategies, affective factors, and language proficiency. The aim was to find a connection between these three elements and to see whether they have an impact on each other. A combination of Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypothesis and the Comprehensible Input Hypothesis was used as the theoretical framework for this study. The data were collected using a quantitative and qualitative method, a language proficiency test and a questionnaire based on language learning strategies and affective factors. The results show a positive correlation between compensation and affective strategies and language proficiency, which are directly linked to affective factors. It is essential for teachers to be aware of these factors, because they have a huge bearing on second language learning, academic development, and success. The conclusion is that affective factors can either enhance or hinder language proficiency, and that the use of language learning strategies have an influence on the outcome. This study contributes to the field of second language acquisition by creating an awareness of these factors in language education.


Corresponding author: Marga Stander, Department of Languages and Communication, School of Humanities, Sol Plaatje University, Kimberley, South Africa; and Department of Sign Language, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa, E-mail:

Acknowledgments

The author thanks the Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University of the Free State, South Africa, for processing the statistics for this article, using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS Statistics 23©) software programme. The author also wants to thank all the students who participated in the study, as well as the anonymous proof-readers and experts who helped with the revising and editing of the article.

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Received: 2021-12-06
Accepted: 2022-07-29
Published Online: 2022-12-06
Published in Print: 2022-10-26

© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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