Grammar Learning Strategies across Individual Differences and Their Relationship with Grammar Mastery

Abstract

As studies investigating the role of individual differences in influencing the use of grammar learning strategies were hardly found, the present study was carried out. The purposes of the study were three-fold: (1) to identify a postteriori classification of grammar learning strategies, (2) to investigate how individual differences correlate with grammar learning strategy use, and (3) to figure out the interrelationship among the identified grammar learning strategy categories as well as their correlation with grammar mastery. As such, a correlation research design was employed with 280 English education department students from five universities in East Java, Indonesia as the subjects of the study. They were asked to complete a set of questionnaires to measure their grammar learning strategies, language aptitude, personality traits, and attitude and motivation in learning English. In addition, a test of grammar was employed to measure their grammar mastery. A factor analysis applied to discern the types of grammar learning strategies resulted in the presence of six factors including directive cognitive strategies, social cognitive strategies, social affective strategies, directive metacognitive strategies, reflective metacognitive strategies, and social metacognitive strategies. Though it was found that the use of these six categories of grammar learning strategies was correlated to one another and that their use was correlated significantly with grammar mastery, only attitudinal and motivational attributes were found to associate with grammar learning strategy use, while language aptitude and personality were not. Implications of these findings were then discussed.