Approaches to Learning Languages
Written materials on strategies of good language learners are scarcely available in the libraries or bookstores in Indonesia, especially, in the field of English language teaching and learning. The teachers and students of English need the literature to improve their teaching and learning. Meanwhile, observations and experiences in teaching of English indicate that the students use different strategies to understand and learn English. Some students understand the language best in concrete situations, others in abstract and some in both.
Several students learn it step by step, others in no ordered system, and some both. Some students prefer a deductive approach, others an inductive one, some others both. Some are productive in small groups, others learn the language best in large groups and some others alone. However, the students can be grouped into unsuccessful (poor) language learners and successful (good) language learners. The good language learners must have their own strategies. What strategies do they use in learning English? This paper will try to answer the question.
Theoreticians, such as, Rubin, Stern, Rubin and Thompson, Hosenfeld, and Hyland describe the good language learner strategies, giving some help in answering it. The answers are useful not only to the students of English but also to the teachers or lecturers of English as well. In addition, the purpose of this paper is to encourage the English teachers or lecturers to view their teaching not only from their teaching methods but also from their students learning strategies and to help the students realize their strategies of the good language learner in their studies.
The results of the comparison may help them choose and apply the good language learner strategies that work for them. They can decide to replace their ineffective learning strategies with the effective ones.
