Sunday 11:15 - 12:05 
Magnolia B
Do learning strategies vary with proficiency? Some evidence from university students in China

Francis Mangubhai
University of Southern Queensland, Australia

In recent years there has been a great deal of interest in describing a variety of learning strategies that learners use in learning a second language more efficiently (e.g. O�Malley & Chamot, 1990; Oxford (1990). Oxford has developed a Strategy Inventory of Language Learning (SILL) designed to determine types of strategies learners use and their frequency. 

In this study the Oxford SILL was administered to three classes at a Shanghai University English non-majors, English majors, and postgraduate students. Overall, only the postgraduate students� use of strategies is in the high range. An analysis of individual items show that a number of strategies were highly used and that the actual numbers used varied across the three groups. Certain strategies were used very infrequently by all students suggesting that there are patterns of strategy use or non-use that may be related to the background of the learners.