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Volume 4
August 2009
Article 7.

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Title
Strategies for learning English in a cross-cultural learning environment: East Asian students in one UK University

Author
Wen Li Wu, Michael Hammond and Ann Barnes


Biodata

Wenli Wu has recently completed her PhD on international East Asian postgraduate students' experience of cross-cultural adjustment. She is currently at Hong Kong Institute of Education where she is teaching exchange students and working, with Peter Bodycott, on an Internationalisation-Outcomes Project.

Michael Hammond is Associate Professor at the Institute of Education at the University of Warwick where he has a special interest in technology, community of practice and the culture of teaching and learning. He has written widely on these subjects.

Ann Barnes was, until her untimely death, Associate Professor of Modern Foreign Language Learning and Teaching at the Institute of Education, University of Warwick. She wrote many articles on teaching and learning languages and on the challenges for teacher professional development.

Abstract

This paper discusses the experiences of East Asian students (n = 40) taking a full time Master’s course at a University in the UK from 2004 - 2005. A mixed methods case study approach was taken with data gathered through three rounds of questionnaire surveys of the whole group and a further three rounds of interviews carried out with a broadly representative sample (n = 8) over the course of a year. The experiences of these students were examined under three interconnected themes: language, socio-cultural environment and academic culture. This paper reports on how participants described the strategies they used for developing their language skills, in both everyday use and academic contexts. These strategies involved independent private study, acting on feedback from more knowledgeable others and participation in groups or social activity. The paper suggests that a mix of strategies can be effective for language learning. 

Keywords: Language learning strategies; East Asian international students; culture and learning; informal learning.