A Study on School Type and Learning Strategies among Iranian EFL learners

Abstract

This study intended to investigate the strategies used by EFL learners with the purpose of finding the degree and the domain of differences of the strategies used by different school types and disclosing the extent to which strategy use and achievement are interrelated. To this end, a related questionnaire as well as an S-test was distributed among 445 first grader - senior high school learners from 17 high schools in Mashhad. The findings of the study indicated that there is a significant difference in strategies used by the learners of different school types. It was furthermore revealed that there is a significant difference between State-Private and State-SAMPAD school regarding using Memory and Social Strategies. State-Private, State-SAMPAD and SAMPAD-Private schools also differ with each other in using of Compensation Strategy. Moreover, the study displayed that SAMPAD school learners are more successful in the achievement test than State and Private schools. Finally, Memory, Cognitive, Metacognitive, Affective, and Social strategies were found to be predictor of achievement in State school. However, Predictors of achievement in Private schools were Compensation, Metacognitive and Affective, while they were Compensation and Social for SAMPAD schools. Consequently, teachers, according to the research findings, are recommended to apply the best learning strategies for better achievement.

Keywords: Learning strategies, School types, SAMPAD