Resumen

GREGERSEN, Tammy; VERA MARTINEZ, Ricardo; PINO ROJAS, Pamela  y  ESPINOZA ALVARADO, Leyla. Can Foreign Language Learning Strategies Turn Into Crutches?: A Pilot Study on the Use of Strategies by Successful and Unsuccessful Language Learners. Rev. signos [online]. 2001, vol.34, n.49-50, pp. 101-111. ISSN 0718-0934.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718-09342001004900007.

Successful foreign language learners are characterized by knowing how to use language learning strategies effectively, including the ability to change them as their language proficiency increases. This pilot study asks the question as to whether language learning strategies that were used effectively at the beginning levels of language acquisition can convert into crutches at higher levels. To this end, six beginning students and six advanced students (three successful and three unsuccessful at each level) took the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning to measure their foreign language learning strategy use. By comparing the levels of proficiency and the variable of whether the participant was successful or unsuccessful, preliminary evidence was gathered that suggests that language learning strategies that were once effective at lower levels of proficiency can become stumbling blocks at higher levels.