Factors Affecting Language Learning Strategies used by a Greek Female Learner of English

Not much research has examined variables influencing learning strategies used by study-abroad ESL learners. This paper reports on an investigation of English learning strategies used by a Greek female university student based in the UK. It aims to explore what strategies she used and how her choice of strategies was affected by other individual difference variables. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews, and a combination of both inductive and deductive approach was employed in the qualitative analysis to generate interpretations. The findings showed a clear relationship between the learner’s strategy use and three factors: motivation, gender and personality. Her strategy use varied according to the evolution of her learning motivation over time, and her preference of using social strategies seemed to be closely tied to integrative motivation. Gender was a crucial factor as the female learner used more social strategies as compared to a male student and she only used those strategies suiting her gender role. The learner was also found to choose strategies corresponding with her extroverted personality. Pedagogical implications of these findings are drawn and presented to enhance the effectiveness of her English language learning.