Toward a Social Psychological Model of Strategy Use

In the past few years, the literature has shown substantial growth in the study of language learning strategies and their relation to language learning and communication. With such rapid advances, it is necessary to closely examine the approach taken to this increasingly complex topic. Some of that complexity seems to arise from treating strategies with too broad a scope. Several other learner and situational variables interact with strategies to influence second language proficiency. Therefore, an alternate view of strategies is offered that limits their application to those behaviors that are intentional and freely chosen. Finally, a model is presented which postulates that for strategies to be used, students must be aware of one or more appropriate strategies, have reason to use them, have no impediments to their use, and should experience rewards for using them. The implications of this model for strategy training are discussed.