Investigating language learning strategies through the strategy inventory

Adolescent learners of Italian as a Second Language (L2) often face multiple challenges, requiring the use of diverse Language Learning Strategies (LLSs) to support acquisition. This article presents a theoretical framework for LLSs (Rubin 1987) in Second Language Acquisition (SLA), drawing on established categorizations and recent insights from the Companion Volume (Council of Europe 2020). The research aims to investigate the LLSs that students perceive themselves as using when learning L2 Italian. Subsequently, an inventory adapted from the SILL, the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (Oxford 1990), was administered to 157 immigrant students aged between 11 and 19 from nine secondary schools in Northeast Italy. The discussion will outline the development of this tool and evaluate its efficacy in reflecting on LLSs. The data analysis revealed that the students with a foreign background are medium strategy users (M = 3.09), predominantly employing indirect L2 learning strategies, and demonstrate a correlation between low usage of LLSs and their proficiency in Italian. Moreover, strategies are influenced by cross-cultural differences among adolescents. Thus, to enhance the effectiveness of language acquisition within this demographic, it is advisable to promote the adoption of cognitive, social, and compensatory learning strategies. This can be achieved by prioritizing goal-oriented and collaborative tasks, as well as bottom-up and inside-out language learning activities.