Antecedentes de violencia basada en género en la infancia

The p rese nt study co mpares the i nflue nce of a number of variables on the metaco g n itive , cog nitive, social and affective st rategy use of classroom and distance language learners. Potenti al i nflue nces o n strategy use we re seen to be derived fro m the l earn ing context (such as mode of study and TL) and from particu lar characteristics of learners (such as age , gender and lang uage learni ng experience).

The variables, i ncluded i n the cu rre nt study, are set out below:

Strategy Use Variables

Metacog nitive Strategy Use Cog nitive Strategy Use Social Strategy Use Affective Strategy Use

Learning C ontext Variables Mode of Study

Targ et Lang uag e Leve l of Study

Languag e Use Opportu niti es

Learn e r Characteristic Vari ables Age

G e nd e r

Languag e Learn i ng Experie nce P ri o r Experience in Learning the TL Motivatio n

P roficie ncy

Operatio nal definitio n s fo r the variables in the study and the scales used to measu re th ese variables are now discussed.

Strategy Use Variables

Strategy use was operatio nalised t h roug h the model of metacog nitive, cogn itive and socio-affective strategy use de rived from B rown and Pali ncsar ( 1 982) and d eve loped by, among othe rs , O'Mal ley et al . (1 985a) , O'Malley et al. (1 985b) , O' Malley et al. ( 1 989 ) , Chamot and KUppe r ( 1 989 ) . Th e re were two mai n reasons why this model was chosen fo r the cu rre nt study.

Firstly , the sche m e h as a strong foundati o n in g e neral learning theories, particularly in terms of the role of metacog niti o n in learning. S eco ndly, the g e neri c categories fit well to questions about diffe re ntial strategy u s e b y classroom and distance learners. Fo r example , it is possible t h at the abse nce of classroo m inst ructio n to guide di stance learn e rs i n plan n i ng , monito ring and evaluating learni ng i nflue nces the patterns of metacognitive strategy use by distance language learners. In addition , o n e cou ld also expect that si nce distance learne rs g e nerally study on the i r own , their oppo rtu nities to use soci al strategies are very much less than those available to classroom learn e rs.

Particu lar types of strategy use within this g e n e ri c classification were defi n ed and identifi ed followi ng the strategy descri ptio ns that appear in the lite rature (Chamot 1 987; Chamot et al. 1 988a, 1 988b ; Ellis and Sinclai r 1 989 ; O'Mal ley and Chamot 1 990; Oxfo rd 1 990). H oweve r there were a n u m b e r of difficulties i n re lati on to the classification of strategies which needed to be resolved , and t hese are detai led be low.

One source of confusio n e ncou ntered in the early stages of the p resent study was the categorisation of advance p reparation as a m etacognitive strategy (O'Malley et al. 1 985a) and of rehearsal as a cog nitive strategy (Chamot et al. 1 987). The confusi o n arose because the operati o nal d efi n iti o n s for these two strategies appear to be almost identical , with both referri ng to the re hearsi n g of lingui stic compone nts fo r an upco ming task. lt appears that strategy reclassification took place afte r 1 985 and that the gen e ral co nse nsus was that re hearsi n g language for an u pco m i n g task i s a cog nitive strategy . I n this study

re hearsal i s co nsidered to be a cog n itive strategy i n that it i nvo lves e ngaging with the TL to p repare for a particu lar task.

One furt h e r i nstance of classification difficu lti es arose in re lation to revision. No refe re nce is made in any of the O'Mal ley studi es to revision (or revi ewi ng) as a strateg y u sed by lang uage learners. Revisio n , o r the syste m atic reviewi ng of TL material i n order to aid long-term retention , is classified by Ellis and Si nclair ( 1 989 : 1 52) as a metacog nitive strategy and by Oxfo rd ( 1 990 : 1 7) as a memory strategy b e long i ng to the g roup of di rect strategies. I n the p resent study the use of revision as a strategy for lang uag e learn i ng was investigated si nce syste matic reviewi n g of lang u ag e ite ms is critical fo r the rete ntion of the TL. Revision was classified as a metacognitive activity i nvolvi ng plan ning fo r learning since , like de layed p roduction it e ntai ls a co nscious deci sion to focus o n the TL i n orde r to aid acq ui sition. Of co u rse the actual process of revi sion takes place through the use of a number of cog nitive activities i nvolving inte racti ng with languag e materi als, but the decision t o control learning through plan n ed reviewi ng is a metacog n itive strategy. Revision can be disti nguished fro m re hearsal , i nvo lvi ng going over the lang uage n eeded fo r an u pcoming task, and repetitio n , or repeating a chunk of language in the co u rse of perfo rming a lang uage task. Both re hearsal and repetitio n are cog nitive strateg i es which are used in the cou rse of perfo rmi ng particu lar tasks.

Once classification problems had been reso lved , Metacog nitive Strategy Use (MSU) was operatio nalised according to the ten ite ms defi ned i n Table 3.2.

Table 3 . 2

Metacognitive Strategy Descriptions

M etacognitive Strategy Description

Advance Organisation Selective Attentio n D i rected Attention Delayed Production Self-manageme nt Problem Identification Self-monitoring Self-evaluation P rioritising Revision

Previewing the organizing concept or principle of an anticipated learning task. O'Malley and C hamot ( 1 99 0 : 1 37)

Deciding in advance to attend to specific aspects of input, often by scanning for key words, concepts and/or linguistic markers. O'Malley and Chamot ( 1 990 : 1 1 9)

Deciding in advance to attend in general to a learning task and to ignore i rrelevant distracters. O'Malley and Chamot ( 1 990:1 37)

Consciously deciding to postpone speaking to learn initially through listening comprehension. Chamot ( 1 987 : 77).

Understanding the conditions that help one successfully accomplish language tasks and arranging for the presence of those conditions. O'Malley and Chamot (1 990:1 1 9)

Explicitly identifying the central point needing resolution in a task or identifying an aspect of the task that hinders its successful completion. O'Malley and Chamot ( 1 99 0 : 1 37)

Checking one's comprehension du ring listening or reading or checking the accu racy and/or appropriateness of one's oral or written production while it is taking place . O'M alley and Chamot (1 990: 1 1 9)

Checking the outcome of o ne's own language learning against an internal measure of completeness and accuracy. O'Malley and C hamot ( 1 990: 1 37)

Prioritising learning according to one's personal needs and/or wants. Ellis and Sinclair ( 1 989:1 52)

Systematically reviewing i n order to aid long-term retention. Ellis and Sinclair (1 989 : 1 52)

Cog nitive strategy use (CSU) was ope rationalised acco rdi n g to t h e seve nteen items defi ned i n Table 3.3.

Table 3 . 3

Cognitive Strategy D escriptions

Cognitive Strategy Description

Repetition Repeating a chunk of language (a word or phrase) in the course of performing a language task. O'Malley and Chamot (1 990 :1 38) Resou rcing Using target language reference materials such as dictionaries,

encyclopedias, or textbooks. O'Malley and C hamot ( 1 99 0 :232)

Grouping Ordering, classifying or labelling material used in a language task based on commo n attributes. O'Malley and C hamot (1 99 0 : 1 38)

Note taking Writing down key words a nd concepts in abbreviated verbal,

graphic, or n u merical form to assist perfo rmance of a language task. O'Malley and Chamot ( 1 99 0 : 1 38)

Deduction Consciously applying learned or self-developed rules to produce

or understand the second language. O'Malley and Chamot ( 1 990:1 38)

Substitution Selecting alternative approaches, revised plans, or different words or phrases to accomplish a language task. O'Malley and Chamot ( 1 99 0 : 1 38)

I magery E laboration Using me ntal o r actual pictures to represent informatio n. O'M alley and C hamot ( 1 990: 1 38)

Visualisation Using visual stimuli to clarify meaning . Ellis and Sinclair ( 1 989:1 54)

World Elaboration Relating new information to prior knowledge gained fro m experience in t h e wo rld. O'Malley and C hamot ( 1 990 : 1 38)

Between Parts Elaboration Relating parts of the task to each other. O'M alley and Chamot ( 1 990:1 38)

Contextualisation Placing a word or phrase in a meaningful language sequence.

Chamot ( 1 987:77)

Summarisation Making a mental or written summary of language and information presented in a task. O'Malley and Chamot ( 1 99 0 : 1 38)

Translation- To English Using L 1 as a base for understanding L2. Ellis and Sinclair ( 1 989 : 1 54)

Translation- From English Using L 1 as a base for producing L2. Ellis and Sinclair ( 1 989:1 54)

l nferencing

Transfer

Rehearsal

Using available information to guess the meanings or u sage of unfamiliar language items associated with a language task. O'Malley and Chamot ( 1 990:1 38)

Using previously acquired linguistic knowledge to facilitate a language task. O'Malley and C hamot ( 1 99 0 : 1 38)

Rehearsing the language needed, with attention to meaning , for an oral or written task. O'Malley and Chamot ( 1 990:1 26)

Social strategy u se (SS U ) was measu red by items based o n the defi nitions i n Table 3 . 4 .

Social Strategy

Questioning

Co-operatio n

Table 3 .4

Social Strategy Descriptions

Definition

Questioning for clarification , or eliciting from a teacher or peer additional explanation , rephrasing, or examples. O'M alley and Chamot ( 1 990 :45)

Working together with peers to solve a proble m , pool information, check a learning task, model a language activity, or get feedback on oral or writte n performance . O'Malley and Chamot ( 1 990 : 1 39)

Affective strategy use (AS U) was m easu red by t h re e ite ms d rawn fro m the categories defi ned i n Table 3 . 5.

Affective Strategy

Self-talk

Self-reinforcement

Self-encouragement

Table 3 .5

Affective Strategy Descriptions

Definition

Reducing anxiety by u sing mental techniques that make one feel competent to do the learning task. O'M alley and Chamot ( 1 99 0 : 1 39)

P roviding personal motivation by arranging rewards for oneself when a language learni ng activity has been successfully completed. O'Malley and Chamot ( 1 99 0 : 1 39) Saying or writing positive statements to o neself in o rder to feel more confident in learning the new language. Oxford (1 990:1 43)

The ope ratio nal defi niti ons fo r strategy use p rovided above were used to d evelop a questio n n ai re to p rovide o rdered categorical data on the frequency of strategy use by u nderg raduate foreign language learners. Detai ls co ncerning the developme nt of the strategy use questio n nai re are prese nted i n sectio n 3.5.2.

The re mai nde r of sectio n 3 . 3 . 1 co nce rns t h e ways of defi ning and m easu ri ng the learning context and learn e r characte ristic variables in the study.

Context of Learning Variables

The variables re lating to the co ntext of learning were m easu red as fo llows. Firstly ,

mode o f study was measured acco rdi ng to whether subjects we re e n ro l led as classroom o r distance learners. The target language was defi n e d as t h e lang uag e the learn e r was studyi ng , that is eit h e r F re nch , G e rman, J apanese o r Chinese. (The TL variable can not also exclude the effects of associated vari ables such as lang uag e teaching m ethodology and course objectives. Thi s point will be pursued late r i n the study. ) There were three categories for level of study: 1 00-leve l , 200-

there were two cou rses at the 1 00-level : o n e fo r ze ro begi n ners o r learners with so m e elementary knowledge of the TL (1 OOE-Ievel ) , the other for learn e rs who have h ad more e xtensi ve experi ence of learning t h e TL usually at school or i n the host country. Language use opportunities were m easu red in t e rm s of whether subjects had oppo rtunities to use the languag e above and beyo nd those provided by the cou rse.

The variables relati ng to the co ntext of learn i n g were all categorical variables.

Learner Characteristic Variables

Six variables relating to learner characte ristics we re used i n the study. There were six categ o ri es of respo nse as a measu re fo r age (< 21 , 2 1 -30 , 3 1 -40, 41 -50 , 5 1 -60 , >60), and subjects we re asked to mark the age g roup to which they belonged. Su bjects indicated their gender by marki n g eith e r t h e category of male or fe male . The i ndex fo r language learning experience was whether su bjects had learnt lang uages other than their mother tongu e(s) and the languag e they we re cu rre ntly studyi ng. Prior experience in learning the TL was m easu red in terms of whether subjects had learnt the TL before e n rolling at u n ive rsity. Su bjects we re also asked to indicate where they h ad h ad this p rior experi e n ce (schoo l , host cou ntry , other).

lt was also n ecessary to develop some m eans of m easu ri n g the motivation of subjects since it was hypothesised that this could be an i m portant variable influencing strategy use. A study was made of a n u mber of m e asures used to assess languag e learni ng motivation (Gard ner and Lamb e rt 1 972 ; Gardner, Lalo nde and Moorcroft 1 985 ; Svanes 1 98 7 ; Dornyei 1 990; Oxford 1 990) and the operationalisations of m otivation used in this study were adapted fro m earlier research. Motivation was defi n ed accord i n g to the deg re e o f i m po rtance the learner attaches to the fo l lowi ng reaso ns fo r learni n g the TL: an interest in the lang uag e , an i nte rest in the cu lture , h avi ng friends who speak the language, a desi re to complete a degree, a desire to m eet m o re speake rs of the languag e , e mployment and trave l. Two further d i mensions of motivatio n were the

i mportance the i ndividual attaches to beco ming proficie nt i n the TL and to co nti n ui ng the study o f the TL. N i ne questions we re generated to tap these diffe rent facets of motivation and su bjects were requi red to respond to them o n a Li kert scale o f i mpo rtance (1 -5) .

The measu re for proficiency was the g rade for the course received by the l earner com prising both internal assessm e nt (based on course wo rk) and e xternal assessment (based on final exam i n ations) of language skills. For the pu rposes of this study the g rades 'A' , 'B', and 'C' were used for learn e rs who passed the p rog ramme in descendi ng deg rees of p roficie ncy and 'D' was u sed for learners who did not pass.

For the variables re lating to learner characte ristics all the variables were categorical. Fo r the motivation variable the responses p rovided ordered categorical d ata about motivatio nal i ntensity.

3.3.2 Research Questions

P reli m i nary i n vestigation of strategy use i n this study co ncerns the freque ncy with which strateg ies are deployed by u nd e rg raduate foreign language learners. Answe rs to this qu estion p rovide base line data through which insights may be gai ned i nto the strategy use of the sample as a who le.

I n section 3 . 3. 1 it was hypot hesised that di stance learn e rs wou ld make g reater use of metacog nitive strategies and l ess use of soci al strateg i e s than classroom learners. The pri nci pal research question for this study re lates t o the infl ue nce of mode of study on metacog nitive , cog nitive , soci al and affective strategy use. I n additio n , the role that the T L may play i n the strategy choice o f languag e learners i s exami ned. Research i nto these two aspects of the problem i s carri ed out using conve rg e nt data obtai n e d t h ro u g h question naire and ve rbal repo rt procedures.

The rol e of oth e r variables in strategy choice is also exami n ed . These variables include those which h ave a l ready bee n i nvestigated in the research literatu re

(namely, level of study, g e nder, profici ency and motivation) as wel l as a further set of variables, the effect of which on strategy use has not yet been explored (e.g . , prior TL e xperie nce and lang u ag e u se opportu nities) . The re lati onship between these vari ables and learners' strategy choice i s i nvestigated and is also I

u sed to assess the relative i m pact of m ode of study and the TL o n strategy

choice.

S pecifically , the study addresses the fo llowi ng research qu esti o n s :

1 . What use do u nderg raduate foreign language learn e rs m ake of the m etacog n itive , cog n itive , social and affective catego ries of strategy use?

2 . What is the i nflue nce o f mode of study o n metacog nitive, cog nitive , social