A closer look at Moroccan EFL learners’ use of language learning strategies from a qualitative perspective

Abstract

This paper explores from a qualitative perspective the use of language learning strategies by Moroccan university EFL science students. Actually, it is part of a larger mixed method design research; however, the focus in this paper is just on the qualitative part so that a deep analysis of the informants’ introspections on their language learning process is provided. The aim of this study is to delve deeply in students’ use of language learning strategies and their motivation for learning English and how it relates to their strategy use. To collect data, 60 university students randomly drawn from six science-oriented majors participated in a semi-structured interview which focused on their motivation and their use of language learning strategies to learn English. Then, the interviews were first categorized in themes to have a clear picture of the informants’ use of the different language learning strategies and the different types of their motivation to learn English, and second these themes were analyzed using the content analysis method. The results demonstrate that students use a variety of language learning strategies in different degrees and they exhibit different types of motivation to learn English. This study yields a number of implications both for pedagogical purposes and for further research.