Chinese learners’ strategy use in historical perspective: A cross-generational interview-based study

Understanding language learners’ strategy use from their own perspectives rather than according to researchers’ preconceptions is essential for appropriate research and pedagogy. However, the literature on Chinese learners has tended to rely on anecdotal descriptions or Western constructs to portray Chinese learners’ strategy use, and this results in an apparently self-contradictory picture. In this paper we argue that a better understanding of Chinese learners’ strategy use can be gained by accessing their own voices, and by analysing findings in relation to context, in this case historical context. We report on an interview-based study which investigated the strategy use of 13 English language learners from three ‘generations’ of learning experience between 1979 and the present day. Data analysis confirms that memorization is a popular learning strategy for these learners. However, its application is complex and diverse, while change as well as continuity emerges from an overall comparison of different generations’ learning strategy use. We argue on this basis that language policy and related pedagogy may be important influences.