Learning Styles and Language Learning Strategies

How can the SILL (Strategy Inventory for Language Learning) Survey be useful?
F or those students who make use of learning strategies without being aware of it, taking the SILL survey makes these strategies explicit to them and can therefore make these strategies more effective to their learning process. For teachers, having their students take the SILL survey at the start of a language course may help the teacher to understand what strategies are most effective for their students, and adjust their teaching to fit. As well, the results of such a survey can be useful for the teacher to see which strategies are being under-utilized by the students; with this information, the teacher can take the opportunity to teach these strategies to the students.
Who is most likely to use learning strategies most often?
Based on the extensive research on learning strategies (Challot - O'Malley 1994 Rubin) successful second language learners use some common learning strategies effectively. The high school second language learner has much in common with the "good" language learners described by Rubin (1975), i.e. they 
1. are willing guessers
2. are accurate guessers
3. have a strong drive to communicate
4. look for patterns in the language
5. try to classify language
6. analyze language
7. take advantage of all practice opportunities
8. monitor their own speech
9. pay attention to meaning
What types of learning strategies do students use?
According to Naiman, Frohlich, and Todesco (1975) successful second language learners use the following six strategies:
1. select language situations that allow one's (learning) preferences to be used
2. actively involve themselves in language learning
3. see language as both a rule system and a communication tool
4. extend and revise one's understanding of the language
5. learn to think in the language
6. address the affective demands of language learning
Oxford (1989) identifies six broad categories of strategies:
1. metacognitive (e.g. self-monitoring, paying attention)
2. affective (e.g. self-encouragement, anxiety reduction)
3. social (e.g. ask questions, become culturally aware)
4. memory (e.g. grouping, imagery, associating)
5. cognitive (e.g. reasoning, analyzing, summarizing)
6. compensation (e.g. guessing meanings, using synonyms)
The teacher is expected to bring these strategies to the attention of learners regardless of the subject matter. This includes encouraging students who already exhibit use of these strategies so that others might 'notice' and imitate them.

W atch video A of this language teacher and decide which of Oxford's learning strategies are being taught to the students. How is the strategy taught? How do the students respond to the strategy? Then watch video B to see this teacher's reflection ON action.