Learning strategies and causal attributions in second language learning

17 Although in itself “motivation to learn” is a complex multifaceted construct, according to Dornyei (2001), the picture becomes even more complex when the motivation to learn a foreign/second language (L2) is concerned since L2 is a “learnable” school subject as well as socially and culturally bound (it requires the integration of elements of the L2 culture into student’s life space). In a similar manner Gardner (1979) points out that in the second language acquisition the student is faced with the task of not simply learning new information which is part of his own culture but rather with the task of acquiring symbolic elements of a different ethno linguistic community. Thus, many studies have recently looked into a number of personal, social and contextual variables which may be motivational determinants of second language acquisition. In the past few decades researchers have identified many factors which account for some of the differences in how students learn a second language. The most debatable issue in this context is “How do successful language learners learn?”. Investigations into the features of successful language learners attempt to determine what their characteristics are and what procedures they follow. As a result, an active role of the learner in the language learning process has been acknowledged. Rohrkemper and Corno (1988) suggest that the highest cognitive engagement students use to learn is self-regulated learning. Similarly, Baumert, Schnabel, and Lehrke (1998) claim that self-regulated learning is the ability to develop knowledge, skills and attitudes which enhance and facilitate future learning and which can be transferred to other learning situations. Self regulated learning, therefore, entails an integrated use of students’ “skill” and “will”. (Pintrich & De Groot, 1990). Self-regulation is an interaction of personal, behavioural and environmental triadic processes which are proactively, as well as reactively, adapted for the attainment of personal goals (Zimmerman, 2000). This perspective distinguishes three cyclical phases of self-regulation of learning: a forethought phase, a performance or volitional control phase and a self-reflection phase. The performance (volitional) control phase involves processes that occur during learning and affect attention and action. One of the key factors in this phase of self regulated learning is the students’ capability to select, combine and manage learning strategies. Similarly, Garcia (1995) noted that self-regulated learning behaviour was often interpreted in the light of the students’ use of learning strategies for the self-regulation of cognition and behaviour. Oxford (1990) defines learning strategies as “operations used by the learner to aid the acquisition, storage or Izabela Sorić, Department of Psychology, University of Zadar, Krešimirova obala 2, 23000 Zadar, Croatia. E-mail: [email protected] (the address for correspondence);