CRPP - Research Reports

This report summarises the main research questions, designs, and results of the three phases of the English Language Learning Strategies in Singapore Primary School project. The overarching aim of the first phase was to identify language learning strategies used by Singaporean primary school pupils to acquire competence in English. This aim was achieved through a mixed-method research design that involved the collection and analysis of think-aloud protocols elicited with a number of language tasks from purposively sampled pupils in four schools. The second phase of the project aimed to map out patterns of strategy use in a large representative sample of Primary 4-6 pupils and to establish whether use of language learning strategies would relate to success in English language learning. These aims were achieved through a survey of more than 3,000 pupils in five schools with a specially developed and validated battery of written questionnaires of listening, reading, and writing strategies. The third phase of the project was designed to examine if strategies-based instruction would help pupils improve their competence in English and their use of select strategies. This aim was attained through a writing and a reading intervention programme implemented in a quasi-experimental design in three schools.