Comparative study of language learning strategies used by first-year students at Prince of Songkla University, Pattani Campus, Thailand and UniMAP, Malaysia

The purposes of this study were (1) to explore language learning strategies used by firstyear Prince of Songkla University (PSU) and UniMAP students; and (2) to compare their use in terms of gender and nationality. The instrument used to collect data was the Oxford’s Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) Version 7.0, which consists of six categories of language learning strategies: memory, cognitive, compensation, metacognitive, affective and social strategies. The 68 subjects were 10 first-year English majors and 58 first-year students enrolled in Foundation English courses required at each university. The data was analyzed for mean and standard deviation. Results showed that both Thai and Malaysian students used English learning strategies at a high level in all the categories. Metacognitive strategies were most frequently used among the students while memory strategies were employed the least. It was also found that genders and nationalities did not affect learning strategy use.