Language Learning Strategy Use and Multilingualism: Examining the Impact of Linguistic Background

Abstract

While multilingualism is fast becoming a life reality coupled with and fast-forwarded by human mobility and lingual globalization, research on language learning strategy (LLS) use through this lens is disproportionately scant. The present study aimed to partially address this gap by providing insights into how linguistic background influences strategy preferences and usage patterns among EFL majors. Specifically, it explored whether monolingual and multilingual learners differed in their strategic behavior. Deploying Oxford’s (1990) Strategy Inventory for Language Learning, the study compared strategy use between two student groups: monolingual students with Hungarian as their first language and speakers of Hungarian and Ukrainian as their first and second languages, respectively, with the latter group enrolled in an institution with both languages serving as instructional mediums. Inferential statistical analysis revealed significant differences of small effect size, with multilingual students reporting higher usage of memory and social strategies, while their monolingual peers showed a stronger preference for cognitive strategies. Even so, overall strategy use frequency was comparable between the two groups, with multilingual students only insignificantly surpassing their monolingual peers. Lastly, both groups strongly endorsed cognitive and metacognitive strategies, while affective strategies were the least frequently employed, reflecting a common trend in their strategy profiles. Hence, these findings suggest that while linguistic background influences EFL majors’ LLS use, its overall impact is modest, and strategic behavior is more stable than expected.