THE COMPARISON OF THE USE OF LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES OF BILINGUAL AND MULTILINGUAL STUDENTS

This study aims to investigate the impact of multilingualism on the language learning strategies and the effect of instructor's native language on the strategy use of preparatory students at Abant İzzet Baysal University, Bolu, Turkey. 70 students with similar English proficiency levels took part and the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning developed by Oxford (1990) was used. Quantitative data obtained were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics. The results indicated that the number of language acquired has a significant effect on the use of language learning strategies, particularly memory and cognitive strategies. Furthermore, the strategies of bilingual and multilingual learners taught by instructors who are competent in the learners' native language and who are not are compared. This comparison showed that bilingual learners taught by instructors who are not competent in the learners' native language use affective strategies significantly more often.