Foreign Language Learning Strategy use by Future Latvian Sports and Health Care Specialists

Aim. The article aims to test the appropriacy of the use of the SILL (Strategy Inventory for Language Learning) questionnaire in learning and teaching foreign language by 52 Latvian HEI (higher education institution) sport and health care students. We were curious to find out individual strategies most and least used by students, as well as gender differences in strategy use, and their association with student grades in the subjects of Sport English and in the course of Professional communication in health care in English. Methods. We used quantitative method - SILL questionnaire with 49 items - 8 memory, 15 cognitive, 8 metacognitive, 6 compensation, 6 affective and 6 social ones, 3 point Likert Scale: never (1), sometimes (2), often (3). Further was employed statistical method - correlational analysis to find associations between the means of strategy groups, student genders and student final grades in the mentioned ESP courses in a Latvian HEI, and t-test to find statistically significant differences in the reported use of strategies. Results. All individual strategies correlate with the mean of the strategy group, therefore the SILL strategy inventory is a reliable tool to develop memory, cognitive, compensation, metacognitive, affective and social strategies. The 1st memory strategy I think about the relationships between what I already know and new things I learn and the 1st social strategy I ask English speakers to correct me when I talk, mean=0.29 statistically significantly correlate with grade in the mentioned ESP courses, (Sig=0.05). Other strategies and strategy groups do not correlate with student marks in the mentioned courses. Considering gender differences in strategy use, was found that women use affective strategies more than men (t=-2.09, Sig. (2-tailed=0.04).
Conclusions. SILL is a reliable tool to be used to develop Latvian HEI sport and health care student foreign language skills and competencies by using SILL strategy inventory. Women use affective strategies more than men. Students using the abovementioned memory and social strategy tend to have higher marks in the courses.