EFL Teachers' Self-Reported Practices and Challenges in Learning Strategies Instruction

Abstract

This research examines EFL teachers’ beliefs, practices, and challenges in the teaching of language-learning strategies and the promotion of learner autonomy. Using a mixed-methods approach, data were collected through a questionnaire combining Likert-scale items based on Oxford’s Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) (1989) and open-ended questions answered by in-service teachers. Additionally, this article is grounded in studies on language learning strategies and learner autonomy (Oxford, 1990, 2003), strategy instruction (Brown, 2007; Griffiths, 2013, 2014) and teachers’ beliefs and practices (Borg, 2003). The findings show that teachers value strategy instruction and frequently use both explicit and implicit teaching approaches, indicating a greater preference for teaching metacognitive and affective strategies. However, it also reveals a gap between teachers’ intentions and what they feel able to implement in practice, due to contextual constraints such as time, curricular demands, and learner engagement. The results also indicate that students tend to rely more on cognitive and memory strategies, which indicates a misalignment with teachers’ practices. Overall, the study underscores the complexity of teaching learning strategies in EFL contexts.