Exploring the relationship between students' beliefs about language learning and language learning strategies in a high school context in Turkey

This quantitative study explored the students' beliefs about language learning and strategies while learning the foreign language in a high school context in Turkey. Also, it identified the relationship between students' beliefs about language learning and their strategy use. Participants of this study were high school students at Hayret Efendi Anatolian High School in Yüreğir, Adana. Participants were asked to answer Horwitz's (1988) the Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) so as to specify their beliefs regarding language learning. Secondly, Oxford (1990)'s Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) was utilized to measure frequency of participants' usage of language learning strategies. Descriptive analyses and Pearson r correlation were utilized to analyze the data. According to results of this current study, the most frequently preferred strategies among participants were memory and compensatory strategies. However, the least preferred strategies were cognitive strategies. Additionally, participants had a high opinion of repetition and practice in learning English and they perceived English as significant for better career opportunities. Finally, result of the Pearson r correlation revealed that all language learning strategies were significantly and positively correlated with five different areas of learners' beliefs about language learning. Keywords: Beliefs about language learning, language learning strategies, relationship.