Investigation of autonomous learning levels, motivations and learning styles of high school students in learning German language

Elective German courses take place in secondary education curriculum more widely than other languages. The aim of this study is to examine the autonomous learning levels, motivations and learning styles of high school students in elective German language learning. The population of this study, which was conducted by using a correlational survey model, was composed of all secondary school students registered to 9-10-11-12. grades and selecting German language in different high school types. The sample consisted of 1053 students from different field. Within the scope of the research, different measurement instruments, namely 'Learning Styles Inventory, Motivation Scale for Language Learning, Difficulty Scale for Language Learning and Self-Learning Scale for German as a Second Foreign Language', were applied to the students on a voluntary basis. According to the results, there is a significant relationship between students' learning styles and gender variable. There is no significant relationship between students' learning styles and their fields. There is a significant relationship between students' learning styles and class levels. When the desire and application subscale scores of interest are analyzed, this is in favor of families with language learning difficulties. According to the field/area variable, it was found that equal weight and science/math students had less difficulty in language learning compared to the students who did not choose a department. In addition, it is seen that the presence of any language in the family constitutes a significant difference in self-confidence sub-dimension in language learning. In the research conducted, it was observed that the concepts of autonomous learning and achievement orientations were related to each other; autonomous learning sub-dimensions, independent learning and study habits levels positively predict success achievement level.