There are several reasons why people learn a foreign language. It varies from educational purposes to personal and career growth. Furthermore, the ability to communicate in a foreign language becomes vital in today’s world due to the impact of globalization. In learning a foreign language, student used variety of learning strategies to facilitate them plan, monitor and evaluate their progress. This quantitative study uses Bandura’s (1977) social learning theory (SLT) to explore the learning strategies used by students learning a foreign language in a public university in Malaysia. Bandura’s (1977) SLT, presents four components: attention, retention, reproduction and motivation. 122 students responded to a survey that explored the influence of SLT variables in their learning strategies. The instrument used is adapted from Bandura’s (1977) social learning to scaffold Wenden and Runin’s (1987) learning strategies. Apart from the demographic profile, in section A, there are 4 other sections. Section B has 4 items on attention, section C has 11 items on reproduction, section D has 11 items on retention and section E has 11 items on motivation. Findings revealed that students used all the four components in SLT: attention, retention, reproduction and motivation to help them in learning a foreign language. Cognitive component in Social learning strategies help them to memorize, plan, elaborate and strategize their learning process. The study also pointed that there is a strong positive relationship between attention and reproduction, attention and retention and also attention and motivation. There is also a strong positive correlation between motivation and reproduction and also motivation and retention.
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