Teenagers learning Chinese as a foreign language in a European Confucius Institute: the relationship between language learner strategies and successful learning factors

Abstract

The present research aims to identify the factors involved in the successful completion of the Young Chinese Test 2-A1 (YCT 2-A1) at Spanish Confucius Institute (Canary Islands). Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) entails several learning difficulties compared with other European languages. This study was conducted on 61 monolingual and bilingual secondary students, aged 14, from different schools. The personal information gathered to identify individual variables as well as the results of the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning provided answers to several questions: What strategy is most often employed by teenage students? Is it possible to identify differences between the strategies employed according to personal variables (monolingualism/bilingualism and gender)? Which factors analysed relate more closely to the grade obtained on the YCT 2-A1? This article aims to serve as an empirical contribution to the knowledge of CFL young learners in the European context and their necessary development as independent learners. The methodology adopted entailed performing a quantitative ANCOVA statistical analysis using the XLSTAT program version 2014.3.01 (developed by Addisoft). The findings relate higher YCT academic scores to bilingual students, with the employment of effective strategies and an increased usage of language learner strategies in girls.