Abstract:

This study aimed to examine the relationship between the second language learning strategy use, academic major, gender and grade level. 252 Bosnian university students studying in Bosnia and Herzegovina participated in the study. The research data were collected from two inventories: an individual background questionnaire and the Strategy Inventory of Language Learning (SILL) (Oxford, 1990). To analyze the data, the descriptive quantitative method was used. Descriptive and referential statistics were reported by taking gender (males vs females), academic major (education vs engineering vs economics) and grade levels ( freshmen, sophomores vs juniors) as the variables. The results indicated that the males employed different types of strategies more frequently than the females. In terms of the academic majors, statistically significant differences were found: The students majoring in economics preferred memory, compensation and social strategies while students majoring in engineering preferred affective, metacognitive and cognitive ones more. Students majoring in the field of education preferred all the strategy types the least. The grade level was found to be statistically insignificant on the use of the language learning strategies of the Bosnian university students. The results provided significant practical and pedagogical implications regarding language learning and teaching, understanding the role of individual differences in language education.

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