DUET Journal 51 Volume 5, Issue 1, June 2019 Language Learning Strategies of Engineering Students: An Explorative Study in Bangladesh Perspectives AKM Zakaria*, Fatema Sultana, Mir Md. Fazle Rabbi and Motiur Rahman Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Dhaka University of Engineering & Technology, Gazipur, Bangladesh ABSTRACT This paper aims to explore various language learning strategies (LLS) employed by undergraduate engineering students in Bangladesh. This individual diference a major concern for the ELT practitioners as it facilitates understanding the learners’ nature of learning their target language (TL). Hence, the specifc aim of this paper is to investigate the particular Language Learning Strategies the engineering learners apply to learn English as a second language. To attain the objectives, a mixed method of research using survey questionnaire for both teachers and students and semi-structured interview for teachers have been applied. To execute the research objective, 80 randomly selected engineering students from DUET have been considered as the participants. The fndings of the study suggest that engineering students prefer to use memory, cognitive, afective and social strategies over compensation and metacognitive strategies. * Corresponding author’s email: akmzakaria@duet.ac.bd 1. InTRoduCTIon The more a teacher is preoccupied and concerned with the learners’ style and strategies of learning, the easier the teaching-learning enterprise becomes. Post 1970s have experienced a signifcant shift in the paradigm in English language teaching learning processes. The focus has been shifted from the teachers’ towards the learners’ and their learning process. Hence learners become the central focus in the teaching-learning practices. Current English Language Teaching (ELT) trends incline towards learner- autonomy, therefore understanding the learners’ versatile learning styles and strategy is of utmost importance to the ELT practitioners in general and ESP teachers in engineering context. This study will be a ground to look into the case of learning strategies of the engineering learners in English as a second language (ESL)/English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms at tertiary level in the context of Bangladesh. As the research feld is quite pertinent in the teaching- learning enterprise at Dhaka University of Engineering & Technology (DUET), Gazipur, the teachers and learners of DUET have been chosen as the primary sample for this study. Language Learning Strategy (LLS) is defned as the operations used by the learners to aid acquisition, storage, and retrieval of information [1]. The New Oxford Dictionary of English further defned learning strategy as “plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or overall aim” [2]. This study certainly is a platform for the ELT practitioners to revise and reformulate the existing teaching practices, techniques and methodologies employed in English language classroom. It will further promote more learner- friendly and needs-oriented classrooms to exploit the utmost goal of mastering the core language skills, knowing the learning strategies and thus solving various language and communication tasks that learners come across in everyday life. Globalization and its world-wide efects have given the English language a prestigious identity; to be more specifc, English is no more taught as a mere subject but rather as an essential language and communication skills primarily required for academic and professional purposes. Nevertheless, it has drawn special attention from the graduating engineering learners as well as from the employment sectors. Hence, LLS has been given prominence in research in learner-centered classroom pedagogy. Learning strategies provide authentic feedback to the language teachers for designing efective instructional methods and teaching materials, planning the language tests at par with learners’ capabilities and knowledge domains. Thus, awareness about the learners’ language learning strategies help the language teachers bridge the gap between the students’ and teachers’ expectation from them. This paper exploits a mixed method study (Ql-Qn) where teachers and learners of DUET have been surveyed and interviewed for data collection. It is divided into fve sections namely: Introduction, Literature Review, Research Methodology, Research Findings and Conclusion as a general structure. 2. LITERATuRE REVIEW Teaching ESL to the engineering learners in 21st century is rather a challenge since they are primarily preoccupied with their specialized subjects. Hence, due to the special nature of academic endeavor, they tend to apply unique