Exploring Strategy Use and Autonomy for Developing Integrated Skills in the Higher Education EFL Classroom

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between learners’ use of language learning strategies in the development of English integrated skills and the enhancement of autonomy in learning. The research uses quantitative data collected from 44 university students enrolled in the EFL course through a questionnaire-based survey, and examines the strategies they employ when engaging with reading, listening, speaking, and writing. The study analyses the extent to which the conscious use of these strategies enables autonomous learning behaviours outside the language classroom. The findings show that learners face more challenges with productive skills, particularly speaking and writing, compared to receptive skills, which suggests that productive skills require a higher degree of autonomy, as students must actively generate language rather than merely understand it. At the same time, the results reveal that students are more likely to effectively employ strategies they find enjoyable, through which their intrinsic motivation is also aroused, such as reading for pleasure, watching movies, engaging in friendly conversations, or writing creative stories. Therefore, the study highlights the role of promoting learner-centred strategies in the EFL classroom in order to foster learner autonomy and integrated language skills development. The importance of the integrated skills approach is linked to students’ communicative competence in authentic language use and aligns with the communicative demands found in academic or professional contexts.