A strategy is an organized approach to a task. It can be called a method, plan, tool, technique, procedural skill, or behavior that facilitates learning, aids problem solving, or accomplishes any task undertaken by the learner.

Strategies provide a carefully sequenced plan of student behaviors designed to result in successful task completion and learning. Instruction in learning strategies empowers the learner to become efficient and effective. Effective strategy use involves not only knowledge about the particular strategy, but also when to use the strategy, how to monitor its use, and how to mediate the complex interaction among the three. When shown how to learn, students quickly accept responsibility and attribute success or failure to choices they make regarding their learning behaviors, not only their self-perception of competence. The learner should be able to internalize strategic mechanisms for coping with the learning environment and when faced with new information or different performance expectations be able to modify and generalize these strategies.

The goal of the learning-strategies approach is to teach (students) to become involved, active, and independent learners. By identifying the demands of the curriculum that the student cannot meet, the teacher can provide learning-strategies instruction to meet those demands. The cognitive aspects of learning rather than specific subject matter content is emphasized. Research suggests that this is an effective teaching approach because students learn how to learn."

There are so many learning strategies. Everyone of us has built up some types of learning strategies although many of us are not conscious of using them. If we know our learning strategies, we can improve them or absolutely change them when they are not effectively enough. It is very important so that teachers explain or say students about learning strategies because according to me it would enhance the effectivity of their learning and also their achievment. I have never heard about learning strategies before attending the course Psychological aspects of foreign language learning.

Among my learning strategies belongs mainly learning aloud. It means that when I am learning some notes, I am reading aloud to myself. Of course I need absolute silence. It is possible to say that I am learning from sentence to sentence but it does not mean that I am drilling or memorizing by heart from word to word. When I learn a hole page, I repeat it aloud with my own words. and so on. If I do not understand something either I learn it by heart or I do not learn it and on the next day I will ask someone at school to explain. This is actually my second type of learning strategies.

If I do not understand something I ask somebody to explain by his own words. I would call this type learning by hearing. I always use this type if I do not understand something or if I am not able to remember contents of a book (I mean fiction, prose) on a course of literature. This type relates to my other learning strategy.

It is through conversation in a pair. I like this strategy the most because we can exam one another and also we can make clear if one of us do not understand something.

The other learning strategy is maybe the most used. When I am learning I always highlight my notes with a felt pen. On one hand I recapitulate the stuff and on the other hand I orient on the most important things.

Sometimes I use so called mnemonic aids, for example acronyms and acrostics which can be characterised as involving key words
An acronym is an invented combination of letters. Each letter is a cue to an idea you need to remember. Example: BRASS is an acronym for how to shoot a rifle--Breath, Relax, Aim, Sight, Squeeze.
An acrostic is an invented sentence where the first letter of each word is a cue to an idea you need to remember. Example: EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FUN is an acrostic to remember the order of G-clef notes on sheet music--E, G, B, D, F.

If I have some time I am rewriting my notes on some other paper. It is because it is better for me to learn from nice and digestedly written notes than from scratchy notes. But is also because I can better indirectly get the information to my mind. It has of course a weak point. Sometimes there in no time left for learning itself.

Something similar is writing a drawing card. But it is not the drawing card which teachers knows. Why it is not? Because I do not use it on the tests or exams. It only helps me to get some information to my mind or to make them better so in do not need to use it. It contains the most important ideas and classifications. I do not why but if I have it I am not so nervous before the test. I know that I will not use it but I feel better. And I repeat I do not use it.

If I have to learn some grammar or something like that I usually use workbooks and do excercises which we did at school or I make something like scheme or classification.

It is quite hard to answer the question Why have I developed this learning strategies. I think that I have not developed my learning strategies consciously. Many of our learning strategies are based on a learning type. Of course some learning types are given some developed. I am only able to make my learning
strategies better and improve them.

If I should criticise some of my uneffective or wrong learning strategies I would criticise my learning one day before the test or exam even though in the last weeks I am trying to learn two or three days before an exam. I do not why I am not able to force me to learn from time to time or at least one week before the term. I know I should to it like that. I know one day before the test that tomorow I have an exam so it is not so hard for me to start learn.

The same applies to writing reading diary. At the beginnig I am writing down contents properly but later I am not doing notes so consistently than I did before. At the end I do not to any notes.

I am angry with me that sometimes I would be able to prepare on exam more consistently but I am satisfied when I pass. I do not need A I am satisfied with D. Of course if I get A I am glad but I do not need it so much. Because there is no difference between A and E. You pass the exam whether you get A or you get E. That is why I am not so directed on A.

Among my weak points belongs one thing which is that I cannot think in English. Though now when I am writing this work first I write down my ideas on the paper in Slovak and then I am rewriting them into a computer in English. When I have to write in English there are no ideas in my mind or I am not able to convey them. But translation into English does not make any problem to me.

Sometimes I have problems with speaking. When I tell for examle some sentence in my mind I know all the words without any mistake but if I have to start speaking any word does not occurr me. Occasionally I need some time to launch into but when I start it goes itself.