Learners' perceptions on note taking processes

Abstract

This study looks at the bilingual context in which a language user renders the information presented to him or her in an aural form (a lecture) into a written text (note taking). The context is educational, as notetaking is step one in preparing to take an exam (also written) based on the lectures attended. In such a context note-taking can be regarded as an important learning strategy and as such it should become a part of taught study skills. It may also constitute evidence of how a learner/language user processes language data. A learning strategy is an active process and involves all possible sources – both linguistic and non-linguistic (multisensory) – that a learner has access to. The variety of strategies employed by different individuals points to the obvious differences in their cognitive and perceptual styles, among them the ways they will process language data and the way they will record the data to facilitate the best possible retrieval.