Last few decades, beginning from 70s, have witnessed a gradual and significant shift ineducation, resulting in less emphasis on teacher and teaching and more stress on learner and learning. The former teacher centered approaches failed to help the learners become independent in the process of learning, so the educationalists shifted their attention to the learner in order to gather information and see how the learners approach in the process of language learning. More specifically the researchers tried to do studies regarding the good language learners. Oxford (1990) pointed out how important learning strategies are, both in
theory and in practice, for language learners. Researchers such as Oxford (1990) and O’Malley and Chamot (1990) either stated or implied that we can learn lessons from good language learners.
As a result of the publication of these authors’ works, a large number of researches were carried out in most parts of the world to lead the educationalists help the learners reach an extended level of autonomous and independent language learning. Analysis of Chamot, Robin, and Anderson (2007) reveals that studies are directed to the point that learners can assume responsibility for using the strategies independently by raising awareness of language learning strategies, modeling of the strategies, strategy practice opportunities, self-evaluation of the effectiveness of strategy use and transfer of strategies to fresh tasks and situations. These investigators tried to identify the language learners’ learning and use strategies. Since they believed that their pedagogical and scientific decisions should be based on the successful learners’ approach. The identification and description of learning strategies used by language learners and the correlation of these strategies with other learner variables were studied by the researchers. However, no study to date has tried to examine the role of social and cultural capital in Iranian EFL students’ language learning strategies.