learningstyle
Chapter IV Learning Styles and Language Learning Strategies
I. Learning Styles
A learning style refers to an individual’s natural, habitual, and preferred ways of absorbing, processing, and retaining new information and skills which persist regardless of teaching methods or content area. A learning style involves perception,
cognition, conceptualization, affect, and behavior. It is understandable that various learning-style models and definitions exist.
Learning style preferences refer to the way you like to learn. They are put into action by specific learning strategies.
Everyone has a learning style, but each person’s is as unique as a signature. Each signature appears to be influenced by both nature and nurture; it is a biological and developmental set of characteristics. There are no positive or negative traits, only
preferences, and even strong preferences can change. Students tend to learn better when the classroom instructor nurtures their
learning style.
1.1 The value of learning styles
Research suggests that the greater the number of styles students can use, the more successful they will be at learning
language. Research also shows that we all have learning style preferences and thus may tend to favor our preferred approaches
in our learning.
1.2 Types of Learning Styles
The three tables (Table 1: Sensory/Perceptual; Table 2: Psychological/Personality Type; and Table 3: Cognitive) that precede
the survey give an overview of the characteristics of each learning style and ways to facilitate learning for each type.
Table 1: Sensory/Perceptual Learning Style
Characteristics of learners Support teachers can provide
Prefer charts, graphs, something to A. Visual Use flash cards, videos, or other visual aids. read, or a picture
Prefer listening to lectures, Provide opportunities to listen to lectures and B. Auditory conversations, tapes, etc., when discussions. Recap verbally. learning.
Prefer aids that can be touched, Provide hands-on experiences to understand manipulated, or written; and may C. Tactile/Kinesthetic language and culture (e.g., cultural interchanges practice language by drawing and/or using nonverbal communication strategies). tracing.
Table 2: Psychological Type (Personality)
Characteristics of learners Support teachers can provide
A. Extroverted Energized by the outside world; active, Make available a wide range of social,
interaction-oriented, and outgoing; interactive learning tasks (games,
have broad interests; tend to reflect conversations, discussions, debates,
later (motto: “Live it, then understand role-plays, simulations).
it”).
B. Introverted Energized by the inner world; prefer Encourage more independent work
concentration; focus on thoughts and (studying, reading, or working on the
concepts; have fewer interests, but computer) or one-on-one work with another
deep ones; like to be reflective (motto: person.
“Understand it, then live it”).
A. Random-Intuitive Like finding the big picture; enjoy Provide future-oriented activities that call
formal model-building and abstract for language, such as speculating about
terms; focus on the future; look for possibilities.
possibilities; random access (when
asked for 5 examples, they give
exactly 5).
B. Concrete-Sequential Like to work step-by-step; follow Suggest that they perform tasks on a
directions carefully; tend to be linear one-step-at-a-time basis and that they find
and sensory-oriented; focus on the ways to get feedback every step of the way
here and now; concrete sequential (from peers, teachers, or natives outside of
(when asked for 5 examples, they give class).
exactly 5).
A. Closure-Oriented Decision makers; action takers; make Encourage learners to plan ahead and make
and follow lists; want quick closure their own deadlines. Provide them with
and control; have a low tolerance for specific directions, and encourage them to
ambiguity; often jump to conclusions ask questions.
by wanting to know answers right
away; often hard working and
decisive; find deadlines helpful.
B. Open-Oriented Information gatherers; like to take in a Provide opportunities for discovery learning
lot of information and experience and information gathering.
before making a decision; think
learning should be fun; can make work
into play; might make lists, but don’t
check off each item; tend to be flexible
and open to change; have a high
tolerance for ambiguity; see deadlines
as artificial and arbitrary.
Table 3: Cognitive Learning Style
Characteristics of learners Support teachers can provide
A. Global Enjoy getting the main idea and are comfortable Help learners understand the gist of what is
communicating even if they don’t know all the said or written. Help them see that the
words or concepts. particulars are not always crucial for
understanding the message.
B. Particular Need specific examples to understand fully; pay Help learners understand that a focus on
attention to specific facts or information; good details can lead to understanding. Provide
at catching new phrases or words. activities where they have to fill in the blanks
with missing words.
A. Like to find and organize key points into a Encourage learners to summarize material, Synthesizing summary; enjoy guessing meanings and guess meanings, and predict outcomes since
predicting outcomes; notice similarities quickly. their ability to integrate information gives
them skills for this.
B. Analytic Like to think and analyze; prefer contrastive Provide tasks that allow them to pull ideas
analysis and discrimination exercises; not apart and perform logical analysis and
always sensitive to social/affective factors (tend contrastive tasks. Recommend a good
to avoid social and emotional subtleties); often grammar book to support their language
focus on grammar rules and generalizations. learning.
A. Sharpener Notice differences and distinctions among items Provide plenty of time during the initial
while committing material to memory; store learning of material so they are not
items separately and retrieve them individually overwhelmed.
and can distinguish among speech sounds,
grammatical forms, and fine distinctions of
meaning.
B. Leveler Clump material to remember it by eliminating Support learners’ inclination to start
or reducing differences and by focusing almost communicating without worrying about all the
exclusively on similarities; may ignore niceties of language and structure. Counsel
distinctions that promote accuracy in a social these students to style-stretch to allow for
context; tend to blur similar memories and to some attention to structural fine points.
merge new experiences with previous ones.
A. Deductive Like go to from the general to the specific, to Encourage learners to use grammar and other
apply generalizations to experience, and to start materials that lay down the rules and help
with rules and theories rather than specific them find partners who can explain the rules
examples. when the text doesn’t help.
B. Inductive Like go to from specific to general and to begin Support learners’ inclination to learn rules
with examples rather than rules or theories. intuitively
A. Able to handle the language parts as well as the Provide tasks that call for multiple checking Field-Indepewhole without being distracted; good at juggling and cross-checking without getting confused.
ndent numerous language elements at once without
dropping the ball.
B. Need context to focus and understand Provide tasks that focus on a few concepts at a Field-Depensomething; may take in language one part at a time (e.g., conversing with natives without dent time; challenged if they have to juggle features being corrected every moment).
of the language at the same time (e.g., verb,
tense, number agreement).
A. Impulsive Process material at a high speed with low Provide opportunities to speak without
accuracy; often take risks and guesses. planning everything out in advance.
B. Reflective Process material at a low speed with high Guide learners to prepare for high-risk tasks
accuracy; avoid risks and guessing. like speaking.
A. Learn material more effectively if they can Provide with metaphorical examples.
Metaphoric conceptualize aspects of it (e.g., the grammar
system) in metaphorical terms.
B. Literal Prefer literal representations of concepts and Support preference to simply use the language
like to work with language material more or less without any theoretical background.
as it is on the surface.
1.3 The importance of learning styles
Awareness of our learning style preferences allows us to understand and organize our learning. Since some aspects of
learning are usually out of our control (textbook, tasks, teacher, and topic), we can improve our chances of learning by knowing
how we can work most comfortably, quickly, and easily. Being in control of our learning styles makes us more flexible learners,
since the more ways we can learn comfortably, the better. Knowing how we learn best can make us more efficient, since the less
amount of time needed to learn, the better. Awareness of our style preferences can make us more effective learners, since the
more easily we can learn, the better.
II. Summary
III. Assignments
How to teach learners in a large class in China according to their styles?
附录:
本
共有14道
(其中9、12、13、14道题分别有两个小题),每道题后面有5个选项。请你根据自己的实际情况选
择其中一个选项作为
。1-5代表的情况如下:1=这个陈述完全或几乎完全不符合我的情况2=这个陈述通常不符合
我的情况3=这个陈述有时符合我的情况4=这个陈述通常符合我的情况5=这个陈述完全或几乎完全符合我的情况
学习风格类型测量表:
1)我对听过的东西记得特别快 1 2 3 4 5 2)凡是眼睛看过的东西,我不容易忘记 1 2 3 4 5 3) 我默看课文比听别人朗读要收获大 1 2 3 4 5 4)我朗读过的东西不容易忘记 1 2 3 4 5 5)我写过的东西不容易忘记 1 2 3 4 5 6)我听别人朗读课文比自己默读课文收获大 1 2 3 4 5 7)我自己表演过的东西不容易忘记 1 2 3 4 5 8)我喜欢教师要我们把学的东西表演出来 1 2 3 4 5 9)如果听录音和看
这两项活动可以选择的话,
a) 我宁愿听录音 1 2 3 4 5
b) 我宁愿看书 1 2 3 4 5 10) 我喜欢朗读课文 1 2 3 4 5 11)我喜欢默读课文 1 2 3 4 5 12)我a) 喜欢听故事 1 2 3 4 5
b) 喜欢看故事书 1 2 3 4 5 13)我比较容易记住教师
a) 讲的事情 1 2 3 4 5
b) 写在黑板上的东西 1 2 3 4 5 14)我能比较快地记住
a) 听觉形象 1 2 3 4 5
b) 视觉形象 1 2 3 4 5
计分方法:请把各题的得分填在下表内,然后把各组题目的得分相加,把结果填在合计栏内。 第一组题 1,6,9 a) 12 a) 13 a) 14 a) 合计
第二组题 2,3, 9 b) 11,12 b) 13 b) 14 b)
第三组题 4,5,7,8,10
以下是对得分的解释:
1)第一组题目的得分在21-30之间 听觉型
第二组题目的得分为18分或18分以下
第三组题目的得分为13分或13分以下
2) 第二组题目的得分在25-35之间 视觉型
第一组题目的得分为15分或15分以下
第三组题目的得分为13分或13分以下
3)第一组题目的得分在21-30之间 听—动觉型
第三组题目的得分在18-25之间
第二组题目的得分为18分或18分以下
4)第二组题目的得分在25-35之间 视—动觉型
第三组题目的得分在18-25之间
第一组题目的得分为15分或15分以下
5)各组题目得分的平均分都在3.5分以下 综合型