Learning Styles and Teaching ( Cheron Vester, South Africa)

What is a learning style?

Ellis (1985) described a learning style as the more or less consistent way in which a person perceives, conceptualizes, organizes and recalls information.

She also mentions the four modalities (originates from the work of Dr's Bandler, R. and Grinder, J. in the Field of Neuro-Linguistic Programming) in which the learning styles are divided:

• Visual (seeing)


• Auditory (hearing)


• Kinesthetic (moving)


• Tactile (touching)

Those who prefer a visual learning style...

...look at the teacher's face intently
...like looking at wall displays, books etc.
...often recognize words by sight
...use lists to organize their thoughts
...recall information by remembering how it was set out on a page


Those who prefer an auditory learning style...

...like the teacher to provide verbal instructions
...like dialogues, discussions and plays
...solve problems by talking about them
...use rhythm and sound as memory aids

Those who prefer a kinesthetic learning syle...

...learn best when they are involved or active
...find it difficult to sit still for long periods
...use movement as a memory aid
Those who prefer a tactile way of learning...
...use writing and drawing as memory aids
...learn well in hands-on activities like projects and demonstrations

McCarthy's four learning styles

McCarthy described students as innovative learners, analytic learners, common sense learners or dynamic learners

Innovative learners...

...look for personal meaning while learning
...draw on their values while learning
...enjoy social interaction
... are cooperative
...want to make the world a better place

Analytic learners...
...want to develop intellectually while learning
...draw on facts while learning
...are patient and reflective
...want to know " important things" and to add to the world's knowledge

Common sense learners...

...want to find solutions
... value things if they are useful
...are kinesthetic
...are practical and straightforward
... want to make things happen

Dynamic learners...

...look for hidden possibilities
...judge things by gut reactions
...synthesize information from different sources
...are enthusiastic and adventurous

Learner Strategies

What are learning strategies?

Learning strategies are councsious behaviors that students use to acquire, storage, recall, and use information. It is said that good students use a variety of these strategies when they are learning something.

Language learning strategies are refered to the counscious and semicounsciousthoughts that learners use in order to improve their knowledge of a target language.


Language use Strategies are the ones students apply when using the language that has been learned, here we find:

• Retrieval Strategies: which are used in order to call up language material from storage, for example calling up the correct verb in its appropriate tense.
• Rehearsal Strategies: for practising target language structures, for instance rehearsing verb tenses that will be used on a test later.
• Communication Strategies: used to convey a message that is meaningful and informative, for example: when we want to explain technixcal information for which we don't have the specialized vocabulary.
• Cover Strategies: used when we want to create a language ability to show the other people that we know things, in order to not to look foolish, for example laughing at a joke that we didn't understand ( we all have donde that some time)

Self-motivating strategies which are used by learners to protect or increase their motivation. for example avoiding distractions such as music, television, etc.

Factors Influencing the Choice of L2 Learning Strategies ( Oxford 1990a)

Oxford made a classification about the factors that influenciate the choice that students make of the learning strategies they are going to use at the moment of learning. I want to share with you this classification:

• 
  Motivation. More motivated students tended to use more strategies than less motivated students, and the particular reason for studying the language (motivational orientation, especially as related to career field) was important in the choice of strategies.
  
• Gender. Females reported greater overall strategy use than males in many studies (although sometimes males surpassed females in the use of a particular strategy).
  
• Cultural background. Rote memorization and other forms of memorization were more prevalent among some Asian students than among students from other cultural backgrounds. Certain other cultures also appeared to encourage this strategy among learners.
• 
  Attitudes and beliefs. These were reported to have a profound effect on the strategies learners choose, with negative attitudes and beliefs often causing poor strategy use or lack of orchestration of strategies.
• 
  Type of task. The nature of the task helped determine the strategies naturally employed to carry out the task.
• 
  Age and l2 stage. Students of different ages and stages of L2 learning used different strategies, with certain strategies often being employed by older or more advanced students.
• 
  Learning style. Learning style (general approach to language learning) often determined the choice of L2 learning strategies. For example, analytic-style students preferred strategies such as contrastive analysis, rule-learning, and dissecting words and phrases, while global students used strategies to find meaning (guessing, scanning, predicting) and to converse without knowing all the words (paraphrasing, gesturing).
• 
  Tolerance of ambiguity. Students who were more tolerant of ambiguity used significantly different learning strategies in some instances than did students who were less tolerant of ambiguity.

Oxford's (1990) Classification of Language Learning Strategies

Oxford (1990:9) sees the aim of language learning strategies as being oriented towards the development of communicative competence. Oxford divides language learning strategies into two main classes, direct and indirect, which are further subdivided into 6 groups. In Oxford's system, metacognitive strategies help learners to regulate their learning. Affective strategies are concerned with the learner's emotional requirements such as confidence, while social strategies lead to increased interaction with the target language. Cognitive strategies are the mental strategies learners use to make sense of their learning, memory strategies are those used for storage of information, and compensation strategies help learners to overcome knowledge gaps to continue the communication.

DIRECT STRATEGIES

I. Memory

A. Creating mental linkages
B. Applying images and sounds
C. Reviewing well
D. Employing action

II.Cognitive

A. Practising
B. Receiving and sending messages strategies
C. Analysing and reasoning
D. Creating structure for input and output

III. Compensation strategies

A. Guessing intelligently
B. Overcoming limitations in speaking and writing

INDIRECT STRATEGIES

I. Metacognitive Strategies

A. Centering your learning
B. Arranging and planning your learning
C. Evaluating your learning

II. Affective Strategies

A. Lowering your anxiety
B. Encouraging yourself
C. Taking your emotional temperature

III. Social Strategies

A. Asking questions
B. Cooperating with others
C. Emphathising with others