The Learning Style Preferences of ESL Students

Reid, Joy

doi:10.2307/3586356

Cited by 686 publications

(785 citation statements)

References 63 publications

(57 reference statements)

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“…This variation in learning style preferences is supported by the findings of Dorsey & Pierson (1984) and Gardner (1987), who state that younger people are usually active learners while older ones are mainly reflective and abstract. Other studies of the same nature confirm this alteration (Mickler & Zipper, 1987;Reid, 1987;Miglietti & Strange, 2002;Bista, 2008;Ventura, 2010;Tuan, 2011;Karthigeyan & Nirmala, 2013;Major, 2014). In this context, Tuan (2011) argues that "learning styles vary with age" (p. 315); and Dunn and Griggs (1998) claim that the auditory and visual abilities of people in older age tend to become stronger.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

A case study of learning styles of older adults attending an English course

Mora

Quito

Sarmiento

2017

MSKN

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The education of older adults is of special interest to instructors and researchers involved in lifelong education. There is not an overabundance of research in the area of the learning styles of this age group, and the exploration of it might produce significant insights about materials and methodologies that may meet their learning needs successfully. This study analyses the learning styles preferred by a group of older adults in the city of Cuenca, Ecuador. Sixty-six participants (with an average age of 71.05) taking English as a foreign language course responded to the 44-item questionnaire on learning styles by Felder & Soloman (1997). The information of the respondents using statistical and correlation analyses permitted to define the prevailing learning styles and its relation with the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants. The results indicate that older adults express preference for the sensing, active, visual, and sequential styles, being people who tend to work better with facts rather than theories. They also like teamwork, prefer images to sounds, and are methodical in their learning process. In addition, the results reveal the positive correlation of the variables age, level of English, and level of education and occupation before retirement. The two last-mentioned were found to be determinant in the preferences of the participants. Keywords: Older adults, learning styles, lifelong learning, EFL. RESUMENEl aprendizaje en la tercera edad es de especial interés para docentes e investigadores involucrados en la educación permanente. Un ámbito probablemente poco conocido es el de los estilos de aprendizaje de este grupo etario, cuyo estudio podría desvelar aspectos significativos sobre materiales y metodologías que podrían cubrir sus necesidades de aprendizaje. Este trabajo analiza los estilos de aprendizaje preferidos por un grupo de adultos mayores en la ciudad de Cuenca, Ecuador. Un total de 66 participantes (con edad promedio de 71.05 años), que tomaron un curso de inglés como lengua extranjera, respondió el cuestionario de 44 ítems sobre estilos de aprendizaje de Felder & Soloman (1997). Se llevó a cabo análisis estadísticos y análisis de correlación entre variables sociodemográficas con el propósito de determinar los estilos de aprendizaje preponderantes del grupo intervenido y su relación con las características sociodemográficas de los participantes. Los resultados señalan que los adultos mayores, en su mayoría, tienen preferencia por los estilos sensitivo, activo, visual, y secuencial, siendo así personas que tienden a trabajar mejor con hechos antes que con teorías, que gustan del trabajo en equipo, que prefieren imágenes a sonidos, y que son metódicos en su proceso de aprendizaje. Además se evidenció la correlación positiva de las variables edad, nivel de inglés, y nivel de educación y ocupación antes de la jubilación, siendo las dos últimas variables las determinantes en las preferencias de los participantes. Palabras clave: Adultos mayores, estilos de aprendizaje, a...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

A case study of learning styles of older adults attending an English course

Mora

Quito

Sarmiento

2017

MSKN

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“…That is, it sought to find if there is a relationship between the learner's preferences in learning a language (visual, auditory, and kinetic) which is proposed by Reid (1987) and the strategies used by learners which were mainly based on Oxford (1990 a) that was enriched by ideas from Green and Oxford (1995), and Khaldie (2000) which consisted of strategies including memory, cognitive, compensation, metacognitive, affective, and social.…”

Section: Purpose Of the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Relationship between Iranian English Language Learners’ Learning Styles and Strategies

Baghban¹

2012

JLTR

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Abstract-The present study aimed at finding the degree of relationship between Iranian learners' learning styles and their preferences in using specific language learning strategies. The study was conducted on female EFL learners at the Iran Language Institute (ILI) in advanced levels and also university students of English teaching at Azad University of Mashhad. By employing such instrumentation as the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) and also Language Learning Style (LLS) questionnaire the investigator found a significant relationship between learning styles and learning strategies used by the learners. Based on the results it can be concluded that learners scoring higher on the SILL performed better on the LLS, leading to the conclusion that SILL has a significant impact on LLS. Based on the factor analysis it was found out that cognitive, metacognitive, and most of all affective strategies showed a great correlation with the auditory style of learning. Also, metacognitive and most of all memory and social strategies showed a great correlation with the kinesthetic style.

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“…According to Decapua and Wintergerst [30], Chinese and Vietnamese speakers preferred visual learning, while Reid [31] found that Spanish speakers preferred kinaesthetic and tactile LS. Dorsey and Pierson [32] conclude that age and prior work experience influence LS, and their data indicate that the adults, especially after the age of 33, learn better by doing (kinaesthetic learning).…”

Section: Literature Review On Learning Stylesmentioning

confidence: 99%