Language Learning Style Preferences_Bangladesh_Jahurul Islam_2011

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Harvest: Jahangirnagar Studies in Language and Literature, Vol. 26, (June, 2011) ISSN 1729-8326

learner takes in and processes information are collectively referred to as learning

styles or learning preferences (Reid, 1987; Celce-Marcia, 2001; Riazi and Riasati,

2007). Mismatches between the learning preferences of the learners in a given class

and the teaching style of the teacher will normally lead the learners to become bored

and inattentive in classes, do badly on tests, get discouraged about the course andcurriculum, and in some cases change to other curricula or drop out of the program

(Felder, 1996).

In the perspective of Bangladesh, most teachers are little aware of the ways and media

their students prefer to learn the language. Even if some are a bit aware of them, they

hardly pay or have little scope to pay little attention to it, which naturally leads to the

failure of the instructional program to attain its general as well as specific goals and

objectives. Therefore, teachers need to discover their students preferred ways of

learning the language, by which they can make their style of teaching appealing to the

students to the optimum level. Alongside the teachers of a language teaching program,people involved in material designing and syllabus planning can also be substantially

helped by such information. According to Spratt (1999), those who design and

develop syllabuses, materials and teaching and learning activities often work by

predicting the intended learners likes and dislikes on the basis of their own past

experience and/or by consulting the relevant literature available in the market.

Evidently, this type of approach catastrophically fails to reflect the intended learners

language learning preferences, leading to the failure of the instructional program as

well. That is why, the present researcher considers that it is very important to find out

the language learning styles and preferences of the learners. This researcher also

believes that this study can help teachers, in general, and Bangladeshi EFL/ESL

teachers, in particular, to attain more efficiency and success in their professional

career.

2. Literature Review

2.1. Categorization of learning styles

Reid (1987) categorised styles into six types. Reid (1995), however, categorized

learning styles into three major types:

a. cognitive learning styles

b. sensory learning styles, and

c. personality learning styles

Cognitive learning styles

Field-independent vs. Field-dependent: Field-independent learners learn more

effectively step by step, beginning with analyzing facts and

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proceeding to ideas. On the other hand, field-dependent learners prefer to learn in

context and holistically.

Analytic vs. Global: Analytic learners learn individually, and prefer to achieve set

goals. Global learners, contrarily, learn more effectively through concrete experience,

and by interaction with others.

Reflective vs. Impulsive: Reflective learners learn more effectively if they get some

time to consider options before the response is made. Impulsive learners, in contrast,

are able to respond immediately and take risks.

Sensory learning styles

Sensory learning styles are further divided into two types: perceptual learning styles

and environmental learning styles.

Perceptual learning styles

Auditory learner: An auditory learner learns more effectively through the ear

(hearing).

Visual learner: A visual learner learns more effectively through the eyes (seeing).

Haptic learner: A haptic learner learns more effectively through touch and body

involvement.

Environmental learning styles

Physical vs. Sociological: Physical learners learn more effectively when variables

such as temperature, sound, light, food, time, and classroom arrangement areconsidered.

Sociological learners, in contrast, learn more effectively when variables such as

group, individual, pair, and team work, and level of teacher authority are regarded.

Personality learning styles

Extroversion vs. Introversion:Extroverted learners interests include concrete

experience, contact with outside, and relationship with others. Introverted learners, on

the other hand, are more interested in individual, independent situations.

Sensing vs. Perception:Sensing learners learn best from reports of observable factsand happenings, and rely on their five senses. On the other hand, perception learners

learn more effectively from meaningful experiences and relationships with others.

Thinking vs. Feeling: Thinking learners learn best from impersonal circumstances

and logical consequences. On the other hand, feeling learners prefer personalized

circumstances and social values.

To Willing (1988), there are four kinds of learners as per the ways through which they

prefer to learn: concrete learners, analytical learners, communicative learners and

authority-oriented learners.

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Concrete learners:these learnerslike using games, pictures, films, video, cassettes,

talking in pairs and practising English outside the class.

Analytical learner: these learners like to study grammar and English, read English

newspapers, and who like to study alone, find their mistakes and work on problems

set by the teacher.

Communicative learners: these learners learn by watching, listening to native

speakers, talking to friends in English and watching television.

Authority-oriented learners: these learners prefer that the teacher should explain

everything, and who write everything in notebooks, study grammar, learn by reading

and learn new words by seeing them.

2.2. Learners learning preferences

Researchers have started working on the learning preferences over the past three

decades. A number of researchers have taken interest and worked to find out the

language learning modalities by the means of self-reporting questionnaires, where

students select theirpreferredlearning styles.

Reid (1987), for example, based on the findings of a survey, distinguished four

perceptual learning modalities. These perpetual learning modalities include:

1) Visual learning (for example, reading and studying charts)

2) Auditory learning (for example, listening to lectures or audiotapes)

3) Kinaesthetic learning (involving physical responses)

4) Tactile learning (hands-on learning, as in building models)

According to the findings of Reid's study, ESL students strongly preferred

kinaesthetic and tactile learning styles. Group learning was marked as a negative

preference by most of the learners. Reid came to the conclusion that ESL students

from different language backgrounds sometimes differ from one another in their

learning style preferences, and that variables such as sex, field of study, level of

education, TOEFL score, and age are related to differences in learning styles (cited in

Riazi and Riasati, 2007).

Wintergerst, DeCapua, and Marilyn (2003) carried out research over three differentpopulations, namely Russian EFL students, Russian ESL students and Asian ESL

students, and tried to explore their learning style preferences. The studies revealed

that all these three groups of language learners demonstrated a clear preference of

group activity to individual work; the Russian EFL and Asian ESL students favoured

group work and project work.

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4.2. Instrument

The instrument used in this study was a 13-item language learning preference

questionnaire adopted and adapted from Brindley (1984) and Riazi and Riasati

(2007). The questionnaire had two versions: Version I for students and Version II for

teachers. In the students version, the students were asked to express how they preferto learn the language. In the teachers version, the teachers were asked to provide

opinions as to how they feel their students prefer to learn the language.

4.3. Data collection and analysis

The questionnaires were administered in one single session for the same students.

Students were provided the questionnaires during their class periods. Necessary

information for completing the questionnaire was provided in Bangla to facilitate a

better communication. Version II of the questionnaires was given to the teachers

when they were free in their rooms. There was apparently no time restriction to

respond to the items in the questionnaire; however, it was expected that they should

finish within 20 (twenty) minutes.

The data obtained through the questionnaire were subjected to Chi-square tests in

order to define the significance of the difference between the responses.

5. Results and Discussion

This section presents the results of the responses to some of the items in the

questionnaire, which seemed noteworthy. Some of the responses received rendered

significant results, while some others did not. This section briefly presents those

responses which were statistically significant. However, it should be noted that for the

purpose of not making this paper lengthy and hence difficult to follow, only some of

the most prominent responses (that is, items 2, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 13) are briefly

discussed.

In item 2, students were asked to express whether they preferred working

individually, in pairs, in small groups, or in a large group. Results are presented

below:

Table 1: Learning Mode

Learning individually Observed % Expected Chi-square

Yes 85

33.2

0 12828.90

No 171

66.8

0 128

Total 256

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Table 1 reveals that 33.20% of the students expressed their preference for working

individually. On the other hand, 66.80% of the students preferred other modes of

learning the language, such as learning in pairs or in groups.

Hence, conclusion can be made from the results of this item that learners seemed to be

in favour of a communicative approach to language learning by showing reluctance toworking on their own. It seemed they felt more comfortable, productive, and relaxed

by working in other ways, e.g. in pairs, or in groups where their voices would be

heard, and views listened to and valued.

Teachers, in the teachers version, were asked whether their students liked working

individually, in pairs, or in groups. The following table illustrates the results:

Table 2: Teachers' view on students' learning mode

Learning individually Observed % Expected Chi-square

Yes 1275 8

4

No 4

2

5 8

Total 16

As Table 2 illustrates, 75% teachers were of the opinion that their students liked

working individually, while 25% did not hold such a belief. Teachers generally

believed that students did not like to have interaction with their classmates and form

groups.According to Riazi and Riasatis (2007) study, teachers manifestly were not aware

that their students did not like to work on their own, and preferred to work in other

ways such as in pairs or in groups. Here was also a disagreement between students

and teachers regarding this point of view.

Item 6 asked whether students liked learning by listening, reading, repeating what

they hear, listening and taking notes, copying from the board, and making summaries.

Tables below demonstrate the results:

Table 3: Preferring listening and taking notes

Listening and

taking notes

Observed % Expected Chi-

square

Yes 198

77.3

4 12876.5625

No 58

22.6

6 128

Total 256

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Table 4: Preferring reading and taking notes

Reading and

taking notes


square

Yes 180

70.3

1 128 42.25

No 76

29.6

9 128

Total 256

Tables 3 and 4 illustrate that a high percentage of students (77.34%) responded in

support of Listening and taking notes. Likewise, Reading and taking notes also

received rather high percentage (70.31%) from students.

It can be concluded from the results displayed in Tables 3 and 4 that students were not

in favour of remaining altogether passive during their learning; rather, they would liketo assume some active roles, whether in taking notes or not. This notion is further

supported by the fact that the students opted for Listening and taking notes and

Reading and taking notes skipping the first two options, Listening or Reading.

Item 7 intended to find out how students would like to learn new vocabulary. The

options were: (1) by using the word in a sentence, (2) by thinking of relationship

between the known items and new items, (3) by saying or writing words several

times, (4) by avoiding verbatim translation, (5) by guessing the unknown words, and

(6) by reading with no dictionary help. Table 5 displays the results:

Table 5: Using new words in a sentence

Using new

words in a

sentence


square

Yes 160 62.5 12816

No 96 37.5 128

Total 256

As is clear from results in the table, the majority of students (62.5%) gave priority tousing new words in a sentence. This shows that learners preferred to learn the new

vocabulary by making a sentence with them and using them in a context.

Avoiding verbatim translation was another option for learning new words. Results

received for this choice are tabulated below:

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Table 6: Avoiding verbatim translation (students view)

Avoiding

verbatim

translation


square

Yes 8232.0

3 12833.0625

No 174

67.9

7 128

Total 256

The table manifests that students highly favoured translating new words to learn them.

This result reveals the poor condition of the true implementation of communicative

language teaching (CLT) in Bangladesh.

In the teachers version, teachers were asked about their students preference forlearning vocabulary. The following table presents the pertaining results:

Table 7: Avoiding verbatim translation (teachers view)

Avoiding

translation


square

Yes 5

31.2

5 82.25

No 11

68.7

5 8

Total 16

It is evident from the table above that only 31.25% of teachers believed that their

students do not like verbatim translation, while most teachers (68.75%) held that

students were inclined to learn new vocabulary through translation. It can be inferred

that most teachers thought of translation as an effective way of teaching vocabulary,

and that their students were fond of such strategy.

The findings shown in Tables 6 and 7 are in sharp contrast with those of Riazi and

Riasatis (2007) study where they found that both students and teachers were in

favour of avoiding verbatim translation.

Table 8: Students' preference for feedback

Later feedback Observed % Expected Chi-

square

Yes 169 66 12826.66

No 87 34 128

Total 256

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It is revealed from the table above that majority of the learners (66%) preferred to be

corrected later in private. The other 34% of the students did not hold such a belief.

This shows that students were against immediate correction and preferred to be

corrected later in private. The reason might lie in the fact that students feel ashamed

of their mistakes to be identified in front of their peers.To find out the view of the learners and teachers regarding the use of media in

language teaching learning and teaching, item 10 asked students whether they like

learning from (1) television/video/films, (2) radio, (3) tapes/cassettes, (4) written

material, (5) blackboard, or (6) pictures/posters. Results are tabulated below:

Table 9: Television/video/films

Television/video/films Observed % Expected Chi-

square

Yes 220

85.9

4 128132.25

No 36

14.0

6 128

Total 256

A huge number of language learners (85.94%), as the table above shows, were in

favour of learning language from media like television, video or films. The reason, as

Celce-Murcia (2001) contends, may be the fact that such media motivate students by

bringing a fragment of real life into the classroom and by presenting language in its

more complete communicative context.

Table 10: Teachers' view on students' preference for Television/video/films

Television/video/films Observed % Expected Chi-

square

Yes 12 75 84

No 4 25 8

Total 16

The results presented in the Table 11 reveal that most teachers thought that theirstudents preferred television/video/films to other media. It is a very positive matter

that teachers were aware of their students media preference, and hence should make

more effective use of such media in their teaching. However, teachers in Bangladeshi

context would certainly

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find it very difficult to increase the use of such media due to infrastructural and

logistic limitations.

The last option of the item was "Learning about culture." Table 14 illustrates the

results received for this option:

Table 11: Students view learning about culture

Learning

culture


square

Yes 172

67.1

9 12830.25

No 84

32.8

1 128

Total 256

Table 14 shows that most of the students (67.19%) believed that culture and language

are interwoven and should be treated as such. Although teachers devote a good deal of

time, effort, and attention to the teaching of language skills, gaining linguistic

competence is not adequate for many learners to achieve their goals.

Table 12: Teachers' view on students' preference for learning about culture

Learning

culture


square

Yes 5

31.2

5 8 2.25

No 11

68.7

5 8

Total 16

Contrary to the findings of Table 14, Table 15 reveals that most teachers (68.75%)

believed that their students are not willing to learn about culture, and are not aware of

the importance of developing cultural competence when learning the language. So,

there seems to be disagreement between teachers and students in this regard.

In fine, it can be said that the most of the learners in the study seemed to favour acommunicative approach to learning. They wished to work in pairs, in groups; they

favoured learning activities that involved interaction between learners. This is in line

with the studies of Spratt (1999), Kavaliauskiene (2003) and Riazi and Riasati (2007),

which produced similar results.

The students perceptions did not match those of teachers in some cases. Therefore, a

closer cooperation between teachers and students as to how language learning

activities should be arranged and implemented in the

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classroom is still required to make the language learning and teaching process more

fruitful.

6. Conclusions

The study provides some major implications which can be summarized in the

following points:

1) Regarding studying style, students did not prefer working individually, but teachers

were not found to be aware of this fact.

2) Students did not favour the types of learning activities which emphasize receptive

skills only leaving the students passive during the learning program. They did not like

to remain passive in the classroom, but wished to participate actively in classroom

activities.

3) The vocabulary learning strategies favoured by the students include verbatim

translation as well as using words in a sentence and guessing the meaning of unknown

words. Teachers wrongly thought that their students like to learn the new words

through translation only.

4) Students seemed to be bothered about being corrected immediately in front of

every one. Rather they thought it better to be corrected later in private and

individually.

5) Regarding the use of media, students would like to see more television programs

and video films which make language learning more exciting and meaningful.

Teachers also appeared to have the same outlook. They had a tendency to see what

they are learning. However, some learners were more interested in listening to tapes.

The former group can be labelled visual learners, while the latter are referred to as

auditory learners, as classified by Reid (1995).

6) Interestingly, Language games did not highly catch the attention of the students.

But, most students enjoyed talking with and listening to other students and having

interaction with each other (global learners).

7) Learning about culture caught the interest of both students and teachers. This fact

shows that they were aware of the crucial importance of developing cultural

competence in the process of language learning and teaching.

8) Strikingly, students would feel satisfied with their achievement in English both (a)

if their works obtain good

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grades by their teachers and (b) if they could use the language effectively in real-life

situations.

9) Finally, students got a sense of satisfaction not only by getting high grades, but also

by seeing that they were more successful than before in using the language to

communicate.Pedagogical Implications

The objective behind conducting this study was to come across findings that could

feed into classroom practice, and provide guidance for students and teachers as well

as material designers and syllabus planners. Now, the following implications can be

made with the light of the findings discussed in the study:

1) The findings of this study can be helpful to students in demonstrating the

importance of identifying learning styles. Students are recommended to

identify the best way(s) through which they can enjoy the act of learning a

new language and make their achievement more fruitful. Becoming conscious

of one's learning style may be beneficial in that the learner will now be aware

of his or her strengths and weaknesses in terms of learning experiences.

2) Evidently, students do not like working individually, and it is to be kept in

mind by the teachers seriously. They have to plan class lessons as well as

teaching and learning activities in congruence with this orientation of their

students.

3) Teachers should motivate their students to use the new words in sentences,

and encourage them to avoid the act of translating words into Bangla to makethem interested in attaining communicative goals.

4) Teachers need to remember that students like to watch television programs or

video films since they like to see what they hear. So they need to be innovative

in relating learning references as well as lessons to the optimum degree

possible.

5) Teachers should keep in mind that students would like to be evaluated on the

basis of their progress and their improvement in English.

6) It is a good way for the teachers to help students discover their own learning

preferences and provide constructive feedback about the advantages and

disadvantages of various styles in accordance with the students ability,

personality, motivation, objective, and so on.

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The results of the study can, moreover, contribute to materials and syllabus designers

in the way that they can reveal which language learning activities or areas of language

are most likely to meet students approval and needs.

7) Lastly, there are scopes of further research, utilizing the results of the present

study, whether some other variables like gender, age, level of education,ethnicity, cultural influences, regionalism, and so on. have any effect on the

learners specific choice and preference of styles of language learning.

References

Barkhuizen, G. P. (1998). Discovering learners' perceptions of ESL classroom

teaching/learning activities in a South African context. TESOL Quarterly, 32,

85-108.

Brindley, G. (1984).Needs analysis and objective setting in the adult migrant

education program. Sydney, NSW: Adult Migrant Education Service.

Brinton, D. M. (1997). The use of media in language teaching. In M. Celce-Murcia

(2001), Teaching English as a second or foreign language (pp. 459-76.). NY:

Dewey Publishing Services.

Celce-Murcia, M. (2001). Teaching English as a second or foreign language (3rd

ed.). NY: Dewey Publishing Services, pp. 359-366.

Felder, R. M. (1996). Matters of styles.ASEE Prism, 6(4), 1823.

Kavaliauskiene, G. (2003). English for specific purposes: Learners preferences and

attitudes.Journal of Language and Learning, 1(1).

Reid, J. (1995).Learning styles in the ESL/EFL classroom. Boston, MA: Heinle and

Heinle Publishers.

Reid, J. M. (1987). The learning style preferences of ESL students. TESOL Quarterly,

21, 87-111.

Riazi, A. & Riasati, M. J. (2007). Language learning style preferences: a students case

study of shiraz EFL Institutes.Asian EFL Journal, 9(1).

Spratt, M. (1999). How good are we at knowing what learners like? System, 27, 141-

155.

Willing, K. (1988). "Learning styles in adult migrant education." Adelaide, South

Australia: National Curriculum Research Council.

Wintergerst, A. C., DeCapua, A., & Marilyn, A. V. (2003). Conceptualizing learning

style modalities for ESL/EFL students. System, 31, 85-106.

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Appendix

Questionnaire (Version 1) : How do you like learning?

Please put a circle around your response.

1. Are you satisfied with your achievement in

English?

YES NO

2. In class do you like learninga. individually? YES NO

b. in pairs? YES NOc. in small groups? YES NOd. in one large group? YES NOe. others (specify please) ..............................

3. Do you want to do work at home as well? YES NO

If YES, how much time outside class hours?.......... hours a day or .......... hours a week.

4. How would you like to spend this time?a. preparing for the next class? YES NO

b. reviewing the previous lessons? YES NO

c. others (specify please)..............................5. Do you want to

a. spend all your learning time in the

classroom?

YES NO

b. spend some time in the classroom andsome time practicing your English with

people outside?

YES NO

c. others (specify please)..............................6. Do you like learning

a. by listening? YES NO

b. by reading? YES NOc. by copying from the board? YES NO

d. by listening and taking notes? YES NOe. by reading and making notes? YES NOf. by repeating what you hear? YES NOg. by making summaries? YES NOh. others (specify please)..............................

7. When learning new vocabulary, do you like

learninga. by using new words in a sentence? YES NO

b. by thinking of relationships between known

and new?

YES NO

c. by saying or writing words several times? YES NO

d. by avoiding verbatim translation? YES NOe. by guessing the unknown? YES NO

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f. by reading without looking up words? YES NO

g. others (specify please).............................. ?8. When you speak do you want to be corrected

a. immediately, in front of everyone? YES NO

b. later, at the end of the activity, in front ofeveryone?

YES NO

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c. later, in private? YES NOd. other (specify please)..............................

9. Do you mind if other students sometimes correct

your written work?

YES NO

Do you mind if the teacher sometimes asks you tocorrect your own work?

YES NO

10. Do you like learning froma. television/video/films? YES NOb. radio? YES NO

c. tapes/cassettes? YES NOd. written/printed material? YES NO

e. the blackboard? YES NOf. pictures/posters? YES NO

g. others (specify please)..............................11. Do you do the following in your class?a. Role play YES NOb. Language games YES NOc. Songs YES NO

d. Talking with and listening to other students YES NO

e. Memorizing conversations/dialogues YES NO

f. Getting information from guest speakers YES NO

g. Learning about culture YES NO

12. How do you like to find out how much your

English is improving?a. By written tasks set by the teacher? YES NO

b. By seeing if you can use the language you

have learnt in real-life situations?

YES NO

c. Others (specify please)..............................13. Do you get a sense of satisfaction from

a. having your work graded? YES NOb. being told that you have made progress? YES NOc. feeling more confident in situations that

you found difficult before?

YES NO

d. others (specify please)..............................

Questionnaire (Version 2) : How do your students like learning?

Please put a circle around your response.

1. Are you satisfied with your students'

achievement in English?

YES NO

2. In class do your students like learninga. individually? YES NOb. in pairs? YES NO

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c. in small groups? YES NOd. in one large group? YES NOe. other (specify please)..............................

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3. Do they want toa. spend all their learning time in the

classroom?

YES NO

b. spend some time in the classroom and

some time practicing their English withpeople outside?

YES NO

c. other (specify please)..............................4. Do they like learning

a. by listening? YES NOb. by reading? YES NOc. by copying from the board? YES NOd. by listening and taking notes? YES NOe. by reading and making notes? YES NOf. by repeating what they hear? YES NOg. by making summaries? YES NO

h. other (specify please)..............................5. When learning new vocabulary, do they like

learninga. by using new words in a sentence YES NOb. by thinking of relationships between

known and new

YES NO

c. by saying or writing words several times YES NOd. by avoiding verbatim translation YES NOe. by guessing the unknown YES NOf. by reading without looking up words YES NOg. other (specify please)..............................

6. When they speak do they want to be correcteda. immediately in front of everyone? YES NOb. later, at the end of the activity, in front of

everyone?

YES NO

c. later, in private? YES NOd. other (specify please)..............................

7. Do they mind if other students sometimes

correct their written work?

YES NO

Do they mind if you as the teacher sometimes

ask them to correct their own work?

YES NO

8. Do they like learning froma. television/video/films? YES NOb. radio? YES NOc. tapes/cassettes? YES NOd. written/printed material? YES NOe. the blackboard? YES NOf. pictures/posters? YES NOg. other (specify please)..............................

9. Do you do the following in your class?a. Role play YES NOb. Language games YES NOc. Songs YES NO

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d. Talking with and listening to other students YES NOe. Memorizing conversations/dialogues YES NOf. Getting information from guest speakers YES NOg. Learning about culture YES NO

10. How do you think students like to find outhow much their English is improving? By .....

a. written tasks set by you? YES NOb. seeing if they can use the language they

have learnt in real-life situations?

YES NO

c. other (specify please)..............................11. Do you think students get a sense of

satisfaction froma. having their work graded? YES NOb. being told that they have made progress? YES NOc. feeling more confident in situations that

they found difficult before?

YES NO

d. other (specify please)..............................

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Language Learning Style Preferences_Bangladesh_Jahurul Islam_2011

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