Learning styles as individual learner differences

1. Lecture 8: Learning Styles &
Cognitive Styles (Part2)

2.  COGNITIVE AND LEARNING STYLES IN L2STUDIES
 Field Dependence–Independence in L2 Studies
 Sensory Preferences
 A model of L2 learning styles
 PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS
 CONCLUSION
 EXERCISE
Outline

3. COGNITIVE AND LEARNING
STYLES IN L2 STUDIES

4. Cognitive and learning styles in L2 studies
Educators and psychologists have conceptualized cognitive styles and learning styles
have proposed different descriptive models, only some of which aim to investigate
language learning.

5.  "field independence" (FI) or "field dependence" (FD). FI/FD refers to how
people perceive and memorize information (Chapelle: 1995).
 The FD/I style distinction is similar to Riding’s wholist–analytic style (which is
thought to subsume FD/I).
 The "field" may be perceptual or it may be abstract, such as a set of ideas,
thoughts, or feelings from which the task is to perceive specific subsets.
Field Dependence–Independence in L2 Studies

6.  Field Independence hinges on the perceptual skill of "seeing the forest for
the trees." A child who can spot the monkeys camouflaged within the trees
and leaves of a forest in books tend toward a field independent style. Field-
independent people are free—or independent—of the influence of the whole
field when they look at the parts and therefore can notice details
 Field dependence is, conversely, the tendency to be "dependent" on the total
field. Field-dependent people are are hopeless when looking for some small
object (such as a nail)dropped on the floor.
Field independence and field dependence

7. Field dependent–independent

8. Much of the literature reports that field independents tend to outperform field dependents on
cognitive tasks. This is because field independents, by definition, are better at focusing on some
aspects of experience or stimulus, separating it from the background, and analyzing it
unaffected by distractions. Oin other words Fis have a greater capacity to notice important
aspects of language
.
However, it has also been proposed that when the target of our attention is a complex domain
such as language with its prominent cognitive, affective, and social dimensions, being able to
focus on the whole situation can have its advantages (Chapelle, 1995). Thus, researchers found
that field dependents, as opposed to field independents, performed better on L2 tasks that emphasized
communicative rather than formal aspects of language proficiency (Johnson et al.’s 2000).
Field Dependence–Independence in L2 Studies

9. • Other researchers, however, found that field independents had an overall advantage at various aspects of
SLA , which could be related to their ability to separate the essential from the inessential, as well as a
greater capacity to channel attention selectively and to notice important aspects of language
Field Dependence–Independence in L2 Studies

10. There are advantages and disadvantages to FI and FD learning styles and both are important for L2
learning. The FI learner excels in classroom learning which involves analysis, attention to details, and
mastering of exercises, drills, and other focused activities.
The FD learner, by contrast, seems to achieve a higher degree of success in everyday language
situations beyond the constraints of the classroom; tasks requiring interpersonal communication skills.
Concluding remarks on Field Dependence–Independence in L2 Studies

12. Sensory preferences are categorized into ‘visual,’ ‘auditory,’ ‘kinesthetic,’ and sometimes
‘tactile’ types. This dimension concerns the perceptual modes or learning channels through
which students take in information.
Visual learners: As the term suggests, these learners absorb information most
effectively if it is provided through the visual channel. In general, visual learners
like visual stimulation such as films and videos, and if some large chunk of
information is presented orally (e.g., in a lecture) their understanding is
considerably enhanced by a handout and various visual aids
Sensory Preferences

13. Auditory learners use most effectively auditory input such as lectures or audiotapes.
They also like to ‘talk the material through’ by engaging in discussions and group work.
Kinesthetic and tactile learners are often grouped together under the ‘haptic’ style
category because the two style preferences are somewhat related although not identical.
The kinesthetic style refers to learning most effectively through complete body experience
(e.g., whole-body movement), whereas tactile learners like a hands-on, touching learning
approach. The key issue for the former group is movement, while for the latter the
manipulation of objects.
Sensory Preferences

14. The different sensory preferences do not exclude each other. For
example, successful learners often use both visual and auditory
input. As students grow older, those with mixed modality strengths
have a decidedly better chance of success than do those with a single
modality strength because they can process information in whatever
way it was presented (Kinsella, 1995).
Sensory Preferences

15. A model of L2 learning styles

16.  The E&L Construct is similar to Riding’s theory in that it reorganizes a number of established
style dimensions. However, unlike Riding’s taxonomy, here only one superordinate style
dimension is provided, with the two poles labeled ectasis and synopsis.
 An ectenic learner wants or needs conscious control over the learning process, whereas a
synoptic learner leaves more to unconscious processing.
 The complete system is made up of 10 subdimensions
The Ehrman & Leaver Construct

18. Field dependent–independent and field sensitive–insensitive:
Field sensitive learners use the full language environment for comprehension and learning while, on
the other hand, field insensitive learners pay attention to a particular language element being studied
rather than focussing on the whole language environment (Leaver et al., 2005).
Random (non-linear) vs. sequential (linear):
This dimension relates to how the learner processes information. Random learners follow their own
order of processing (which may seem random to others), whereas sequential learners prefer a step
by-step order of processing (such as the units in a syllabus).
Global–particular:
Global processing focusses on the ‘big picture’ and processes “top down” whereas particular
processing attend to discrete items and details and process “bottom up” (Ehrman & Leaver, 2003).

19. Inductive–deductive:
Inductive learners start with the details and facts, then form hypotheses, and finally test them;
deductive learners start out with rules or theories and then try to apply them to examples.
Synthetic–analytic:
Synthetic learners like to use pieces to build new wholes, whereas analytic students like to
disassemble wholes into parts to understand their componential structure.
Analogue–digital:
Analogue learners prefer to use metaphors, analogies, and conceptual links among units and
their meanings, whereas digital learners take a more surface approach, characterized by a literal
and logical understanding of what they can hear or see.

20. Concrete–abstract:
Concrete learners prefer a relationship with direct experience to the extent of sensory contact,
whereas abstract learners may have more interest in the system underlying language than in the
actual language of communication.
Leveling–sharpening:
Levelling-sharpening difference represents what learners pay attention to and how they store it in
memory (Ehrman & Leaver, 2003). Levellers remove distinctions instinctively and they frequently see
similarities; sharpeners, on the other hand, look for distinctions among items (Leaver et al., 2005).
Impulsive–reflective:
Impulsive learners tend to respond rapidly, often acting on gut, whereas reflective learners prefer to
think things through before they respond.

21. Sample items from the Ehrman & Leaver Learning Style Questionnaire

22. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

23. The general assumption shared by the advocates of learning style research is
that a more principled teaching approach that would take into account the
impact of various style characteristics on learning could reduce or even
remove many mismatches and can thus enhance learning effectiveness.
PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

24. 1. Mismatch between the student’s learning style and the teacher’s teaching style, a conflict that has
been dramatically termed a style war by Oxford et al. (1991).
2. Mismatch between the student’s learning style and the syllabus, for example when the latter does
not cover grammar systematically, although analytic learners would need that.
3. Mismatch between the student’s learning style and the language task, for example when a visual
student participates in a task that involves receiving auditory input (e.g., from a tape).
4. Mismatch between the student’s learning style and his or her beliefs about learning, for example
when an analysis-oriented learner believes that rote learning is the most effective learning method
(whereas that method would suit a memory-oriented learner better).
5. Mismatch between the student’s learning style and the learning strategies applied, for example
when a field independent learner tries to apply social strategies, or a global learner uses bottom-up
reading strategies.
6. We can even conceive of a mismatch between the student’s learning style and his or her abilities,
for example when an ectenic learner has underdeveloped grammatical sensitivity.

25.  The most common and somewhat simplistic recommendation is that teachers can modify the
learning tasks they use in their classes in a way that may bring the best out of particular
learners with particular learning style preferences.
 Second option, by getting students to take a learning style questionnaire and by discussing the
results with them we can help them to identify their own learning styles and to recognize the
power of understanding their language learning styles for making learning more effective
 It would also be beneficial for teachers to find out about their own learning styles because many
teachers, either consciously or unconsciously, select methods that reflect their own preferred
ways of approaching academic tasks. This, however, might not be helpful to all the students .
PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

26.  We can also help students learn how to operate outside their preferred styles, a phenomenon that is
often referred to as style stretching.
 Further way of empowering students is to teach them learning strategies that would suit their styles.
 The most effective way for teachers to demonstrate awareness of learning styles is to be sensitive to
the students’ differential time requirements in coping with certain types of tasks. The idea that different
students need varying amounts of time to achieve certain learning objectives is one of the most basic
but at the same time rather neglected principles of educational psychology (Yates’s 2000) .
PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

27.  Learning style research has clearly demonstrated the need for a more balanced
mixture of instructional input, with the materials presented visually as well as
verbally, and reinforced through writing, drawing, or speaking activities.
 An obvious way to decrease the mismatch between teachers’ and students’
learning styles is to become more willing to involve learners in planning lessons
and tasks, and more generally, to give them more control over their learning.
 Learners clearly differ enormously in their preferred approach to L2 learning, but it
is impossible to say which learning style works best.
Concluding Remarks