Learning Styles and Performance in Second Language Tasks

Learning Styles and Performance in Second Language Tasks

       Andreou (2008) examined associations between students’ learning styles and their academic discipline (science vs. arts) in connection with performance on different second language (L2) verbal fluency tasks, English phonological, syntactic, and semantic tasks.

       The results of his study were the following: First, discipline differences, Arts students displayed a tendency to emphasize a more divergent and assimilative learning preference than science students, who displayed a preference for convergent learning style and had systematically lower scores on phonology and semantics. Second, gender differences, males had a systematically more convergent learning style than females. This study has many implications; first, it suggests that L2 teachers should strive for a balanced teaching style that does not excessively favor any one learning style; rather, one that tries to accommodate multiple learning styles. Second, performance on syntax can be predicted by the use of learning preferences that favor active experimentation and concrete experience such as problem-solving activities and practical experimentation. Third, L2 teachers should be more willing to involve learners in planning lessons and tasks and give them more control over their own learning.