Learning Styles of Saudi ESP Students

Explorations in learning styles have proved the significance of the ways students approach, assimilate, and process information. Students’ perceptions and their organization influence the quality of language learning and guide them towards autonomy, too. This study attempts to identify the preferred perceptual learning styles of 86 Saudi English for Specific Purposes (ESP) female students in the Preparatory Year Deanship, Prince Sattam bin Abdul Aziz University, Saudi Arabia. To accomplish this aim, a Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire (PLSPQ) developed by Joy Reid (1987) was used. The results showed that the participants’ major learning styles were Kinesthetic, Group, Auditory, Visual, and Tactile, whereas their minor style was Individual. The analysis of the data also revealed that the most preferred learning style was the Kinesthetic learning style (18.64%, M=4.42), and the least preferred one was the Individual learning style (14.30%, M=3.39). The second to fifth place belonged to Group (17.19%, M=4.07), Auditory (16.81%, M=3.98), Visual (16.55%, M=3.92) and Tactile (16.52%, M=3.91) learning styles. The findings have implications for teachers, syllabus designers, and researchers to take into consideration students’ preferred learning styles for language learning while teaching, changes in the learning environment, and material adaptation.

Mobile Learning in Business English its Effect to South American Students’ Learning Styles in the COVID 19 Pandemic Era: Its Economic Implications

The adoption of M-learning and perceptual learning style preferences of South American EFL learners in a business English course were studied empirically. A descriptive correlational research design was used in this study. Data were gathered from 125 South American EFL students who were carefully sampled among a total of 184 students with mobile phones enrolled in a business English classes of selected South American university. The Mobile Learning Questionnaire (MLQ) and Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire were used in the study (PLSPQ). The data revealed that students in a business English course have a high level of M-learning adoption. It was discovered that respondents favor visual learning, group learning, individual learning, tactile learning, and auditory learning, with kinesthetic learning receiving the least attention. When students are grouped by gender and age, test results show that male respondents had stronger appeal to the utility, acceptability, enjoyment, facilitating conditions, and behavioral intention of M-learning than female respondents. Regardless of their age, respondents acknowledged the benefits of using M-learning in their business English course. Similarly, when the respondents are grouped by gender, no significant differences in learning style preferences are detected. However, the younger respondents prefer group learning, whilst the older respondents prefer individual learning. Finally, a link was discovered between M-learning usage and students' preferred learning styles. The positive link implies that the more M-learning students use, the more learning style preferences they have for group, tactile, visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and group learning tasks. This paper discusses the theoretical and educational consequences.

ANALYSIS ON STUDENTS’ MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT BASED ON LEARNING STYLES

This descriptive and comparative study aims to see the students learning styles and mathematics achievements. The respondent are fifty junior high school students in Lembang, West Bandung, Indonesia. The research instruments are Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire (PLSPQ) and mathematics problem solving test. The result of this study are: (1) Only twenty percent of the students have exactly one learning style and most of the students has kinesthetic learning style; (2) Students who have three or less major learning styles perform good mathematics achievement, and students who have minor learning styles only, perform better mathematics achievements averagely, comparing with students who have major learning styles; (3) Students perform better mathematics achievement when they have more than one learning style, (4) There is no significant difference in the students’ mathematics achievement, between students who have three or less major learning styles and students who have more than three major learning styles.

Perceptual Learning Style Preferences of English Major Libyan University Students and their Correlations with Academic Achievement

Exploring perceptual learning style preferences and their relationships with academic achievement is important to success in teaching and learning language. The aim of this study, therefore, was to investigate the perceptual learning style preferences of Libyan EFL University students majoring in English at Omar Almukhtar University and to check whether there is a significant relationship between students’ perceptual learning style preferences and their academic achievement. A total of 75 fourth year English major students were participated in this study. A self-reporting learning style questionnaire developed by Kinsella (1994) was used to collect data and final semester examination scores were used to determine the average academic achievement for each participant. The findings showed that tactile style was the most dominant learning style among the students followed by auditory style while kinesthetic style was the least favoured learning style. The findings also revealed that there was a significant relationship between students’ learning style preferences and their academic achievement; the strongest correlation (r=0.30, P<.01) was found between the auditory learning style and academic achievement. The findings are discussed in this study with implication for university instructors to identify their students’ perceptual learning style and match them with their teaching style to influence students’ achievement, and deliver their lectures by using different approaches and techniques to ensure that the learning process is effective and efficient for a great number of their students. This study contributed to the EFL field in Libya by providing clear information on students’ learning style preferences and their correlation with academic achievement.

The Relationship between Prefered Learning Styles, Reading Strategies and Reading Achievement of Efl at Thai Nguyen University, Vietnam

The present study was conducted at the School of Foreign Languages, Thai Nguyen University, Vietnam. There were 132 second years students participated in the study. The study employed quantitative research design. The instruments used in the study included the Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire (PLSPQ) developed by Reid (1987); the Survey of reading strategies (SORS) which was a 30-item self-assessment instrument developed by Sheorey and Mokhtari (2002), and a simulated IELTS reading test. The findings of the study revealed that there was a statistically significant difference in the uses of reading strategies by different learning styles. The Visual language learners used the most reading strategies (M= 2.92). The Auditory language learners ranked the second (M=2.50). Tactile and Kinesthetic learners used reading strategies at low level (M=2.0). Group language learners used the least reading strategies (M=1.04). In terms of reading achievement among different learning styles, the results of the study showed that there was a statistically difference on the reading achievement by learners of different learning styles. The Visual language learners achieved highest scores (M=5.49). Tactile language learners ranked the second of M=4.5. Auditory and Kinesthetic language learners scored almost similar of M=3.36 and M=3.72 respectively. Group and Individual learners ranked the last of M=2.83 and M=2.77.

Demystifying Perceptual Learning Style Preferences of Vietnamese University Freshmen in English Academic Achievement

Learning styles play an important role in teaching and learning, especially in second language acquisition. This study aims to investigate the perceptual language learning style preference of 385 first-year university students in Vietnam. Adapting Reid’s (1984) learning style questionnaire is used as a data gathering tool in which it was responded and retrieved via students’ emails incorporated with Google form. The results revealed that freshmen were active learners since they mostly belonged to 4 major learning styles, namely Tactile, Auditory, Group, and Kinesthetic learners, and 2 minor learning styles, i.e. Visual and Individual learners. In addition, the study did not find the differences between gender as well as major and non-major English students in comparison with learning styles. Besides, freshmen’s English academic achievement was highly influenced by their learning styles. The research findings contribute resourceful references to the formation of stakeholders’ policies on English language teaching and learning, teachers of English, and future studies.

Multimodal and Perceptual Learning Styles: Their Effect on Students’ Motivation in a Digital Environment

<div><p>The advent of various interactive multimedia networks in the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) classroom (Grabe &amp; Grabe, 2007) has led to the emergence of new learning methodologies (Ming-Hung et al., 2017). Accordingly, new ways of learning are present in a multimodal environment, and have caused an effect on students’ degree of motivation, as well as on their learning styles (e.g., ‘multimodal’ and ‘perceptual’ learning styles).</p></div><div><p>The present study aims to analyse the degree of motivation of ESP learners with a ‘Multimodal’ learning style in contrast to those with ‘Multiple’ learning styles. In particular, this study addresses three research questions: (1) Has ‘Digital’ learning created a recent ‘perceptual’ learning style (i.e., ‘Multimodal’ learning style)? (2) To what extent does ‘digital’ learning increase ESP students’ motivation in comparison to ‘traditional’ learning? (3) Does the ‘Multimodal’ learning style heighten the degree of motivation in contrast to ‘Multiple’ learning style?</p><p>The study used a sample of 62 first-year ESP students taking the subject ‘Professional English for Communicators’ at a Spanish university. Data for this study were collected using ‘Wix’, as the main research tool, and two questionnaires which focused on students’ ‘Multimodal’ learning style and motivation: (a) ‘Multimodal Learning Styles Questionnaire’, designed to help students identify their preferences towards their learning process, and (b) ‘Motivation Questionnaire’, in order to get information regarding students’ perceptions for the enhancement of engagement.</p><p>Results suggest that the implementation of ‘Wix’ in the classroom increases students’ engagement in their learning process and fosters a new perceptual learning style (i.e., ‘multimodal’ learning style). These findings may help to identify to what extent digital resources affect students’ engagement and perceptual learning styles’ preferences. The results obtained from this research may be used to derive conclusions on how to approach the ‘Multimodal’ learning style in further student performances with digital tools that promote the training of digital literacies (Girón-García, 2013).</p></div>

LANGUAGE LEARNING STYLE IN MANAGEMENT STUDENTS FROM DIFFERENT GENDER GROUP

Learning style is one factor which can determine students in the way how they obtained the learning or information. Between male and female students were different in choosing their learning styles. This study tried to investigate the perceptual learning styles preference in Management students and to know the differences between male and female Management students in learning styles in the first semester at University of Muhammadiyah Gresik. Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire (PLSPQ) developed by Reid 1987was used and administered to 230 students. An observation check-list also used to support the data with questionnaire. Descriptive Statistic was used to analyze the data. The result indicated that students preferred in Group style when they learned English as Academic Purpose (EAP). In gender, between female and male students showed there were some differences in their learning styles. The result revealed that female students preferred in Group style, meanwhile male students preferred in auditory style. The least preference of learning style both female and male students was Individual style