Learning styles & learning strategies
Dr Desmond Thomas,
University of Essex
Indicated reading & references
• Ellis, R. 1985, Understanding Second Language
Acquisition, Oxford University Press.
• Oxford, R. 2003, Language Learning Styles &
Strategies: an Overview, Gala 2003
• Reid, J. 1987, ‘The Learning Style Preferences
of ESL Students’, TESOL Quarterly, Vol.21/1
The learner perspective
There are a number of situations that haunt me ……
waiting at airports, being in prison, being in a traffic
jam on the M25 and being a learner in a classroom
situation…… The common factor which most affects me
in these situations is my total lack of control or choice.
I feel helpless and frustrated, so much so that I
temporarily lose my sense of identity and
responsibility. And the worst thing is that there is no
tangible target for my frustration.
(Sheelagh Deller , 1990 Lessons from the learner,
London: Longman).
The learner perspective 2
Let me define more precisely the elements involved in
significant or experiential learning. One element is the
quality of personal involvement. The whole person,
both in feeling and in cognitive aspects, is part of the
learning event. Self-initiated involvement is another
element. Even when the impetus or stimulus comes
from the outside, the sense of discovery or reaching
out, of grasping and comprehending comes from
within.
Carl Rogers & H. Jerome Freiburg, 1994, Freedom to
Learn, New York: Merrill).
Summarizing points made by Deller & Rogers
• Learners are different – with different wants and different
needs.
• Learners need to feel that what they learn is meaningful to
them.
• The whole person is part of the learning event
• Learners need to be actively involved in the learning
process
• Learners need to initiate and not just respond.
• A learner-centred approach or learner-centred activities
are essential in FLT
• To achieve this we must take account of different learning
styles and different learning strategies
What is a learning style?
• Ellis (1985) described a learning style as the
more or less consistent way in which a person
perceives, conceptualizes, organizes and
recalls information.
• Your students' learning styles will be
influenced by their genetic make-up, their
previous learning experiences, their culture
and the society they live in.
Classifying learning styles
1.
2.
3.
Sensory preferences: Visual (seeing),
Auditory (hearing), Kinesthetic (moving),
Tactile (touching)
Personality types: extrovert/introvert,
intuitive-random/sensing-sequential,
thinking/feeling, judging/perceiving
Degree of generality: holistic/analytic,
field dependent/field independent
McCarthy's four learning styles
•
•
•
•
Innovative learners
Analytic learners
Common sense learners
Dynamic learners
• http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/le
arning-styles-teaching
Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory (1981)
Learning Styles Questionnaire
•
•
•
•
Are you an ACTIVIST?
Are you a REFLECTOR?
Are you a THEORIST?
Are you a PRAGMATIST?
Try out the questionnaire from Everard and Morris
1996, Effective School Management, Paul Chapman
Everard & Morris categories
•
•
•
•
•
Are you an ACTIVIST?
Are you a REFLECTOR?
Are you a THEORIST?
Are you a PRAGMATIST?
Or are you a mix of several? How balanced?
Other factors that affect LS
• Biological differences: ‘biorhythms’ mean that
some learners perform best early/late in a day
• Cultural norms
• Educational norms
• Societal norms
What are learning strategies?
“Specific behaviours or thought processes that
students use to enhance their own learning…
A strategy is useful if the following conditions
are present: (a) the strategy relates well to the
L2 task at hand, (b) the strategy fits the
particular student’s learning style preferences
to one degree or another, and (c) the student
employs the strategy effectively and links it
with other relevant strategies.” (Oxford 2003)
Indicated reading (learning strategies)
• Chen, Y. 2007, Learning to learn: the impact of
strategy training, ELT Journal 61/1
• Ellis, G. & Sinclair, B. 1991, Learning to Learn English:
a Course in Learner Training, Cambridge
• Oxford, R. 1990, Language Learning Strategies: What
Every Teacher Should Know, Heinle & Heinle
• Stern, H. 1983, Fundamental Concepts in Language
Teaching, Oxford
The ‘good language learner’ (Stern)
1. Active planning strategy
2. ‘Academic’ or explicit learning strategy
3. Social learning strategy
4. Affective strategy
But “later studies found there was no single set
of strategies used by GLLs” (Oxford 2003)
A more recent categorization (Oxford 1990)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Cognitive strategies
Metacognitive strategies
Memory-related strategies
Compensatory strategies
Affective strategies
Social strategies
Can Learning Strategies be taught?
• Small-scale interventions? For example:
helping readers guess the meaning of words
• Strategy-based teaching:
The CALLA (Cognitive Academic Language
Learning Approach)
• “Learning to learn” courses (Ellis & Sinclair)
Learner Autonomy
Dr Desmond Thomas,
University of Essex
Learner autonomy reading
• Ballard, B. 1996, ‘Through Language to Learning:
Preparing Overseas Students for Study in Western
Universities’ in Coleman, H. (ed.) Society and the
Language Classroom, CUP
• Chen, Y. 2007, ‘Learning to learn: the impact of
strategy training’, ELT Journal 61/1
• Cotterall, S. 2008 , ‘Autonomy & Good Language
Learners’. In Griffiths, C. (ed.) Lessons from Good
Language Learners, CUP
• Lee, I. 1998, ‘Supporting greater learner
autonomy in language learning’, ELT Journal 52/4
What is autonomy?
• Holec 1981: “the ability to take charge of one’s
own learning”
• Little 1991: “a capacity for detachment, critical
reflection, decision-making, and independent
action”. Not culturally-determined.
• Benson 2001: “the content of learning should
be freely determined by learners”.
(Reported in Cotterall 2008)
What do we mean by autonomy in
language learning?
• http://www.llas.ac.uk/resources/ (HEA
Language, Linguistics and Area Studies page for
definitions of autonomy and the autonomous
learner)
• “Learner autonomy is a problematic term because it
is widely confused with self-instruction. It is also a
slippery concept because it is notoriously difficult to
define precisely …. (Benson 2001)
Definition of Autonomy 2
• “The rapidly expanding literature has debated,
for example, whether learner autonomy
should be thought of as capacity or behaviour;
whether it is characterised by learner
responsibility or learner control; whether it is
a psychological phenomenon with political
implications or a political right with
psychological implications” (Benson 2001)
‘Reproductive’ learning approach
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Aim: transfer of knowledge
Transmission of information/rules
Tests of memory & rote learning
Emphasis on replication & right answers
Focus on correctness
Strong guidance from the teacher
Characteristic of secondary education?
(Ballard 1996)
Desmond Thomas, SOAS:
dthomas@soas.ac.uk
23
‘Analytic’ learning approach
• Analysis of information and ideas within
interpretative frameworks
• Independent and critical thinking
• Emphasis on originality
• Questioning and arguing
• Characteristic of university education?
• Allowing learners more freedom in a language
learning context?
Desmond Thomas, SOAS:
dthomas@soas.ac.uk
24
What do we expect of our
autonomous learners?
• There is nevertheless broad agreement that
autonomous learners understand the purpose of
their learning programme, explicitly accept
responsibility for their learning, share in the setting
of learning goals, take initiatives in planning and
executing learning activities, and regularly review
their learning and evaluate its effectiveness. In
other words, there is a consensus that the practice
of learner autonomy requires insight, a positive
attitude, a capacity for reflection, and a readiness to
be proactive in self-management and in interaction
with others. “http://www.llas.ac.uk/resources/
Desmond Thomas, SOAS:
dthomas@soas.ac.uk
25
The industry of support for our
autonomous learners at university level
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Tutor feedback (oral & written)
Personal tutors
Counsellors
Orientation programmes for LL
1-to-1 learning support tutorials
Workshops (eg on exam techniques)
Specific learning difficulties eg dyslexia
Desmond Thomas, SOAS:
dthomas@soas.ac.uk
26
Ways of encouraging learner autonomy 1
• Raising awareness of purpose
Learners can make better decisions about their
learning if they are aware of the purpose of
different tasks and exercises in the course book.
• Taking opportunities outside the classroom
As well as understanding the purpose of
classroom tasks, learners can also be encouraged
to use resources for language practice that exist
outside the classroom.
Ways of encouraging learner autonomy 2
• Raising awareness of individual learning
styles and preferences
Course books are beginning to include
discussion points to raise students awareness
of their own learning styles e.g. on different
ways review the days lesson, to organise
course material, to keep vocabulary note
books
Ways of encouraging learner autonomy 3
• Encouraging reflection
Learners can be encouraged to reflect on their
own progress (as you have been required to
do!). Some learners enjoy keeping learner
diaries. Learners can also be encouraged to
reflect on individual classes. E.g.
In todays class I learned …………………….
I am confused about………………………
Ways of encouraging learner autonomy 4
• Learner responsibility and empowerment
Useful expressions for the classroom can be
taught right from beginner level to allow
students to have some control of the
teaching / learning process
• I’m sorry, I don’t understand
• how do you spell ….. ?
• Can you repeat please? …
Ways of encouraging learner autonomy 5
• Involving students in the teaching /learning
decisions
By allowing students to take some of the
decisions about how the classes will be run,
they will also have a greater sense of
responsibility.
(What class ‘rules’ might be discussed & what
type of ‘rules’ drawn up? E.g. think of:
homework; attendance; use of L1…..).
Life-long Learner Autonomy
• The Council of Europe's European Language
Portfolio is a tool that may bring
'autonomisation' to much larger numbers of
learners. The ELP was first launched as a
concept in 1997 and has since been realised in
almost 40 different models, all of which
conform to Principles and Guidelines laid
down by the Council of Europe
(http://culture.coe.int/portfolio).