Quick Question

I have a lot to do in my teaching: creating lesson plans, looking for and making materials, reading homework and so on. How am I supposed to find out my learners' preferred learning styles, strategies and characteristics and then teach them in their preferred way?

Many teachers feel this way. A handy solution to this problem is to create and deliver lessons that take into account a range of skills, learning styles, strategies and to be open with your learners, talk with them about these things and help them find their own best way to learn.

The Bigger Picture

When we read about different types of learners and their characteristics, one commonly referenced theme is learners' learning styles. It is often claimed that our learning style influences on how we learn best. Here are some of the most common learning styles:

Visual —Learners learn best through watching and looking.

Auditory —Learners learn best through listening and hearing.

Kinesthetic —Learners learn best through being physical, while moving or touching things.

Autonomous —Learners like to decide what he/she learns and how to learn.

A recent research has disputed the case for learning styles. There is now a growing belief that adapting teaching approaches to cater for these learning styles does not produce better learning results.

Learning strategies are the ways that learners choose and use to learn a language. Different learners use different strategies and this will make them more successful in their learning process.

Teachers can help develop learner autonomy by introducing different learning strategies. Examples of learning strategies include recording new vocabulary items on their mobile phones, taking photos of the teacher's notes on the board and using colour-coding to highlight certain items in their own notes.

Learner training is when a teacher helps learners discover how they learn most effectively. It can involve supporting learners to be more independent and autonomous and helping them to develop learning strategies and study skills. Teachers can encourage learners to reflect on how they are learning (to become reflective learners).

As learners experience different classroom approaches, they will develop preferences according to their own learner characteristics. When learners develop an understanding of how they learn best and become more independent or autonomous, they become mature learners.

Key Vocabulary

attention span 专注时长

auditory (learner) 听觉型（学习者）

kinesthetic (learner) 触觉型（学习者）

learner training 学习者训练

learning strategy 学习策略

learning style 学习风格

maturity 成熟

paraphrase 近/ 同义替换

visual (learner) 视觉型（学习者）

Tricky Terms and Concepts

Maturity —If a learner is mature in their outlook on teaching, they have an understanding of learning strategies and will be more autonomous and independent. The level of learner maturity will influence what approaches a teacher decides to use.

reflective learner VS impulsive learner

Reflective learners like to learn by thinking, often think about concepts before taking action, and can organise information and materials in a logical way. Impulsive learners like to try out things without pondering over them a lot. They enjoy hands-on activities and classroom discussions, not so much note-taking.

learning style VS learning strategy

Learning styles are (learner) preferred approaches to language learning, while learning strategies are specific techniques learners employ to deal with language learning tasks in different situations.

In Your Class

Many teachers instinctively teach in a way that reflects their own preferences and attitudes to learning. Teachers should avoid the temptation to only teach according to their own preferred learning styles and strategies as these might not suit the characteristics of their learners.

Try It Out

Before you teach your next class: Think about whether your group of learners display any common learner characteristics? (Are they independent? Are they reflective?) Does this influence what you do in their lessons?

While you're teaching your next class: Try giving your learners opportunities to employ a learning strategy such as deducing the meaning of new words (instead of your translating the word for them).

After your next class: Reflect on whether you did anything to encourage your learners to be more autonomous.

What You Might Be Tested On

TKT questions might ask you to:

» Complete sentences about learning styles.

» Match different types of learning strategies with different learning styles.

Find Out What You Know

Match the suitable activities or strategies with the different learning styles listed A, B and C. You will need to use some of the options more than once.

Different learning styles:

A. reflective

B. auditory

C. visual

Activities or strategies:

1. Discuss topics with others and explain their own ideas.

2. Remember information which is presented graphically.

3. Mark up the margins of the textbook with key words, symbols and diagrams.

4. Record lessons and listen to them again.

5. Think about the information quietly first and spend time processing language.

Key: 1. A 2. C 3. C 4. B 5. A

Inspiration

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