Styles and Strategies in Language Learning

• Styles and strategies are important in English language teaching and learning

Process, Style, and Strategy

• All humans universally engage in certain learning processes and make stimulus-response connections
• Aptitude for learning a second language can be described by verbal learning processes
• Style refers to consistent preferences within an individual

General Characteristics of Intellectual Functioning

• Styles pertain to you as an individual and differentiate you from someone else
• Style varies across individuals
• Strategies are specific methods of approaching a problem or task
• Strategies are planned designs for controlling and manipulating certain information
• Second language learning strategies are specific actions or behaviors used by students to enhance their own learning, and are contextual

Learning Styles

• Learning styles hinge on a link between personality and cognition, which is referred to as cognitive style
• Learning styles are cognitive styles specifically related to an educational context, which includes affective and physiological factors
• Learning styles are cognitive, affective, and physiological traits indicating how learners perceive, interact with, and respond to the learning environment
• Learning style is a general predisposition, voluntary or not, toward processing information.
• Learning styles mediate between emotion and cognition
• A reflective style grows out of a reflective personality, while an impulsive style arises out of an impulsive emotional state
• People's styles are determined by how they internalize their environment
• Physical, affective, and cognitive domains merge in learning styles
• Individuals show general tendencies towards one style, but contexts evoke different styles
• An "intelligent" person can manipulate both ends of a style continuum

Ehrman and Leaver (2003) Research

• Field independence-dependence
• Random (non-linear) vs. sequential (linear)
• Global vs. particular
• Inductive vs. deductive
• Synthetic vs. analytic
• Analogue vs. digital
• Concrete vs. abstract
• Leveling vs. sharpening
• Impulsive vs. reflective

Field Independence

• Finding the hidden monkey relies on field independent style which is the ability to perceive a relevant item in a distracting field
• Field dependence is the tendency to be dependent on the total field, making it hard to perceive parts within
• Field dependence is synonymous with field sensitivity
• Field independent (FI) style enables distinguishing parts, concentrating, and analyzing variables
• Too much FI can result in cognitive "tunnel vision"
• Field dependent (FD) style allows perceiving the whole picture
• Both FI and FD are necessary for cognitive and affective problems
• FI persons tend to be independent, competitive, and self-confident
• FD persons tend to be socialized, derive identity from others, and are empathic

FI and Second Language Learning

• FI is closely related to classroom learning that involves analysis and attention to detail
• FD style can yield successful learning of communicative aspects of a second language
• "Natural" language learning in the field is aided by FD, while classroom learning is enhanced by FI

Left- and Right-Brain Dominance

• Left- and right-brain dominance is a significant issue in second language acquisition
• The left hemisphere is associated with logical thought and linear processing
• The right hemisphere perceives visual and auditory images and processes holistic information
• The left and right hemispheres operate together as a "team"

Differences between left- and right-brain Dominance

• The left hemisphere is intellectual, remembers names, responds to verbal instructions, experiments systematically
• The left hemisphere makes objective judgements, is planned and structured, prefers established information
• The left hemisphere is analytical, relies on language, prefers talking and writing, and controls feelings
• The left hemisphere is not good at interpreting body language, rarely uses metaphors, and favors logical problem solving
• The right hemisphere is intuitive, remembers faces, responds to demonstrated instructions, experiments randomly
• The right hemisphere makes subjective judgements, is fluid and spontaneous, and prefers uncertain information
• The right hemisphere is synthesizing, relies on images, prefers drawing, is more free with feelings, and is good at interpreting body language
• The right hemisphere frequently uses metaphors and favors intuitive problem solving

Left-and Right-Brain Dominance

• Both hemispheres are involved in much of the neurological activity of the human brain
• Most problem solving involves both hemispheres
• Left-brain dominant learners preferred a deductive style of teaching
• Right-brain-dominant learners appeared to be more successful in an inductive classroom environment
• Left-brain dominant learners are better at producing words, while right-brain-dominant learners deal better with whole images

Ambiguity Tolerance

• People who are ambiguity tolerant are open-minded in accepting contradictory ideas
• People with ambiguity intolerance reject contradictory items and want everything to fit

Ambiguity tolerance and Learning

• A person who is ambiguity tolerant is free to entertain possibilities without being disturbed by uncertainty
• Second language learning involves words and rules that differ from the native language
• Successful language learning necessitates tolerance of ambiguities
• Too much ambiguity tolerance can have a detrimental effect
• Intolerance of ambiguity can lead to creativity

Reflectivity and Impulsivity

• Systematic thinkers tend to weigh all considerations, work out all loopholes, and then reflect on a solution
• Children who are conceptually reflective tend to make fewer errors in reading than impulsive children
• Impulsive persons are faster readers
• Inductive reasoning was be more effective with reflective types

R/I and language acquisition

• Reflective students were slower but more accurate than impulsive students in reading
• Reflection was weakly related to performance on a proofreading task
• "Fast-accurate" learners were better language learners, but impulsivity doesn't always imply accuracy

Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Styles

• Visual learners prefer reading and studying charts
• Auditory learners prefer listening to lectures and audiotapes
• Kinesthetic learners prefer demonstrations and physical activity
• Successul learners utilize both visual and auditory, but slight preferences exist between the two

ESL Joy Reid

• Korean students were more visually oriented than native English speakers
• Japanese students were the least auditory students out of the ones observed
• Preferences can depend on gendre, studies, lenght of time, etc.
• The learner needs to take the lead on what helps them learn and know their preferences

Autonomy, Awareness, and Action

• Autonomy, awareness, and action are three linked concepts
• They promote on learner-centered language teaching
• Teachers help students to take charge of their language process
• They encourage them to become aware of their styles and preferences

Autonomy

• Methodological trends emphasized roles of teacher and learner
• Language teaching became learner-centered
• Methods include oral production, problem-solving

Researches promoting automony

• This trend aligns with "self-help" resources
• The profession emphasizes learners taking charge of journeys
• Success pathways
• Developing learner autonomy showed shown by wenden 1992
• There needs to be a connection in the student to promote engagement
• Research promotes fostered self-learning

Awareness

• Early language courses lacked learning and self-assessment tools
• Studies have positive outcomes for awareness-raising initiatives
• Lightbown and Spada noted that there was a lack of awareness
• Simard and Wang implements programs with metalinguistics

Action

• Action is vital for effective learning
• Understand your strengths and weaknesses to make good actions
• The learners have theri own strategies by the indivual styles
• Tolerant or the right-brain do not need additonal strategies to learn
• The ones who are intorlerant and analytical can improve from knowedge

Action: Styles and General Charateristics

• Styles have general charateristics that seperate the indivisual from one another
• Then there are techniques that are specific to everyone
• They help us solve problems like input or output
• Styles are made from general attributes from the brain
• It can range from emotional reactions to artistic expressions

Strategies

• Strategies facilitate a learning task
• They are conscious and driven
• There are two types of strategies, the first is learning and the second is commuication
• Researches from mid 1970s has been helping them in a big way
• Metacognitive, cognitive, and socio-affective are the groups from that research

Avoidance Strategies

• A type of avoidance called topic avoidance focuses of the conversation topic
• The learners will change the subject or pretend not to understand to keep the situation smooth

Compensatory Strategies

• Typical learning styles are rock bottom and used by the beginning-level

Stratgies that help

• Certian people may appear to be succeed more than others
• Rubin and Stern would describe who is a good learner by using the traits and qualities

Rubin and Thompson

• Summarized the traits and said good learner
• Find their own way taking charge
• A good learner organizes well and knows their language
• Create their own words by experiminting
• The students must not be afraid to practice
• Accept problems along the way with understanding

Strategies-Based Instruction

• Teaching must include communications to increase effectivness
• " Teaching learners how to learn"
• There also has to be some way to integrate the learner into this by taking the initiative

Wenden and Chamot

• Wenden claims that a good student must be on their own while theacher supports them along the way
• chamot says there should be an explicit and instruction with the students to take action and learn