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Tiêu đề A Study on Students’ English Language Learning Style Preferences at Do Luong 2 High School, Do Luong District, Nghe An Province
Tác giả Lê Sa
Người hướng dẫn Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ngô Đình Phương
Trường học Vietnam National University, Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies
Chuyên ngành English Teaching Methodology
Thể loại M.A. Minor Programme Thesis
Năm xuất bản 2010
Thành phố Hanoi
Định dạng
Số trang 58
Dung lượng 1,21 MB

Cấu trúc

  • I.2. Aims of the study (0)
  • I.3. Research questions (0)
  • I.4. Scope of the study (0)
  • I.5. Significance of the study (0)
  • I.6. Design of the study (0)
  • Chapter 1. Literature Review (11)
    • 1.1. Definition of learning styles (11)
    • 1.2. Classification of learning styles (0)
      • 1.2.1. Perceptual learning styles (12)
      • 1.2.2. Cognitive learning styles (13)
      • 1.2.3. Active and reflective learners (13)
    • 1.3. The importance of understanding students‟ learning styles (13)
    • 1.4. Mismatches between Teachers' and Students' perceptions of learning activities (15)
    • 1.5. The need to study students‟ learning styles and meet students‟ needs and demands (16)
    • 2.1 Setting of the study (18)
    • 2.2 Participants (18)
      • 2.2.1 Students (18)
      • 2.2.2 Teachers (19)
    • 2.3 Data Instruments (19)
    • 2.4 Data collection procedure (21)
  • Chapter 3. Data Analysis 3.1 Students‟ interest in learning English (22)
    • 3.2 The way of learning in class (0)
    • 3.3. Preferences of learning items (23)
    • 3.4. Preferences of teaching methodologies (24)
    • 3.5. Teachers‟ methodologies often used in English class (0)
    • 3.6. The importance of learning styles (26)
    • 3.7. Class activities (0)
      • 3.7.1. Students‟ opinions about their useful activities (0)
      • 3.7.2. The activities students like using in English class (28)
      • 3.7.3. Students‟ favorite activities in class (0)
    • 3.8. Teaching aids (29)
    • 3.9. Error correction (30)
    • 3.10. Studying at home (32)
    • 3.11. Improvement (33)
    • 2. Suggested teaching and leaning activities for different learning styles (0)
      • 2.1 Suggested teaching activities (36)
      • 2.2 Suggested leaning activities (0)
    • 3. Limitations of the study (42)
    • 4. Suggestions for further studies (0)

Nội dung

Literature Review

Definition of learning styles

As early as fifty years ago, Lewenfeld (1945) researched visual versus haptic preferences, but the concept of learning style has not been well explored at present There is confusion that comes from a wide variation in the scale and scope of learning, school achievement, and other behavior predicted by the various learning style terms (Nel, 2008)

Learning style can be defined as “learners’ consistent ways of responding to and using stimuli in the context of learning” (Claxton and Ralston, 1978: 7) According to Light

Brown and Spada (1995) describes it as “learners’ natural, habitual, and preferred ways of absorbing, processing, and retaining new information and skills which persist regardless of teaching methods or content area.”

Curry (1983) employs a metaphorical onion with its multiple layers to decide an individual‟s preferences (i.e., instructional and environmental preferences, information processing preferences of the learner, and the individual‟s personality dimension) Reid

(1987) identified four basic perceptual style preferences: visual (for instance reading, charts), auditory (for instance lectures, tapes), kinesthetic (like physical activity), and tactile (for instance building models or doing laboratory experiments)

1.2 Classification of the learning style

According to Light Brown and Spada (1999, cited in Nguyễn Thị Vân Lam and Ngô Đình Phương), they classify learning styles into 2 major categories: Perceptual and

Classification of learning styles

M Felder (1995) seemed to belong to this list, however, the researcher wants to add one more styles of learners: active and reflective learners

In the first category which is based on perception, there are different sub- categories which are visual learners, auditory learners, kinesthetic learners, tactile learners and haptic learners

Visual learners : DVC website online emphasizes that with this kind of learning style, you learn best when information is presented visually and in a written language format Hence, visual learners learn more effectively through images, colors and maps

When seeing something, they can learn better Therefore, when they want to remember something, they often visualize a picture of it in their mind

Auditory learners: Auditory learners prefer learning in a situation when information is presented auditory in an oral language format These kinds of learners are interested in learning through ears because they have good sense of pitch and rhythm Therefore, when trying to remember something, they can often "hear" the way someone told them the information, or the way them previously repeated it out loud Interacting with others in a listening/speaking exchange helps them learn better

Kinesthetic learners: Kinesthetic learners learn more effectively through concrete body experience or body movement They often use their body and sense of touch to explore the world around

Tactile learners: Tactile learners learn best from touching They are interested in learning through experiencing or doing something They like experiencing the world and acting out events For instance, when trying to remember a phone number, they may remember the pattern of their fingers as pressing the numbers

Haptic learners : they are among those who learn through touch and body movement, a combination of tactile and kinesthetic styles They are successful in learning tasks requiring manipulation

In cognitive learning styles, Light Brown and Spada (1999) divide them into two categories: field- independent learners and field- dependent learners

Field- independent learners: They are more analytical, they can pick out hidden figures in a complicated drawing more quickly They tend to perceive elements independently of a context or field and focus on details

Field-dependent learners: These kinds of learners are more relational and more inclined to see the whole drawing and they seem to have difficulties in separating it into parts They tend to perceive the whole field or situation and focus on general meaning

Felder (1995) emphasized that active learners learn well in situations that enable them to do something physical and reflective learners learn well in situations that provide them with opportunities to think about the information being presented The more opportunities students have to both participate and reflect in class, the better they will learn new material and the longer they are likely to retain it (KoIb, 1984; McCarthy, 1987)

According to him, active learner is someone with more of a natural tendency towards active experimentation than toward reflective observation of a reflective learner.

The importance of understanding students‟ learning styles

In order to realise the importance in understanding students‟ learning styles, and also to accommodate for different learning styles in the classrooms, students should complete a learning style instrument early in the course This would enable students to realise their own learning style as well as those of their classmates Teachers should be aware that students learn differently, which should make them aware that they have to approach teaching from different perspectives Teaching and learning styles should be of the greatest interest to educators, particularly the relationship between the two

However, one of the weaknesses of learning style research is the lack of investigation into the matching of teaching and learning styles Theoretically, many variables exist in educational literature reviews, but very few researchers deal with the matching of teaching and learning styles Peacock (2001) is one of the significant and influential researchers who investigated the matching of teaching and learning styles in real settings He concluded that serious disparities exist between the LS of the students and the teaching styles of the teachers Matching teaching and learning in the classroom means that instructors should try to accommodate the different learning styles of students Some researchers investigated teachers as well as administrators in the schools, as the two are closely related, interdependent, and influence students‟ success Adaptability to different learning styles plays a key role in students‟ academic achievement Researchers who investigated the teaching styles of the teachers affirmed that the teachers could influence students‟ achievement by employing different ways of presenting the information Such studies have indicated the need to match the teaching styles of the teachers and the learning styles of students in order to increase competency in both teaching and learning

In order to satisfy expectations, teachers tend to shift from their natural teaching practices to the practices the administration expects of them Teaching and learning are active processes that go hand in hand, while lecturers and learners are interdependent of one another If this concept is realized, teachers would be able to enhance their effectiveness and enable students to achieve their full potential (Forest, 2004)

Investigation into the teaching styles asserts that the disparity between teaching and learning is continuous, and that this largely influences students‟ attitude and motivation

Disparity in teaching and learning styles is the root of the problems that many students face

According to a few researches, teachers have been neglecting the cornerstone of why students fail, resist, or refuse to learn Although the lecturers‟ actions may be unintentional, teachers have to start looking into the main causes for the students‟ failure, resistance, and refusal in order to avoid such occurrences Students who are unable to achieve in the way that is expected become less motivated and less persistent Investigation into what works best for each student is unavoidable, and consequently, carrying out the findings of the investigations will lead to students‟ success Designing course material based upon the students‟ preference towards certain learning styles would enable students to overcome difficulties that may arise when facing problems related to the learning styles Once students‟ learning styles are determined, teachers will have a clear picture of how to design the courses When designing a course, educators must pay attention to students‟

Mismatches between Teachers' and Students' perceptions of learning activities

Teachers should make use of visual aids such as photographs, drawings, sketches, and cartoons to illustrate and reinforce meaning of the new vocabulary In order to illustrate textual lessons, teachers should show films and live dramatisation This approach will assist visual learners and motivate them In order to reinforce the learning of grammar and vocabulary, teachers should assign some repetitive drills and exercises Teachers should not always lecture and write upon the board, but they should allow students to think about what they have been told and allow students be involved in class activities and hands-on exercises This will enable students who are prone to kinesthetic or tactile learning to learn and acquire the English language without less difficulty Teachers should give students the option of cooperating on some homework assignments Group learners learn best when they work with a few of their classmates This will give them the opportunity to express themselves in the area they learn best Likewise, teachers should facilitate those students who learn best on their own They should assign individual home exercises or individual in-class grammar exercises

1.4 Mismatches between Teachers’ and Students’ Perceptions of Learning Activities

One of the main requirements of learner-centered language teaching is to understand the learners‟ needs and expectations as well as their learning preferences Also, teachers and students may not perceive of the same activity in a similar manner By contrast, mismatches in their opinions or perception are always in existence According to Riazi and Riasati (2007, cited in Nga Thai (2009)), various studies have shown that students‟ perceptions and opinions mismatched with those of teachers which lead to learning failure, frustration and de-motivation This can be seen clearly from the results of their study in terms of studying styles and Hue‟s study in 2004 Although students hated working individually, learning new words through translation or looking up new words in a dictionary, or focusing on only receptive skills, teachers did not recognize this They still did not change their teaching method in the way such as creating context for students to guess the new words, using words in a sentence, or creating chance for their students to talk and discuss with other learners Therefore, Riazi and Riasati (2007) concluded that to improve learners‟ learning outcome, teachers should encourage students to work in groups or pairs instead of working individually, and prepare the lessons and words in a context that is easy for learners to guess the meaning so that learners‟ receptive and productive skills are both developed

The serious clash also happened in Hue‟s study (2004) in which although both learners and teachers recognized the importance of grammar and they were quite sure about their grammar knowledge, the learning atmosphere was not very good Students felt bored and dissatisfied because teacher‟s explanation was so monotonous and repetitive

Thus, they were less active and enthusiastic in the language learning lesson Savigon

(2001) suggested that teachers should not consider their learners the vase, and pour the knowledge into their head

The mismatch between the students‟ perceptions and those of teachers can also be seen clearly from Spratt's study in 1999 Teachers‟ awareness of learners‟ preferences corresponded in only 50% cases with learners‟ actual ones Therefore, it is really important to narrow the gap between teacher‟s awareness and their learners‟ needs and learning styles This will improve learning outcomes, create a good learning and teaching environment, and create a good relationship between teachers and learners

Although some similar studies have been done in some settings, in Vietnam context in general and in Nghe An in particular, they have not been done So, this study will be carried out to obtain the above goals and objectives for both teachers and learners‟ sakes.

The need to study students‟ learning styles and meet students‟ needs and demands

Meeting learner‟s needs to improve the effectiveness in learning and teaching languages in general and English in particular is really important Knowing our students‟ learning styles is vital in choosing what teaching methodology is most effective and suitable for our students Dunn and Griggs (1988) emphasize that “learning style is the biological and developmentally set of characteristics that make the same teaching method wonderful for some and terrible for other.”

Therefore, finding out what our students‟ learning styles play an undeniable role in determining what learning strategies are needed to improve learners‟ language learning skills Oxford (2003) points out that if there is a harmony happening between learning styles and learning strategies and the combination of instructional methodology and materials, the students then can perform really well since they feel confident enough with love anxiety However, if there is clashes among them can lead to serious breakdowns in teacher-student interaction, resulting in students‟ outright rejection of the teaching methodology Thus, the teacher‟s duties are not only preparing materials, working out lesson plan with many appropriate teaching activities but also helping students develop “an awareness of learning strategies and enable them to use a wide range of appropriate strategies since students are not always aware of the power of consciously using L2 learning strategies for making learning quicker and more effective.” ( Nykios and Oxford,

In summary, chapter 1 has presented some theoretical background knowledge related to the topic of the study It has discussed some concepts and ideas concerning to the issue of learning styles in general and learning styles in L2 study in particular Besides, the importance of understanding students’ learning style, mismatches between teachers’ and students’ perceptions of learning activities and the need to study students’ learning styles and meet students’ needs and demands were also discussed The following chapter will display the detailed description of the methodology, the procedures of the study

In this chapter, the writer provides some information about the basic settings for the study The participants, the data collection instruments and the data collection procedure are also presented here

Setting of the study

The study was carried out at Do Luong 2 high school, Nghe An during the second term of the school year 2009 – 2010 The school, which is located in remote area in Do Luong District of Nghe An province, consists of eighty – six teachers and twenty - eight classes with more than 1,300 students in the school year There are nine teachers of English, most of them are still young and responsible for their teaching There are three grades 10, 11 and 12 with 32 classes in Do Luong High School in the school year 2009 –

2010 All of the students are studying the new English textbooks Because of living in remote area, the students here often lack of proper teaching and learning materials when they were at primary and secondary schools Teachers of the schools have to work harder than their colleagues at other upper secondary schools in the province to help their students study effectively, because their students are struggling to catch up with general knowledge of most subjects

English here is one of the compulsory subjects The students study English in order to pass the examinations and some students like learning English and want to use it in the future Therefore, in order to know what English learning style preferences students are and how to improve them in learning English are not easy for the teachers.

Participants

Most of students of the school live in remote areas of Do Luong district Their living condition as well as learning condition is not better than other students in the centre of Do Luong district Most their entrance marks are very low, their knowledge is really at the medium level

English is not their main concern, thus no students pay attention to it before coming into high school Many students prefer natural subjects to social ones Each class average has only four or six good students at English The others know a little or nothing about English Some students used to be good at English but they ignore it when coming into high school because of some subjective and objective reasons They learn English whenever they like and their main purposes are only to pass the examinations

In order to get information to fulfill the aims of the study, two survey questionnaires are designed The questionnaire was administered to 286 students of grades

12 at the school Their ages vary from 17 to 19 There time of length of English learning is different: 90% started learning English at grade 6; only 10% started at grade 10

There are nine teachers at Do Luong high school, two of them are on maternal leave, so only seven teachers who were teaching at the school were invited to join the study Their ages range between late-twenties and forty- five years old The length of teaching English is also different, minimum level of four years and maximum of more than twenty years Five of them have got the University Bachelor‟ Degree in English, one finished the in-service training course in English seven years ago because he used to be a teacher of Russian and one has M.A degree and one is doing M.A course As rural teachers, they have few opportunities to upgrade their teaching and do not have a lot of teaching facilities and materials to help their work Despite all these disadvantages, they are helpful, friendly and dedicated teachers Most of them want to devote their whole lives for teaching They all have a great desire to acquire knowledge of how to teach English well Also, they are always willing to help their students tackle with difficulties in learning

Data Instruments

There is a variety of methods that can be employed to collect data such as: questionnaire, interviews, meeting, tests, observation, ect Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages The researcher chose questionnaire because it is one of the most popular instruments It is quite easy to prepare and it can be used with a large number of subjects What is more, the information collected is not very difficult to tabulate and to analyze (Brown, 1995) Hence survey questionnaire was chosen to collect what the students‟ learning styles and what the teachers‟ teaching styles are The teachers and students would have opportunities to reflect on their experiences of teaching and learning English The information, therefore, would be more detailed and more accurate

Questionnaires This instrument used in this study was the questionnaire, which was adopted from Nunan, D (1989) and Brindley (1984) It consisted of two sets of questionnaire, the teacher questionnaire and the student questionnaire, with both close-ended and open-ended items The purpose of the questionnaire was to investigate students‟ learning styles preferences and the teachers‟ opinions of those learning styles preferences Respondents answered the questionnaire items by circling Yes/No or writing down their answers if they were different from the given ones For each question, respondents were provided space and were encouraged to give their own answers if they were different from the given ones

As can be seen, responses from the questionnaire did not only reflect generalized statements about the style used (Cohen, 1998) Respondents could give their own ideas instead of choosing among the limited provided options Therefore, respondents had more chances to be more accurate about their actual preferred language learning styles

Questionnaires which are administered to seven teachers and 286 students at the end of March and at the beginning of April

* The questionnaire completed by the students The questionnaire consists of fifteen questions, which are categorized into 12 parts

The questionnaires were delivered to 286 students at Do Luong 2 high school at the beginning of the class time so that they could complete it during the breaks and then, were collected by the monitors of the classes The numbers of collected surveys were used for analysis

* The questionnaire completed by the teachers The questionnaire designed for the teachers‟ aims at finding out the teachers‟ teaching styles in the English classes, the differences between students‟ learning styles and teachers‟ teaching styles in order to fill in the gaps between them The questionnaires for teachers were given to 7 teachers during the breaks of the lessons and collected by the researcher The number of collected surveys was 7 and all used for analysis

The researcher believes that from the information obtained, some useful suggestions could be made to minimize the difficulties encountered and thus improve the teaching and learning English at Do Luong 2 high school.

Data collection procedure

- The questionnaires were given to pupils of the twelve grade groups at Do Luong 2 high school This was done at the end of March 2010

- The set of questionnaire for teachers was delivered at the beginning of April, 2010

- The written test set by the teachers was carried out at the end of May

In summary, the second chapter has presented the methodology, the procedures of the study The following chapter will display the results of the study under the light of the above discussed theories.

Data Analysis 3.1 Students‟ interest in learning English

Preferences of learning items

The learning item I like is: Students Percentage Teachers Percentage to study grammar 69/286 24.12% 4 57.14% to learn many new words 73/286 25.52% 1 14.28% to practice the sounds and pronunciation

71/286 24.82% 0 0% to learn English words by seeing them 134/286 46.85% 3 42.86% to learn English words by hearing them

45/286 15.73% 2 28.57% to learn English words by doing something

Table 3: Teachers’ and students’ preferences in learning items

This question finds the preferences of learning items As can be seen from the table, most of the students (86.01%) liked learning by doing hands on activity (kinesthetic)

46.85% of the students liked learning English by seeing them (visual) However, many of them did not like studying grammar, learning English words by hearing them and practicing the sounds and pronunciation (15.73% to 24.12% respectively) In this term, teachers also thought the same with the students.

Preferences of teaching methodologies

Question Students Percentage Teachers Percentage

B.Listening to and use cassettes, or CDs

Table 4: Teachers' and students' preferences of teaching methodologies

Teaching methodologies play a very important role in perceiving and processing information As is shown from the table above, most of teachers in Vietnam use chalkboard to present their lesson Teachers think that copying from the board is really important, which can help students revise the lesson easily They usually require their students to copy things from the board Checking notes in their notebooks is to make sure that they have noted the things they are asked

As can be seen from the table, it is not expected by the teachers, they preferred more creative way of learning to this passive way of learning, so only 23.43% students like learning by copying from the board while 100% teachers thought they preferred this to others Many students liked to learn by games and 71.43% of the teachers considered playing games are their preferences in learning English More than half of the respondents (67.13%) preferred learning by games and 71.43% of the teachers knew this 62.24% of the students liked learning with pictures, films, and videos The reason may be that they favor teaching methodologies that involve both visual and auditory senses in addition to interesting stories Listening to and use cassettes, or CDsand listening and taking notes are not interesting for students (10.84% to 11.89% respectively) Conversations was the least favorable to the students (7.34%) whereas 57.14% of the teachers thought that their students liked learning by conversation The reason could be this kind of activity requires more interaction and effort from students

3.5 The frequency degree of teacher's using activities in class

Activity always often sometimes seldom

B using maps, wall-chairs, diagrams 0

Table 5: The frequency degree of teacher's using activities in class

Question 10 asks students how the frequency degree their teachers use these activities in class From the students‟ reply, we could see the fact that most of the teachers have not used a variety of activities in the classroom 247 out of 286 students assumed that their teachers seldom use maps, wall-chairs, diagrams in class Apart from this activities, teachers seldom use another important activities; such as using English songs/ music, watching videos or using power point presentation (from 210% to 229% respectively) The reason could be lack of modern facilities or maybe they have not enough time for using them because they have to teach due to the textbooks From the table, we can see that discussing/debating, role-play, using handouts/pictures/ games are activities that the teachers always used in class (from 42.31% to 22.03% respectively)

3.6 The importance of learning styles

Question Choices Percentage of the students

Percentage of the teachers The role of learning styles in target language learning

Table 6: Teachers’ and students’ opinions about the importance of learning styles

The result from the table showed that Do Luong 2 pupils were aware of the important of English learning styles in target language learning 48.37 % students estimate learning styles as a very important factors effecting to learning process, 36.54 % of students think it is important factor and only 15.09 % do not think the same From these results, we can see that both students and teachers were aware of the importance of learning and teaching styles

3.7.1 Teachers’ and students' opinions about their useful activities

Activities Students Percentage Teachers Percentage

C Doing exercises from the workbooks

Table 7: Teachers’ and students' opinions about useful activities

For this question, it shows the teachers' and students' opinions about the activities that help students learn best in class

It is true that class activities play a very important role in teaching and learning English They help not only teachers in teaching better but also students in learning well by organizing the suitable and effective activities for their students‟ knowledge This chart shows us the information about the activities which students believe that they are fruitful for their English learning As is shown from the chart above, the two most useful activities that help them learn best in class are playing games and doing exercises from the workbooks (27.27%-25.87%) 15.03% students like watching videos Writing (stories, sentences, and poems) and Listening (stories, sentences, articles) are not interesting for them so much In addition, the least interesting activity is listening to English songs They thought it was not useful for them in learning English In contrast, the teachers‟ results are different from the students‟ opinions All teachers (100%) thought that doing exercises from the workbooks is the most important activity to help their students learn best in class

57.14% teachers assumed that discussion, debates and presentations are the second important activity They also believed that writing would help their students well in their learning in class (42.86%) All teachers considered that listening from the English songs was the least useful activity in the students‟ learning

3.7.2 The activities students like using in English class

Activities that students most use when learning English

A often read materials, textbooks and see charts, pictures to get knowledge

B often listen to the lectures, tapes, disks to get information

C often take in activities, games, discussions to attain knowledge

Table 8: The activities students like using in English class

In this question, students are asked which activities they often use most when they are learning English It can be seen that, 56.29% of the students liked to take in activities, games and through discussions they could attain knowledge quickly, and 83 out of 286 students thought that they liked reading materials, textbooks and seeing charts, pictures

For them it is the easiest way to get knowledge However, there were only 14.68% of the students liked to listen to the lectures, tapes or disks It seems that many of students are not much interested in listening

3.7.3 Teachers’ and students' favorite activities in class

Question Students Percentage Teachers Percentage role play 221/286 77.27% 4/7 57.14% language games 91/286 31.81% 3/7 42.86% songs 37/286 12.94% 3/7 42.86% talking with and listening to other students

151/286 52.80% 5/7 71.43% memorizing conversation/dialogues 27/286 9.44% 2/7 28.57% getting information from guest speakers

Discussing, debating 167/286 58.39% 6/7 85.71% writing a learning diary 18/286 6.29% 1/7 14.28%

Table 9: Teachers’ and students' favorite activities in class

When being asked about what activities they like, most of the students (77.27%) said they liked role-playing As we know that role-play is a popular activity in English classrooms in Vietnam, especially at pre and post stages for each lesson It is clear that role-play activity is interesting, requires creativeness as well as imagination and the students of grade 12 have done this well, while only 57.14% of the teachers thought their students liked it 58.39% of the students liked to discuss and debate whereas most of the teachers (85.71%) considered that their students were more interested than other activities

They believed discussion will make the students exchange their knowledge and help them feel more self-confident in the future, especially for the students of grade 12 Only 52.80% of the students liked talking with and listening The results showed that in students‟ view, the interaction between students was very useful to their learning Students want to talk and listen to other students They want to experience some difficulties as they try to use the target language to communicate Meanwhile, 71.43% of the teachers believed that their students liked talking with and listening to other students Obviously, there were many differences between the teachers‟ thoughts and students‟ preferences Language games, getting information from guest speakers were not their preferences

Table 10: Students and teachers' opinions in using teaching aids

The results gained from the study showed that technology attracted the students most (computers and television/video/films accounting for 51.75% and 40.21% respectively) The traditional way of teaching such as the blackboard and pictures/posters ranked the third and the fourth Of these teaching aids, students seemed to hate learning from radio/tapes/cassettes though they were mainly used in teaching listening and pronunciation lessons

In comparison with the teachers‟ opinion, they completely agreed that the traditional way of delivering knowledge was the most popular (with 100%) and the following were the use of pictures/posters and the application of power point They were both (85.71%) Teachers also thought that, teaching by radio/tapes/ cassettes least interested learners

It can be concluded from the results obtained from the questionnaires used for students and teachers that they seemed to have the same opinions in terms of using learning and teaching aids

A immediately, in front of everyone? 94 32.87% 4 57.14%

B later, at the end of the activity, in front of everyone?

Table 11: Students' and teachers' view on being corrected immediately or later

In this question, the students were asked how they would prefer to be corrected by their teachers immediately or later in front of everyone or in private

Regarding the error correction (2 questions: 11-12), the results from the table 9 showed that most of the students (55.24% - 11.89%) preferred being corrected later, at the end of the activity, in front of everyone or later, in private This showed that there was delayed correction; perhaps, students thought that correcting error immediately made them feel shy and unconfident Some students (32.87%) were aware of the effectiveness of correction immediately

However, only 57.14% of the teachers thought that their students wanted to be corrected immediately, the rest believed the students preferred being corrected later, at the end of the activity, in front of everyone or later, in private It is clear that, more than half of the teachers tended to be thoughtful and careful when correcting their students‟ errors

The importance of learning styles

Question Choices Percentage of the students

Percentage of the teachers The role of learning styles in target language learning

Table 6: Teachers’ and students’ opinions about the importance of learning styles

The result from the table showed that Do Luong 2 pupils were aware of the important of English learning styles in target language learning 48.37 % students estimate learning styles as a very important factors effecting to learning process, 36.54 % of students think it is important factor and only 15.09 % do not think the same From these results, we can see that both students and teachers were aware of the importance of learning and teaching styles

3.7.1 Teachers’ and students' opinions about their useful activities

Activities Students Percentage Teachers Percentage

C Doing exercises from the workbooks

Table 7: Teachers’ and students' opinions about useful activities

For this question, it shows the teachers' and students' opinions about the activities that help students learn best in class

It is true that class activities play a very important role in teaching and learning English They help not only teachers in teaching better but also students in learning well by organizing the suitable and effective activities for their students‟ knowledge This chart shows us the information about the activities which students believe that they are fruitful for their English learning As is shown from the chart above, the two most useful activities that help them learn best in class are playing games and doing exercises from the workbooks (27.27%-25.87%) 15.03% students like watching videos Writing (stories, sentences, and poems) and Listening (stories, sentences, articles) are not interesting for them so much In addition, the least interesting activity is listening to English songs They thought it was not useful for them in learning English In contrast, the teachers‟ results are different from the students‟ opinions All teachers (100%) thought that doing exercises from the workbooks is the most important activity to help their students learn best in class

57.14% teachers assumed that discussion, debates and presentations are the second important activity They also believed that writing would help their students well in their learning in class (42.86%) All teachers considered that listening from the English songs was the least useful activity in the students‟ learning

3.7.2 The activities students like using in English class

Activities that students most use when learning English

A often read materials, textbooks and see charts, pictures to get knowledge

B often listen to the lectures, tapes, disks to get information

C often take in activities, games, discussions to attain knowledge

Table 8: The activities students like using in English class

In this question, students are asked which activities they often use most when they are learning English It can be seen that, 56.29% of the students liked to take in activities, games and through discussions they could attain knowledge quickly, and 83 out of 286 students thought that they liked reading materials, textbooks and seeing charts, pictures

For them it is the easiest way to get knowledge However, there were only 14.68% of the students liked to listen to the lectures, tapes or disks It seems that many of students are not much interested in listening

3.7.3 Teachers’ and students' favorite activities in class

Question Students Percentage Teachers Percentage role play 221/286 77.27% 4/7 57.14% language games 91/286 31.81% 3/7 42.86% songs 37/286 12.94% 3/7 42.86% talking with and listening to other students

151/286 52.80% 5/7 71.43% memorizing conversation/dialogues 27/286 9.44% 2/7 28.57% getting information from guest speakers

Discussing, debating 167/286 58.39% 6/7 85.71% writing a learning diary 18/286 6.29% 1/7 14.28%

Table 9: Teachers’ and students' favorite activities in class

When being asked about what activities they like, most of the students (77.27%) said they liked role-playing As we know that role-play is a popular activity in English classrooms in Vietnam, especially at pre and post stages for each lesson It is clear that role-play activity is interesting, requires creativeness as well as imagination and the students of grade 12 have done this well, while only 57.14% of the teachers thought their students liked it 58.39% of the students liked to discuss and debate whereas most of the teachers (85.71%) considered that their students were more interested than other activities

They believed discussion will make the students exchange their knowledge and help them feel more self-confident in the future, especially for the students of grade 12 Only 52.80% of the students liked talking with and listening The results showed that in students‟ view, the interaction between students was very useful to their learning Students want to talk and listen to other students They want to experience some difficulties as they try to use the target language to communicate Meanwhile, 71.43% of the teachers believed that their students liked talking with and listening to other students Obviously, there were many differences between the teachers‟ thoughts and students‟ preferences Language games, getting information from guest speakers were not their preferences

Table 10: Students and teachers' opinions in using teaching aids

The results gained from the study showed that technology attracted the students most (computers and television/video/films accounting for 51.75% and 40.21% respectively) The traditional way of teaching such as the blackboard and pictures/posters ranked the third and the fourth Of these teaching aids, students seemed to hate learning from radio/tapes/cassettes though they were mainly used in teaching listening and pronunciation lessons

In comparison with the teachers‟ opinion, they completely agreed that the traditional way of delivering knowledge was the most popular (with 100%) and the following were the use of pictures/posters and the application of power point They were both (85.71%) Teachers also thought that, teaching by radio/tapes/ cassettes least interested learners

It can be concluded from the results obtained from the questionnaires used for students and teachers that they seemed to have the same opinions in terms of using learning and teaching aids

A immediately, in front of everyone? 94 32.87% 4 57.14%

B later, at the end of the activity, in front of everyone?

Table 11: Students' and teachers' view on being corrected immediately or later

In this question, the students were asked how they would prefer to be corrected by their teachers immediately or later in front of everyone or in private

Regarding the error correction (2 questions: 11-12), the results from the table 9 showed that most of the students (55.24% - 11.89%) preferred being corrected later, at the end of the activity, in front of everyone or later, in private This showed that there was delayed correction; perhaps, students thought that correcting error immediately made them feel shy and unconfident Some students (32.87%) were aware of the effectiveness of correction immediately

However, only 57.14% of the teachers thought that their students wanted to be corrected immediately, the rest believed the students preferred being corrected later, at the end of the activity, in front of everyone or later, in private It is clear that, more than half of the teachers tended to be thoughtful and careful when correcting their students‟ errors

However, sometimes, error correction is very important in use of word students‟ studying, so teachers have to be very careful in this problem Table 12 showed the student‟ thought in correcting errors

Do you mind if the teachers tell you all your mistakes?

192 67.13% Do you mind if you tell them all their mistakes?

Do you mind if the teacher let you find your errors?

94 32.87% Do they mind if you let them find their errors?

Table 12: Students’ and teachers’ thought in correcting errors

Apparently, students recognized the importance of correcting errors This helps them in their learning especially they are in grade 12 now As revealed in the Table that

192 out of 286 students (67.13%) seemed to be hesitant in being pointed out their errors by their teachers especially in a classroom setting In addition, 32.87% of the students did not expect their teachers to allow them to find their own errors Meanwhile, 57.14% of the teachers thought that they disliked correcting themselves, but they wanted their teachers to correct all their errors Therefore, the teachers should be more careful in correcting errors

Question Students Percentage Teachers Percentage

B reading news papers in English?

F others( doing exercises in reference books)

Table 13: Students' and teachers' view on studying at home

According to the results in the above chart, it can be seen that only 39.86% of the students wanted to do their homework and studying English books ranked the second It is easy to understand this figure because they had to focus on their next examinations A small percentage of them made use of other activities, which are rather interesting and effective for them at home Some students preferred doing exercises in reference books, using cassettes, reading newspapers in English in stead of preparing for the next lesson or reviewing the day‟s work Meanwhile, most teachers (85.72%) thought their students liked doing homework, 14.28% considered they liked to study English books and all the teachers thought their students did not like listening, watching and reading in English at home

From the table, we can see that teachers were not fully aware of their students‟ disliking for homework

Teaching aids

Error correction

Table 10: Students and teachers' opinions in using teaching aids

The results gained from the study showed that technology attracted the students most (computers and television/video/films accounting for 51.75% and 40.21% respectively) The traditional way of teaching such as the blackboard and pictures/posters ranked the third and the fourth Of these teaching aids, students seemed to hate learning from radio/tapes/cassettes though they were mainly used in teaching listening and pronunciation lessons

In comparison with the teachers‟ opinion, they completely agreed that the traditional way of delivering knowledge was the most popular (with 100%) and the following were the use of pictures/posters and the application of power point They were both (85.71%) Teachers also thought that, teaching by radio/tapes/ cassettes least interested learners

It can be concluded from the results obtained from the questionnaires used for students and teachers that they seemed to have the same opinions in terms of using learning and teaching aids

A immediately, in front of everyone? 94 32.87% 4 57.14%

B later, at the end of the activity, in front of everyone?

Table 11: Students' and teachers' view on being corrected immediately or later

In this question, the students were asked how they would prefer to be corrected by their teachers immediately or later in front of everyone or in private

Regarding the error correction (2 questions: 11-12), the results from the table 9 showed that most of the students (55.24% - 11.89%) preferred being corrected later, at the end of the activity, in front of everyone or later, in private This showed that there was delayed correction; perhaps, students thought that correcting error immediately made them feel shy and unconfident Some students (32.87%) were aware of the effectiveness of correction immediately

However, only 57.14% of the teachers thought that their students wanted to be corrected immediately, the rest believed the students preferred being corrected later, at the end of the activity, in front of everyone or later, in private It is clear that, more than half of the teachers tended to be thoughtful and careful when correcting their students‟ errors

However, sometimes, error correction is very important in use of word students‟ studying, so teachers have to be very careful in this problem Table 12 showed the student‟ thought in correcting errors

Do you mind if the teachers tell you all your mistakes?

192 67.13% Do you mind if you tell them all their mistakes?

Do you mind if the teacher let you find your errors?

94 32.87% Do they mind if you let them find their errors?

Table 12: Students’ and teachers’ thought in correcting errors

Apparently, students recognized the importance of correcting errors This helps them in their learning especially they are in grade 12 now As revealed in the Table that

192 out of 286 students (67.13%) seemed to be hesitant in being pointed out their errors by their teachers especially in a classroom setting In addition, 32.87% of the students did not expect their teachers to allow them to find their own errors Meanwhile, 57.14% of the teachers thought that they disliked correcting themselves, but they wanted their teachers to correct all their errors Therefore, the teachers should be more careful in correcting errors.

Studying at home

Question Students Percentage Teachers Percentage

B reading news papers in English?

F others( doing exercises in reference books)

Table 13: Students' and teachers' view on studying at home

According to the results in the above chart, it can be seen that only 39.86% of the students wanted to do their homework and studying English books ranked the second It is easy to understand this figure because they had to focus on their next examinations A small percentage of them made use of other activities, which are rather interesting and effective for them at home Some students preferred doing exercises in reference books, using cassettes, reading newspapers in English in stead of preparing for the next lesson or reviewing the day‟s work Meanwhile, most teachers (85.72%) thought their students liked doing homework, 14.28% considered they liked to study English books and all the teachers thought their students did not like listening, watching and reading in English at home

From the table, we can see that teachers were not fully aware of their students‟ disliking for homework

However, doing homework is very important for the students of grade 12 to improve their knowledge and skills in doing examinations or tests Therefore, it should be noted that doing homework is meaningful which helps students consolidate the things they have learnt as well as prepare for the following lesson and the teachers‟ duty is to consider how and how much to assign homework to their students However, reading newspapers and watching TV in English were not preferred by many students Some students liked learning by studying English books.

Improvement

Question Students Percentage Teachers Percentage

A written tasks set by the teachers? 217/286 75.87% 6/7 85.71%

B seeing if you can use the language you have learnt in real-life situations?

Table 14: Students' and teachers' view on improvement

It is a common practice that in each term of a school-year, students have at least 5 written tests, which means that they have a written test each month They were also assessed through spoken tasks, however, only one or two tasks each term It can be said that students‟ performance and improvement were mainly assessed based on the written tasks set by the teachers As we can see from the table, 85.71% of the teachers believed that their students wanted to find out how much their English was improving through the tasks they set Because they are grade 12 now so they have to make sure what they have learnt That‟s why they wanted to check their knowledge from written tasks set by their teachers Therefore, 75.87% of the students thought that the higher the marks for the written tasks set by the teachers they got, the more their English was improving

However, some students (59.09%) stated that they would evaluate themselves and their knowledge based on their performance in authentic communications They preferred to judge their L2 improvement on the basis of their capability to use the language effectively in real-life communication events, rather than being assessed formally by the teacher Evidently, students considered tests as a threat to their competence, because they were afraid that they would not perform well Perhaps, that was why the students of the study were more willing to assess themselves basing on the extent to which they were successful in real-life situations

It is evident that students at Do Luong 2 High school found their improvement through both written tasks set by the teachers and the ability to use language in real-life situations However, the written tasks tended to be paid more attention due to the fact that their purpose is to pass the examinations

The table below showed the students' improvement after teachers‟ aware of the students‟ leaning styles (see Appendix 3) through the written test set by the teachers

From 3 to 5 From 5 to 7 From 8 to 9

Table 15: Students’ written tasks graded by the teachers

After the teachers were aware of the students‟ learning style preferences at Do Luong 2 high school, two teachers were invited to adapt the suitable teaching methods for their students‟ language style preferences in two classes (12A1 and 12A10 which the total of the students is 93) and the rest teachers taught in other classes (12A2, 12A3, 12A8, 12A9 with 193 students) And this experiment lasted nearly for two months and the results collected from the written tests set by teachers considerably As can be seen from the table above, 70.97% of the students in classes 12A1 and 12A10 got from 8 to 10 marks whereas only 11.40% of the students from others classes got from 8 to 10 marks Obviously, there were big changes in students‟ learning styles and teachers‟ teaching styles and methodologies after the teachers‟ awareness of students‟ learning styles

The second chapter has presented the date from questionnaires and data analysis The next chapter will focus on some conclusions based on the data analysis of the study of the students’ English language learning style preferences at Do Luong 2 high school and some suggested techniques for different learning styles Some limitations and suggestions for further studies will be also drawn out in the following chapter

The data from the survey questionnaires carried out with the teachers and students showed that there were big gaps between the students‟ learning styles and teachers‟ teaching styles at Do Luong 2 high school

 Regarding language style preferences, unlike the teachers‟ thought, students preferred learning in pairs, in groups or whole-class activities to individually in classroom They may like to have a learning context with much less anxiety and less threat from the teacher

 Students liked to learn English words by seeing them and by doing something

They did not like learning English words by hearing them and they were not interested in studying grammar Meanwhile, most of the teachers thought that their students liked to study grammar

 When being asked about what teaching methodologies they like, most of the students said they liked learning English by using pictures, films, videos, and games Using visual aids is effective for learners to understand the meaning of words, sentences, and texts without translation into learners‟ L1 They disliked copying from the board whereas teachers assumed their students liked this

 From the teachers‟ thoughts, most of the teachers rarely used power point presentation and videos in teaching methodologies in English class Meanwhile, most of the students liked these methods

 In class, students preferred taking in activities, games, watching videos and role- playing Meanwhile, because of the teachers‟ unawareness of students‟ learning styles, the teachers thought their students liked others activities than these

Therefore, their teaching aids were the blackboard, written materials and cassettes

 At home, they do not preferred reading newspapers and watching TV in English

They liked to do homework, study English books and sometimes use cassettes

In short, from these findings above, the researcher found that most of the students at

Do Luong 2 high school are kinesthetic and visual learners and some are auditory learners.

Suggested teaching and leaning activities for different learning styles

Despite its important roles in SLL, teachers and students have not approached this matter

Furthermore, the results of the survey enable us to acknowledge about the variety of learning styles in a classroom Therefore, it is necessary for teachers and educators to base on the research and work out the appropriate pedagogical techniques to help students of different learning styles can all learn effectively

2 Suggested teaching and learning activities for different learning styles

In a classroom, there are many different learning styles It is not easy for teachers to adapt to all these students‟ learning styles Some scholars have thought of class division according to learning styles In fact, in many foreign high schools, students often take in a learning assessment questionnaire for teachers to know about their learning styles, then teachers put the same learners into the same class This makes it easier for teachers to agree students‟ learning styles However, in Vietnam, there are few schools to use this way Therefore, adapting to all learning styles in classroom is still difficult work for teachers because different learners need different ways to learn

Being one of the teachers at Do Luong 2 high school, the researcher can clearly see the current situation of teaching and learning English In order to help students learn English well and interested in learning it is not easy for the teachers in our school These suggested activities are done in the hope of filling in the gaps between the students‟ learning styles and the teachers‟ teaching styles

Because most of the students in Do Luong 2 high school are kinesthetic and visual learners, and some are auditory learners, the researcher wants to provide some suggested teaching activities for these learners

To begin with, preparation for lesson plans is a very important step to gain this because it helps the teachers prepare the lessons, decide exactly what they will do and how they will do in a lesson Furthermore, when preparing a lesson plan, teachers have time to think of activities that are suitable and appropriate to each student‟s learning styles It is not easier to prepare a lesson plan that is suitable for every learning style in a class It requires teachers‟ creativity and also depends on curriculum and students‟ learning style prominence Below are some clues that teachers should consider when preparing a lesson plan

Firstly, teachers should identify their students‟ learning styles Before preparing a lesson plan, teachers should estimate and assess students‟ learning styles From this, the teachers will know about their students‟ preference and know how to adjust them

Secondly, the lesson plan should use many materials and teaching aids This requires teachers‟ preparation and creativity in accordance with students‟ learning styles

Teaching aids can be visual, audio or audiovisual aids All of them will help teachers to reach their teaching goals in each period

Furthermore, teachers should prepare a variety of exercises and activities for students Each student has their own learning ways Therefore, teachers should consider creating many activities to adapt to their styles These activities can vary from writing exercises (describing pictures, story telling, ect.), speaking exercises (discussions, debates, ect.), reading (comprehension questions, finding clues, ect.) and listening exercises (listening to music, games, ect.)

Finally, teachers should estimate the effectiveness of activities on each group after each activity; teachers can observe the level of understanding of each group of learning styles to evaluate how effective the activities will put on the main group of learning styles and other groups This will help teachers make these activities more appropriate in the next lesson [ 2.1.1 For visual learners

Because visual learners remember information best when they see it, the teachers should help them through visual aids which are anything visible to students They may be objects, classroom furniture, pictures, drawing, cards, even teachers and students

Visual aids can increase the teacher‟s persuasiveness; heighten students‟ retention and students‟ understanding, especially for visual learners

 The most common and useful visual aid to visual learners is the blackboard It can be used for various purposes without preparation at home, for example, presenting new words, structures, showing spelling, giving a model for handwriting, ect The teachers uses the chalkboards to make things clearer to the class and help them concentrate on the lesson

 The teacher can use a head projector, a very useful means to present information, pictures and others This tool has all the features and use of the board and others

The power point presentation is probably the most common technique for presenting the information

 Telling story through pictures is an activity which can create chances for visual learners to take advantages of their ability This activity uses pictures‟ information which relates to the lesson and associates with each other Then students will make up a story from these pictures by themselves The aim of the activity is giving students the strong points of visual learners

 Remembering words is rather important for the visual learners This activity helps them practice their short-term memory when they see words in a short time It does not require the teacher to spend much time preparing It is not time-consuming, however, easy to do in classroom This activity requires students‟ concentration in a limited time and remembering of words in a short time In this activity, students will practice their ability to remember vocabulary by seeing the words on the board and rewrite it correctly

 Watching movies is very useful and interesting for these learners Depending on the students‟ level, the teachers should select suitable films For visual learners, it is better to choose films whose images are vivid and subtitles are clear and comprehensive Movie watching is interesting to students but difficult for the teacher to gain their aims of teaching Therefore, it needs the teachers‟ careful control during watching time The teachers need to prepare and design activities before, during and after students‟ watching time These activities aim to check students‟ understanding and help them to sum up knowledge that they get from the film

 Kinesthetic learners prefer using body and sense of touch to learn They like exercises or physical activities Therefore, the teachers should use visual aids and objects in class to attract them Because they like to touch and are sensitive to the physical world around them, the teachers should give them chances to touch or hold that object to discover it If teachers talk about Vietnamese traditional custom “Non la” in Unit 3(grade 12), it will be very useful if teachers can bring to class a hat and let students to play a game with it This will help them a lot concentrate on the lesson Therefore, an interesting visual aid or object can promote their interest in the lesson, and teachers should make preparations of a variety of visual aids before each lesson

 Using role-play is an effective technique, especially for kinesthetic learners who like to involve in learning activities Role-playing creates students the opportunity to become other people in many different situations To make this activity interesting and effective, the teachers should choose situations that is suitable for students‟ interest and appropriate to practice what they have learnt and situations which are similar to students and need of many communicative skills

Limitations of the study

The study has certain strengths such as real-collected from the questionnaires for teachers and students However, because of the limitation of time, resources and the researcher's ability and knowledge, it is obvious that the study has a number of limitations

Firstly, the population of the students and teachers involved in the survey is still small-only some classes of the grade 12 and 7 teachers, so to some extent, the results may not be generalized for all students of the school

Secondly, the researcher only used a self-reported questionnaire as the main instrument for data collections Thus, the perceptions may not always be accurate and reliable In order to make obtained result more reliable, different instruments for data collection should be applied

Thirdly, students involved in this study were all in grade 12 They by no means represent the whole student population for the school Students of grade 12 might have different learning styles preferences from other graders simply because their primary concern is how to pass the examinations successful This desire may affect the way they responded to the questionnaire

In short, those limitations need to be taken into consideration when further researches are conducted in the future In such a way, more fruitful results relating to the research topic will be produced

In order to have a better pictures of the students‟ learning styles preferences at Do Luong 2 high school, future researchers need to use a mixed research design in which both questionnaires and in-depth interviews are used as instruments of data collection

Classroom observations are also needed to see how well teachers‟ teaching styles fit the students‟ learning styles preferences The relationships between gender, motivation and the learning styles are worth investigating It is especially important to examine the correlation between students‟ learning styles preferences and their learning achievement

In short, those further studies can be provide an overall picture of students‟ language learning style preferences, teachers‟ awareness of them and the relation between them and other variables such as age, gender, ethnicity, proficiency, etc The results of those researches will surely help improve the English learning and teaching in Vietnam

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Appendix 1: Survey questionnaire for students

This questionnaire is to investigate students‟ language learning style preferences at

Do Luong 2 High school, Nghe An Province Your assistance in completing the following items is highly appreciated All the information provided by you is great use and solely for the study purpose Thank you!

Please put a circle around your answer(s)

1 How many years have you been studying English?

2 Do you like learning English? Yes No

3 In class do you like learning English

A by yourself (alone)? YES NO

C in small groups? YES NO

D with the whole class? YES NO

A to study grammar? YES NO

B to learn many new words? YES NO

C to practice the sounds and pronunciation? YES NO

D to learn English words by seeing them? YES NO

E to learn English words by hearing them? YES NO

F to learn English words by doing something? YES NO

5 In English class, do you like to learn

B to listen to and use cassettes, or CDs.? YES NO

C to learn by games.? YES NO

D to learn by conversations ? YES NO

E to learn by pictures, films, and videos.? YES NO

F by copying from the board? YES NO

6 Please tick the frequency degree of your teacher's using activities in class

Activity always often sometimes seldom

B using maps, wall-chairs, diagrams C.using role-play

7 Could you please assess the role of learning slyles in your success in learning English?

A very important B important C not important

8 What activities help you learn English best in class? (only choose one) songs

playing games doing exercises from workbooks writing: stories, sentences, poems reading: stories, newspapers, articles discussions, debates, presentations watching videos

9 Which activities do you most often use when you are learning English?

A you often read materials, textbooks and see charts, pictures to get knowledge

B you often listen to the lectures, tapes, disks to get information

C you often take in activities, games, discussions to attain knowledge

10 Do you do the following in your class?

NO D talking with and listening to other students YES NO

E memorizing conversation/dialogues YES NO

F getting information from guest speakers YES NO

G getting information from planned visits YES NO

H writing a learning diary YES NO

I learning about culture YES NO

11 Do you like learning from

A television/video/films? YES NO

12 When speaking, do you want to be corrected

A immediately, in front of everyone? YES NO

B later, at the end of the activity, in front of everyone? YES NO

C Later, in private? YES NO

13 Do you mind if the teachers tell you all your mistakes? YES NO Do you mind if the teacher let you find your errors? YES NO

14 At home, do you like to learn English by

B reading newspapers in English? YES NO

C watching TV in English? YES NO

D using cassettes, CDs? YES NO

E studying English books? YES NO

15 How do you like to find out how much your English is improving?

A by written tasks set by the teacher?

B by seeing if you can use the language you have learnt in real-life situations?

Thank you very much for your co-operation!

Appendix 2: Survey questionnaire for teachers

This questionnaire is to investigate students‟ language learning style preferences at

Do Luong 2 High school, Nghe An Province Your assistance in completing the following items is highly appreciated All the information provided by you is great use and solely for the study purpose Thank you!

Please put a circle around your answer(s)

1 How many years have you been teaching English?

2 In class do they like learning English

A by yourself (alone)? YES NO

C in small groups? YES NO

D with the whole class? YES NO

A to study grammar? YES NO

B to learn many new words? YES NO

C to practice the sounds and pronunciation? YES NO

D to learn English words by seeing them? YES NO

E to learn English words by hearing them? YES NO

F to learn English words by doing something? YES NO

4 In English class, do they like to learn

B to listen to and use cassettes, or CDs.? YES NO

C to learn by games.? YES NO

D to learn by conversations ? YES NO

E to learn by pictures, films, and videos.? YES NO

F by copying from the board? YES NO

5 Could you please assess the role of learning styles in your students‟ success in learning English?

A very important B important C not important

6 What activities help they learn English best in class? (only choose one) songs

playing games doing exercises from workbooks writing: stories, sentences, poems reading: stories, newspapers, articles discussions, debates, presentations watching videos

7 Do they do the following in your class?

NO D talking with and listening to other students YES NO

E memorizing conversation/dialogues YES NO

F getting information from guest speakers YES NO

G getting information from planned visits YES NO

H writing a learning diary YES NO

I learning about culture YES NO

8 Do they like learning from

A television/video/films? YES NO

9 When speaking, do they want to be corrected

A immediately, in front of everyone? YES NO

B later, at the end of the activity, in front of everyone? YES NO

C Later, in private? YES NO

10 Do they mind if you tell them all their mistakes? YES NO Do they mind if you let them find their errors? YES NO

11 At home, do they like to learn English by

B reading newspapers in English? YES NO

C watching TV in English? YES NO

D using cassettes, CDs? YES NO

E studying English books? YES NO

12 How do they like to find out how much their English is improving?

A by written tasks set by you?

B by seeing if they can use the language you have learnt in real-life situations?

Thank you very much for your co-operation!

Appendix 3:Written test set by the teachers

Kiểm Tra Môn Tiếng Anh

( Th ờ i gian làm bài: 45 phút )

I Phonetics: Choose one word whose underlined part is pronounced differently Identify your answer by circling the corresponding letter A, B, C, or D

II Vocabulary and grammar: choose from the four options given (marked A,

B, C, B, C, or D) on best answer to complete the sentence by circling the corresponding letter A, B, C or D

6 His father stopped ……… 2 years ago

A smoke B smoked C smoking D to smoke

7 I felt asleep because the film was

8 Their sons like along the beach

9 If he doesn't do the exercises, he : get bad marks

10 Hamlet is a book was written by Shakespeare

11 If you……… in England , you would speak English better

A live B lives C had lived D lived

12 He in Pans for lo years, but now he is living in London

A has lived B lived C lives D had lived

13 is one of the most serious problems in Viet Nam

14 She is frightened going out in the dark

15 My brother is the tennis player in the club

A swimming B to swim C swim D swam

17 This picture is than the other two picture

A more expensive B the most expensive C expensive D most expensive

18 This is the house they used to live

A when B in which C who D where

A am studying B will have studied C am going to study D have studied

20 They are fed up with the same things everyday

A doing B having done C did D have done

21 This is the hotel we stayed last year

A that C which B in which D where

22 He has been writing this novel the last four months

23 He is reading the book with his great

24 I really enjoy playing tennis and

A go fishing B to go fishing C going fishing D to going fishing

25 Studying late at night me tired

A make B are making C makes D making

A watch B to watch C watched D watching

28 I'm afraid of alone in dark ,

A being left B left C leaving D to leave

29 She is proud of her

30 There are many ways to learn English vocabulary

III Reading: Read the following passage then answer questions Choose the correct answer by circling its corresponding letter A, B, C, or D

David wanted to buy a Christmas present for a very special person, his mother David's father gave him $5 a week as pocket money and David put $2 a week into his bank account and went to the shopping mall He looked for a perfect gift Suddenly he saw a beautiful brooch in the shape of his favorite animal He said to himself 'l my mother loves jewelry, and the brooch costs only $17'' He bought the brooch and took it home He wrapped the present in Christmas paper and placed it under the tree He was excited and he was lo looking forward to Christmas morning to see the joy on his mother's face But when his mother opened the present she shouted with fright because she saw a spider

31 What's the main idea of the passage?

A Money at the bank B Bathe disadvantages of buying the present

C David's mother's present D David's present for his mother at Christmas

3 1 What did David want to buy for his mother ?

A a perfect gift B a beautiful brooch C a spider D a gold ring

32 What is TRUE about David?

A His father gave him $ 10 a week

B He placed the present on he table

C He wanted to buy a Christmas gin for his mother

D After five months, he took $20 out of his back account

33 The word ''it'' in line 5 refers to

C His mother's fright D a lovely animal

34 According to the author, his mother likes

B A long coat B jewelry C a small gift D a nice handbag

IV Writing: Choose from the alternatives given the best way to complete the sentence by circling the corresponding letter A, B, C, or §

35 She / bored / do / same thing / everyday

A She is bored with doing the same thing everyday

B She is bored at doing the same thing everyday

C She is bored of doing the same thing everyday

D She is bored doing the same thing everyday

36 The hotel / near / my house / nice

A The hotel what is near my house is nice ' B The hotel where is near my house is nice

C The hotel is near my house is nice D The hotel which is near my house is nice

37 English / spoken / many / countries / over the world

A It is English which is spoken in many countries over the world

B It is English is spoken in many countries over the world

C It is English spooking in many countries over the world

D It is English what is spoken in many countries over the world

38 She / fond / listen / pop music

A She is fond of listen to pop music B She is fond of to listen to pop music

C She is fond of listening to pop music D She is fond of listened to pop music

39 It / funny story / I've ever known

A It is the most funny story I've ever known B It is the funnier story I've ever known

C It is the funniest story I've ever known D It is funniest story I've ever known

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