Learning Strategies by EFL Students with Different Learning Styles: Implication for Learning and Teaching
Songkhla Rajabhat University, Thailand
ABSTRACT
In order to develop teaching and learning in language classroom, previous studies investigated how learning styles influenced the use of learning strategies from learners who study at either different levels or in different contexts. Also, this study would like to be a part of increasing the effectiveness of learning and teaching. Therefore, it aims at investigating the students’ learning styles and exploring their learning strategies which were used to succeed in learning language skills, listening, speaking, reading, writing, grammar, and vocabulary. The participants of the study were 79 undergraduate students who were studying in Foreign Language Program at Songkhla Rajabhat University, Thailand. The questionnaire was used as the instrument for the study to indicate the students’ learning styles and learning strategies. It was distributed during the first semester of the students’ first year. The data obtained revealed that the majority of the students are Kinesthetic learn style, followed by Group learning style, Auditory learning style, Individual learning style, Tactile learning style and Visual learning style. It was also found that metacognitive and cognitive strategies were mainly used by the students from different learning styles. It is expected that the findings of the study could give the guideline for developing language learning and shed light on providing activities to fit the students with different styles in order to develop their language skills. Playing the role as the facilitator by teachers to scaffold the students to use a variety of strategies to learn more effectively is also suggested.
KEYWORDS
Learning styles, learning strategies