INFLUENCES OF LEARNING STYLES AND

STRATEGIES ON SECOND LANGUAGE

ACQUISITION
 INTRODUCTION

The learning strategies and styles involved in the acquisition of a second

language have been a topic of high interest in recent years for different areas
of psycho-educational research. The objective of this presentation is to show
the influence of these two items in the acquisition of a second language. For
this, a conceptual analysis is carried out on the notions of learning strategies
and styles, their typologies and their classifications, in addition to their
implications in our field as educators.
LEARNING STYLES
VISUAL
AUDITORY
KINESTHETIC
 COGNITIVE LEARNING STYLES

• Began in 1940s.

• Understand individual difference in terms other than

intelligence.

•  Field independence/Dependence was carried out at the same

time.
 FIELD INDEPENDENCE

• Perceive a particular, relevant item or factor in a “Field” of distracting

items.

• “Field” might be perceptual, or abstract.

• Thoughts, ideas, or feelings from which your task is to perceive specific

relevant subsets.

• Distinguish parts from a whole.

• To concentrate on something
FIELD INDEPENDENCE
 STUDENT CHARACTERISTICS -
FIELD INDEPENDENT
• No problem concentrating amid noise and confusion.   

• Enjoy analyzing grammatical structures.  

• Feel they must understand every word of what they read or hear.   

• Think classroom study is the key to effective language learning.  

• Prefer working alone to working with other people. 

• Receiving feedback from other people really doesn't affect their learning at
all. 
 FIELD DEPENDENCE

• Be “dependent” on the total “field”.

• Parts embedded within the “field” are not easily perceived.

• Inability to distinguish detail from other information around it.

• perceive the whole picture, the larger view, the general configuration of a
problem or idea.
 STUDENT CHARACTERISTICS - FIELD
DEPENDENT
• Need a quiet environment in order to concentrate well.  
• Find grammar analysis tedious and boring.  
• Don't mind reading or listening in the L2 without understanding every single
word as long as they 'catch' the main idea.  
• Communication is the key to effective language learning.  
• Enjoy working with other people in pairs or groups.  
• Feedback is useful as a means of understanding their problem areas
 LEFT/RIGHT BRAIN DOMINANCE

• As the child's brain matures, various functions become lateralized.

• Left and right hemispheres “TEAM”

LEFT/RIGHT BRAIN DOMINANCE
 LEFT/RIGHT BRAIN DOMINANCE

• Left-brain-dominant deductive style of teaching.

 Separate words.
 carrying out sequences of operations.
 Classification.
 Labeling.
• Right-brain-dominant inductive style of teaching.
 Whole images.
 Generalizations.
 Metaphors.
 Emotional reactions.
 Artistic expressions.
 AMBIGUITY TOLERANT VS AMBIGUITY INTOLERANT

• Tolerant Open-minded
Ideologies, events and facts

• Intolerant Close-minded that are not related to their

native context or environment.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
OF AT/AI.
 AMBIGUITY TOLERANCE

 Free to entertain a number of innovative and creative possibilities

 Not cognitively or affectively disturbed by ambiguity and uncertainty.

 Contradictory Information: Different words from the native

language.

ˉ People can become "wishy-washy”.

ˉ Hampering or preventing meaningful inclusion of ideas.
 AMBIGUITY INTOLERANCE

 Close off avenues of hopeless possibilities.

 Reject entirely contradictory material.
 Deal with the reality of the system that one has built.

ˉ If ambiguity is perceived as a threat; the result is a rigid, dogmatic, stiff

mind that is too narrow to be creative. (This may be particularly harmful in
second language learning)
TRANSLATION

Using the first language as a base for

understanding and/of producing the
second language.
GROUPING

Reordering or reclassifying and

perhaps labeling, the material to be
learned based on common attributes.
GROUPING
NOTE TAKING

Writing down the main idea, important

points, outline, or summary of information
presented orally or in writing.
DEDUCTION

Consciously applying rules to produce or

understand the second language.
IMAGERY
Relating new information to visual
concepts in memory via familiar,
easily retrievable visualizations,
phrases or locations.
AUDITORY REPRESANTION

Retention of the sound or a similar

sound for a word, phrase or longer
sequence.
CONTEXTUALIZATION

Placing a word or phrase in a

meaningful language sequence.
TRANSFER

Using previously acquired linguistic

and/or conceptual knowledge to
facilitate a new language learning
task.
COOPERATION

Working with one or more peers to

obtain feedback, pool information or
model a language activity.
QUESTION FOR CLARIFICATION

Asking a teacher or other native

speaker for repetition, explanation
and/or examples.
STRATEGY DEFINITION / SKILL
EXAMPLE

CIRCUMLOCUTION The strategies that speaking

you use to describe a
word or phrase when
you don't know it in
other language.

APPROXIMATION Using an alternative Speaking, Writing.

expression which is
similar but not express
exactly the same e.g.
‘chair’ for ‘stool’; ‘bird’
for ‘owl’; ‘ship’ for
‘sail’.
 
WORD COINAGE: Creating an L2 word thinking that it SPEAKING/ WRITING
  might work based on a supposed
rule.
 

APPEAL FOR HELP: The strategy where the students ask ALL THE SKILLS
  other students or teacher for help
because they do not know or forget some
words, structures, or idioms
STRATEGY DEFINITION / SKILL
EXAMPLE

SELF- Self-monitoring ALL THE SKILLS

MONITORING: strategies are
individualized plans
used to increase
independent
functioning in
academic, behavioral,
self-help, and social
areas.
ADVANCE Making a general ALL THE SKILLS
ORGANIZERS preview of the
organizing concept or
principle in an
anticipated learning
activity.
STRATEGY DEFINITION / EXAMPLE SKILL

REPETITION Imitating a language model. SPEAKING

Repetition is an instructional
strategy used to maintain
information in working
memory