Utilizing Learning Styles in EFL Teaching

【Abstract】This paper is to explain the different learning styles that students may possess and to discuss the importance of planning a lesson that includes different techniques to meet the needs of individual learners.

【key words】learning styles; teaching techniques; individual learners

【作者簡介】牛張莉，湖南文理學(xué)院外國語學(xué)院。

1. Introduction

Often， EFL teachers lack the awareness that different learning styles of learners exists. They are still working very hard to devise new teaching materials and new strategies to teach their students better. However， they do so utilizing their own predictions about the way they think their students will learn better. Such predictions are usually based subconsciously on their own teaching styles， without a consideration of the essence behind the individual differences of their students.

2. Learning Styles Descriptions

The learning styles are based on the different ways people collect information， their perceptions， their judgments. According to Carl Jung， the two ways we collect information are “sensing” and “intuition.” The two ways we judge information are “thinking and ‘feeling.The preference for sensing or intuition is independent of the preference for thinking or feeling.” As a result four distinct combinations occur.

Sensing/Thinking（S-T）， Intuitive/Thinking （N-T）， Sensing/Feeling （S-F）， Intuitive/Feeling（N-F）. Each of these combinations produces a different kind of leaning style. The Sensing-Thinker can be characterizes as realistic， practical， and matter-of-fact. He wants to know right/wrong answers， prefers teacher directed learning. The Sensing-Feeler is social，friendly， and impersonally oriented. He wants to be emotionally involved. The Intuitive-thinker is theoretical， intellectually-curious. He organizes ideas， wants to work independently and asks why？ The intuitive-feeler is imaginative， creative，and insightful. He would like to find own solutions rather than be told the correct way.

3. Butterfly Method Lesson on Robert Frost

Based on the above characteristics and leaning preferences， the EFL teacher can use a butterfly method in their teaching. For instance， in teaching Robert Frosts poem “The Road Not Taken”， the teacher ， in the first part of the class， can arouse the S-F learners interest emotionally by letting them listen to the poetry reading and then asking them to imagine “ It is June. Youve crossed the stage and gotten your diploma. You anticipate your future with excitement. But， there are still choices to be made”. Questions like “Do you relate to this poem？ Tell about a hard decision you have made” will be asked. The S-F learns best in a warm， friendly， supportive ， and interactive environment in which students are encouraged to share their personal thoughts， feelings， and experiences， and to interact with one another. Next， the teacher can turn his attention to N-T learners by asking questions to encourage them to think critically and analytically. Questions like What drives us to make the choices we do？ What internal and external factors influences our decisions？ The instructional emphasis for the N-T is placed on independent and creative approaches to learning. For the S-T learners， the teacher can read the poem， teach background information on Robert Frost and what was happening in his life when he wrote it， and then discuss the rhythm scheme， type of poem， critical analysis， reasons behind the poems meaning， etc. This way of teaching meets the needs of the S-T learners because they learn best in an organized， systematic， activity-oriented， instructor-directed atmosphere. Since the N-F learner prefers activities which allow him to use his imagination and to do things in a new and different ways， the questions for the N-F learners will be “What if you had the same thought/message to share with the world as Robert frost？”“How would you communicate it with the rest of the world？” “What do you imagine the poet was thinking when he wrote this？”“How is a decision like a fork in the road ？” At last， the teacher can make a conclusion of the lesson by coming back to the S-F learners with the question “Tell me why some of your life choices have made all the differences？”

4. Conclusion

As an EFL teacher， it is important for us to understand those differences in order to maximize students learning potential. Compare the differences between how they learn Aurally and Visually as well as the other styles . Compare how they interact with others while learning in a group or by themselves. Each observation will bring the teacher closer to understanding their students special gifts and will reveal to the teacher more effective ways to teach students using their preferred learning styles.

References：

[1]Jung， Carl Gustav， Psychological Types. Collected Works of C.G.Jung， Volume 6[M]. Princeton： Princeton University Press，1971.

[2]Reid， J.， Learning Styles in the ESL/EFL Classroom[M]. Bejing： Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press，2002.