Dr. Li Jie
(PhD Graduate)
Associate Professor,
Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, China
An understanding of this question will help learners develop the flexibilities to cope with different learning contexts and ultimately achieve learner autonomy. In a recent study, Dr. Li has addressed this question based on the Chinese tertiary EFL learners.
She studied 187 second-year undergraduates from two universities in mainland China. The Chinese version of MBTI-G and a questionnaire on the use of learning strategies were used to examine the students' learning styles and learning strategies respectively. The MBTI-G contains four indices: (i) Extraversion vs. Introversion; (ii) Sensing vs. Intuition; (iii) Thinking vs. Feeling; and (iv) Judging vs. Perceiving.
The results showed that learning styles exert significant influences on students' learning strategy choices. It also revealed that Judging learners who prefer closure, structure, organization and control showed a natural tendency to monitor and evaluate their learning, which is of great value in successful language learning. In fact, Judging scale was found to be the most influential learning style variable affect learners' learning strategy choices.
Based on the results, it is proposed that teachers may use learning style instruments to help students discover and get familiar with their own learning styles. Teachers may also explain the importance of tapping strategies of other styles to encourage students to experiment with extending their preferred styles. Teachers may incorporate learning style into learning strategy training to help students maximize their learning efficiency and finally become autonomous learners.
Author's biography: Dr. Li's current research interests include second language reading, second language writing, second language vocabulary acquisition, metacognition, learning strategy and learning style. She has published on journals including RELC Journal and Hong Kong Journal of Applied Linguistics. She is now a member of China English Language Education Association (affiliate of International association of Applied Linguistics, AILA).
