A Study On English Perceptual Learning Styles Of Senior Two Students

As an important factor influencing individual learning differences,learning style has received more and more attention from language researchers.Studying learning styles helps to improve students’ learning efficiency and teachers’ teaching effectiveness.Therefore,it is of great significance for researchers to carry out researches on the learning styles of middle school students.Based on the previous researches in China and abroad,this thesis adopts Reid’s perceptual learning style preference questionnaire,students’ learning achievements and interview to carry out this study to investigate perceptual learning style preferences of 185 Senior Two students from Nanning NO.8 Middle School.Descriptive analysis,independent sample t-test and correlation analysis are conducted to obtain quantitative statistics.In addition,8 students are invited to take part in an interview.The English perceptual learning style preference questionnaire includes six dimensions: visual,auditory,tactile,kinesthetic,group and individual learning style.This study is aimed at investigating the general tendency of Chinese senior middle school students’ English perceptual learning styles,analyzing gender differences and differences between art students and science students in perceptual learning styles,and the relationship between perceptual learning styles and students’ English learning achievements.The research reveals that:(1)Senior middle school students adopt multiple learning styles in their English learning.Among the six perceptual learning styles,they have strongest preferences for visual and auditory learning styles but least preference for group learning.(2)The result of independent sample t-test reveals that there are significant differences in tactile learning style between male and female students in senior middle school.Female students prefer tactile learning more than male students.(3)Art students and science students show significant differences in kinesthetic and group learning.Science students are more inclined to kinesthetic and group learning styles than art students.(4)Except for group learning,there are significant differences in visual,auditory,kinesthetic,tactile and individual learning between high proficiency group and low proficiency group students.High achievers have multiple learning style preferences.Visual,auditory,kinesthetic,and individual learning styles demonstrate significant and positive correlations with English learning achievements.Based on this study,some suggestions are put forward for teachers and students in senior middle school.On one hand,teachers should attach importance to the influence of learning style on students’ learning,recognize and respect the difference between learners’ individual learning styles and teach students in accordance with their aptitude,adopt diversified teaching strategies and design diversified classroom activities in teaching,conduct multiple assessments to evaluate students’ learning achievements.On the other hand,students should identify and have a general understanding of their own learning styles,consciously cultivate and develop their multiple learning styles,and adjust their learning strategies based on the characteristics of their learning styles.Due to small sample size and limited research methods and tools,there are still some limitations in this study.The author hopes that future research can be improved and developed.