A Correlational Study Of Senior One Students’ Sensory Learning Style And L2 Motivational Self System In English Learning

Among many factors attributing to foreign language learners’ individual differences,sensory learning styles and L2 learning motivation have always been hot topics of foreign language education research,and in recent years,some research has confirmed a certain relationship between sensory learning styles and D(?)rnyei’ s L2 Motivational Self System(L2MSS)(2005).However,most of the research has focused on the relationship between sensory learning styles and ideal L2 self in L2 MSS,and the relationship between sensory learning styles and the other two components of L2MSS(ought-to L2 self and L2 learning experience)has been less focused.The present study explores the correlation between sensory learning styles and L2 MSS with a sample of 449 Senior One students so as to have a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between sensory learning styles and English learning motivation.The research questions are as follows:1)What is the general situation of Senior One students’ preferences for sensory learning styles(visual,auditory and kinesthetic)in English learning?2)What is the current situation of Senior One students’ L2 MSS as a whole and its three components(ideal L2 self,ought-to L2 self and L2 learning experience)in English learning?3)To what extent do sensory learning styles correlate with L2 MSS as a whole,ideal L2 self,ought-to L2 self and L2 learning experience respectively?The present study was conducted with quantitative and qualitative methods.First,questionnaires were distributed to the Senior One students in a middle school in Huaiji County,Guangdong Province.Then descriptive statistical analysis,Pearson correlation analysis and multiple linear regression were conducted by SPSS26.0 to analyze the collected data.In addition,twelve students of different English levels(high,medium and low)joined in a semi-structured interview and the information obtained from it served as a supplement to the quantitative data.The major findings of this study are:1)Senior One students possessed a multi-dimensional sensory learning style preference.They preferred visual learning style most,auditory learning style ranked the second and kinesthetic learning style ranked the third.2)Senior One students had a medium-high level of L2 MSS,showing that Senior One students’ English learning motivation was of medium-high level.The level of ideal L2 self ranked the first,followed by the level of L2 learning experience,and the level of ought-to L2 self was in the third place.3)All of the three sensory learning styles were in positive and medium correlation with L2 MSS as a whole;visual learning style and auditory learning style were in positive and medium correlation with ideal L2 self and L2 learning experience respectively while kinesthetic learning style was in positive and low correlation with ideal L2 self and L2 learning experience respectively;all of the three sensory learning styles were in positive and low correlation with ought-to L2 self.Besides,the results of multiple regression showed that sensory learning styles exerted a relatively strong influence on the construction of ideal L2 self and L2 learning experience while they had a weak influence on ought-to L2 self,indicating that sensory learning styles stimulated a stronger English learning motivation mainly by helping create a more vivid and elaborate ideal L2 self and develop more positive and pleasant L2 learning experience.Based on these findings,some constructive pedagogical implications are proposed to help teachers better activate students’ English learning motivation: guiding students to identify their own sensory learning styles;using various teaching methods in English class to satisfy students’ multi-dimensional sensory learning styles and guide students to develop stronger sensory learning abilities;helping students create a more vivid and detailed ideal L2 self through imagination.