A Study On The Applications Of Perceptual Learning Style Theory To EFL Vocabulary Teaching

Vocabulary is the basic unit in language. In communication, it is essential for transferring information, and in language learning, it plays an important role in improving students' language ability. Most language practitioners hold that vocabulary plays a core role in the language learning. Just like what Lewis stated, "Vocabulary acquisition is the center of the second language learning, which plays the most important role" (Lewis,1993). But in students' learning and teachers'teaching process, it has been found that the students'mastery of EFL vocabulary is not very satisfied. English vocabulary learning has been a sticky problem for many English learners. EFL vocabulary teaching can not be ignored.With the general tendency toward learner-centered education in many educational environments around the world, language learners'individual differences have drawn more and more attention from researchers and teachers. Learning style, as an important aspect of individual difference, has won much concern in the area of second language acquisition since the 1960s. This thesis reviews main studies on learning style both abroad and at home, and examines the perceptual learning styles of the freshmen of English majors in Northeast Forestry University. The thesis mainly inspects the perceptual learning style in the empirical study. It aims to figure out the answers of the following questions:(1) what are the perceptual learning style preferences of the participants learning English as a foreign language? (2) can teaching according to the students'learning style preferences help students to retain vocabularies? (3) what influence will perceptual learning style theory bring to the vocabulary teaching effects? Findings from this study are expected to facilitate both teachers and students in the process of teaching and learning English.The present study employed both quantitative and qualitative approaches. In the quantitative study, the questionnaire survey includes 30 statements from Reid's (1984) Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire. The SPSS 17.0 was used to analyze the quantitative data. To answer the three research questions, the researcher worked out descriptive statistics, conducted independent sample T-test and correlation analyses. In the qualitative study, there were two vocabulary tests. Both tests included 20 words which were taught by different teaching methods.This study has revealed several findings:(1) all the students have multiple learning styles with tactile most preferred and group least preferred; (2) paying attention to the students' perceptual learning styles in EFL vocabulary teaching will prompt students'retention of new vocabularies. (3) if teachers organize teaching practice according to the students'learning styles, students will learn more actively and the teaching effect will be greatly enhanced. Some implications based on the above findings can be drawn to EFL teaching in China. Teachers should help students identify their learning styles and develop self-awareness with some assessment instruments. At the same time, they should also encourage students to extend their learning styles and diversify their learning methods. Teachers should match their teaching styles with students'learning styles, helping students adopt proper vocabulary learning strategies that best suit students'learning styles. Teachers should try to match teaching styles with learning styles by designing different classroom activities, presenting information in various perceptual learning modalities, and using diverse teaching method. Teachers should also use CAI and other multimedia tools to enrich or supplement the basic teaching. Based on learning style theory, through the combination of theoretical research and empirical research, this thesis aims to explore the effect of perceptual learning style on EFL vocabulary teaching, and to improve the level of college EFL classroom teaching effectively.