Study On The Relations Among Perceptual Learning Style, Multiple Intelligence, Hemispheric Dominance And Motivation And Their Influences On English Majors' Language Achievement

The attention of researchers on English education has been attracted by students' cognitive and affective factors like learning style, motivation, self-confidence etc. As students' learning style can be understood from different perspectives, which have been summarized by Reid in 1998, including multiple intelligence, perceptual learning style, field independent and field dependent learning style, analytical and global learning styles, right-and left brained learning styles etc., researches on learning style have undergone diversity. What is more, English learning motivation is another area in which researchers concerned most. A vast number of empirical studies have proved that the positive employment of these cognitive and affective factors greatly promote second language learning, but not many has probed into the relations between these factors, and how they are related to academic performance, especially concerning Engligh majors.The participants involve 34 English majors of sophomore from Taiyuan University of Technology. All the students have attended the course of Language Learning Strategies for one term, during which they get a comprehensive understanding of some factors that have influences on second language learning, including learning strategy, learning style, motivation, multiple intelligence, left-or-right brain domination, confidence, anxiety, belief etc. They are required to fill in questionnaires concerning each factor and after class write reflexive journals on each factor. By analysing the reflexive journals and their academic records of Intensive Reading, Extensive Reading, Listening and Writing, a qualitative research is designed to answer the questions proposed as follows:1. What are English majors'preference on perceptual learning style, multiple intelligence, hemispheric dominance and motivation respectively?2. Are there any correlations between the employment of perceptual learning style, multiple intelligence, hemispheric dominance and motivation? What are the correlations?3. How these factors relate to students'academic performance?4. What make it different between successful learners and unsuccessful learners?The findings of this research are consistent with many previous studies, however, some of the findings are new and worth further exploration. Major findings are summarized in the following:●Most of the participants prefer learning independently instead of group learning and tend to learn effectively with kinesthetic learning style.●Individual and visual learners are good at listening; kinesthetic and individual learners are excellent in reading;and visual learners are always good writers.●Musical and intrapersonal intelligence contribute to listening ability; musical, spatial and kinesthetic intelligence contribute to reading proficiency;and writing ability requires the contribution of intrapersonal intelligence and musical intelligence.●Right-brained learners are more capable in reading while left- brained learners are more capable in writing.●Intrinsically motivated learners are obviously more likely to succeed.●Visual learners tend more to be with spatial intelligence and verbal intelligence while among auditory learners, quite a few of them belong to musical intelligence and verbal intelligence; kinesthetic learners enjoy kinesthetic intelligence and interpersonal intelligence; and most individual learners possess intrapersonal intelligence while group learners are interpersonal intelligence learners.●Visual learners tend more to be right-brain dominated whereas auditory learners show a tendency to be left-brained●Right-brained participants employ interpersonal intelligence whilst most of the left-brained learners belong to intrapersonal intelligence.●The difference between successful language learners and unsuccessful ones may lie in the factors of perceptual learning style, multiple intelligence, hemispheric dominance and motivation, self-reflection, learning autonomy, self-confidence and learning awareness.Some pedagogical implications and suggestions are given to both teachers and students to create a more lively and effective learning environment with the needs of students.