A Study On Language Learning Styles Of Non-english Major Postgraduate Students

Since the 1970s, researches on the second language teaching and learning have shifted their attention from examining the methods of teaching to investigating the individual differences of the learners. As one of the important factors in individual differences in language learning, learning styles has attracted more and more researchers'attention, and a lot of studies have been carried out on the relations of learning styles to the process of foreign language learning. In recent years, many empirical studies have also been conducted in China. However, most of these empirical studies have selected university students as their subjects, and few researches have been conducted on the learning styles of the postgraduates. Therefore, this study is designed to investigate non-English major postgraduate students'learning styles in the process of their English learning.The study employed the quantitative research methods. The subjects in this study were 90 postgraduates of non-English majors in Jiangxi Normal University. The questionnaire used in the study was Reid's (2002) Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire. In addition, English scores of postgraduates'entrance examination were employed to determine the students'English proficiency level. The study attempted to answer four research questions, that is, (1) what learning styles do non-English major postgraduates prefer; (2) do male and female students vary in their learning styles; (3) does academic major(art major or science major) have any effect on students'learning styles; (4) is there any relationship between the academic achievement and learning style? The data collected were put into Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS 16.0) and processed by descriptive statistic and Independent-Sample T-test.Results indicate that non-English major postgraduates have a variety of learning style preferences, among them, kinesthetic and tactile styles are most preferred. Gender differences do exist in learning style preferences in visual style. What's more, it is found that kinesthetic and tactile modalities correlate positively with foreign language achievement. Lastly, art students prefer kinesthetic style more significantly than science students.On the basis of the results from this study, we can provide insightful implications for second language teaching and learning. First of all, teachers should identify and respect students'learning style preferences. Secondly, the learner themselves should be aware of their own learning styles conscientiously, and try their best to stretch their learning style positively. Lastly, teachers should design different style classroom activities, present information in various perceptual learning modalities, use diverse teaching method and employ computer-assisted instruction to make students learning effectively.