A Study On The Feasibility Of Laguage Learning Strategy Training To Stretch Learners' Learning Styles

This study is designed to explore the relationships between learning styles and learning strategies as well as the feasibility of strategy training on the stretch of learning styles. With the combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis, the aim of the present study is to make an investigation about the subjects' learning style and strategy preferences and the influence of strategy training on the stretch of learning styles and L2 achievement in the non-English majors of science and technology university. This study also analyzes the correlation between learning styles and learning strategies quantitatively so as to provide further statistical support in this area and explore the feasibility of strategy training on the stretch of learning styles.Data are collected from the literature, questionnaires, students' journals, interviews and two language proficiency tests. The participants of questionnaires are 120 non-English major freshmen, majoring in Automatization, Applied Chemistry, and Administrative Management from Taiyuan University of Technology. The questionnaire surveys are carried out both at the outset and at the end of the research. The participants of students' journals come from the experimental group (Class 1, Applied Chemistry and Administrative Management), 62 students for journal and 5 for interview. This study lasts six months, from May 2006 to December 2006, excluding the summer vacation. Participants in this research go through the transition from freshmen to sophomores. Two questionnaires are made use of in the study for data collection: one is Oxford (1990) Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) including memory, cognitive, compensation, metacognitive, affective and social strategies; and the other is Oxford (1993) Style Analysis Survey which consists of visual, auditory, hands-on, extroverted, introverted, intuitive, concrete-sequential, closure-oriented, open, global and analytic styles. The two language proficiency tests are College Entrance Examination and a simulative CET4 examination at the end of the first semester of the second school year. SPSS is used to analyze the data collected from questionnaires and language proficiency tests and tries to discover something from three aspects: (1) relationships between learning strategies and learning styles; (2) the influence of strategy training on the stretch of learning styles; (3) the influence of strategy training and style stretch on L2 achievementThe study reveals that the non-English major participants use compensation and metacognitive strategies most frequently, followed by cognitive, affective and social strategies, and memory strategies least. Perceptual learning styles are the participants' major learning style preferences. Moreover, they prefer extroverted, intuitive, closure-oriented and global learning styles. The relationships between learning styles and learning strategies are quite close and learning styles have strong impact on learning strategy preferences. After six months strategy training, the results show three findings and the learners show more significant changes on auditory, extroverted and closure-oriented styles, while no obvious change on the other styles. Strategy training plays an important role in improving the learners' L2 achievement, but the impact of learning style stretch on the learners' L2 achievement is not great.Through the study on the relationships between learning styles and learning strategies, as well as strategy training on the stretch of learning styles, two suggestions are provided for classroom teaching.Needless to say, there are some limitations in this research, which may have an impact on the result of the research. But the results in this research here still prove the relationships between learning styles and learning strategies and the feasibility of strategy training on the stretch of learning styles to some extent. It is hoped that this study can benefit language teachers, students and researchers in this area in the future.