A Correlation Study Between Conceptual Learning Styles And Language Learning Strategies Of Senior High School Students

The new curriculum reform has brought four major changes in the view of teaching,from the educator-centered to the learner-centered;from teaching knowledge to teaching learning;from the subjects to the people;finally,from the emphasis on conclusions rather than process to the emphasis on conclusions and more on process.It shows that students' subject status and individual differences are more and more valued,and the learning style and learning strategy,as an important embodiment of students' individual differences,have also aroused the general concern of educators.In this study,322 Senior one high school students in Tianjin are investigated with two questionnaires: Reid's(1984)Perceptual Learning Style Preference questionnaire and Oxford's(1989)Strategy Inventory for Language Learning questionnaire.The purpose is to study the relationship between perceptual learning styles and English learning strategies of high school students.This paper focuses on three issues: 1.What are the overall characteristics of senior high school students' tendency of perceptual learning styles? 2.What are the overall characteristics of senior high school students' use of English learning strategies? 3.Are there any correlations between senior high school students' perceptual learning styles and language learning strategies? If so,what are they?After the data analysis by SPSS software,we find that:(1)senior high school students had a variety of learning styles,among them,most preferred learning style is auditory learning styles,then followed by individual,group,visual and tactile learningstyles,and relatively disliked kinematic learning styles.(2)The overall level of English learning strategies used by senior high school students is medium level,that is,sometimes used.The most commonly used strategies are memory strategy,cognitive strategy,and the rest are compensation strategy,metacognitive strategy,social strategy and affective strategy.(3)There is a significant positive correlation between perceptual learning style and learning strategy.Concretely speaking,there existed significant positive correlations between visual learning style and cognitive strategy,memory strategy;auditory learning style and cognitive,metacognitive strategy;tactile learning style and affective strategy,cognitive strategy;kinematic learning style and affective strategy,social strategy,cognitive strategy;group learning style and cognitive strategies,cognitive strategy;while there is no significant positive correlation between individual learning style and other learning strategies.This study can not only help teachers to teach students in accordance with their aptitude and improve the teaching effect,but also provide enlightenment for high school students to further autonomous learning,improve their learning efficiency and English scores.