Individual differences: Learning Styles and Strategies

Style: physiological traits that are relatively stable indicators of how learners perceive, interact with and respond to the learning environment

1. Field independence vs. Field sensitivity

2. Left vs right brain

3. Ambiguity tolerance

4. Reflectivity vs impulsivity

5. Visual auditory and kinesthetic

   Other influential factors

   • Intelligence

   • Language learning aptitude

   • Personality

   • Motivation

   • Identity & ethnic group affiliation

   • Learner Beliefs

Learning Strategies

• Cognitive: construct, transform and apply L2 knowledge

• Affective: Emotional energy, attitudes, motivation

• Sociocultural-interactive: generate and maintain communication within a cultural context

• Compensatory Strategies: gaining communicative control and avoiding

  • Avoidance

  • Circumlocution: describing a word with other nouns

  • approximation:

  • word coinage

  • nonverbal signals

  • prefabricated patters

  • code switching

  • appeal to authority

  • monitoring

  • keeping the floor

  • evaluating

  • using senses

  • activating knowledge

  • contextualization

  • minimizing negative emotions

  • activating supportive emotions

  • guessing intelligently

  • Interaction to learn