Abstract
Due to the critical role that perceptual learning styles as indicators of individual differences play in L2 learners' activities and thus their academic achievement, the present investigation was aimed to study the role of L2 learners' perceptual styles in lexical inferencing and also the strategies used for lexical inferences in the Iranian context of English language learning. To this end, 134 participants majoring in different engineering fields took part in the study. They received strategy training on how to infer the meanings of unfamiliar words. They then answered a perceptual styles preferences questionnaire and were tested on the selected texts for lexical inferencing. They were asked to extract the meaning of unfamiliar words and simultaneously identify the relevant strategy employed for lexical inferencing by marking it on the strategy questionnaire. The analysis identified the biggest number of participants as being kinesthetic despite the fact that classes were mainly held through audio-visual activities. The findings also showed a meaningful difference between group categories of styles preferences and their lexical inferencing ability (F=4.57, p<.05). As for the modifying effect of perceptual styles on the strategies used by various groups of learners, 'visual learners' were found to have the highest correlation with ‘syntactic knowledge analysis’ (r=.70, p=.01). The results of the study point to the importance of individual differences in the perception of and interaction with the learning environment. Keywords: perceptual learning styles; lexical inferencing; strategy training; strategy use; L2 DOI: http://doi.org/10.17576/3L-2016-2201-14
Highlights
Inferencing is viewed as a significant cognitive ability in reading comprehension (Whitney 1987). Nassaji (2006) defines inferencing as the attempts made by readers to extract meaning from a text
L2 learners attempt to compensate for the inadequacy of their vocabulary knowledge through either communication strategies in the production of the language or through inferencing strategies when facing comprehension problems associated with unknown items
The purpose of the present study was first to decide on the participants' learning style preferences and see how their distinctive preferences may modify their ability in lexical inferencing and strategy use
Summary
Inferencing is viewed as a significant cognitive ability in reading comprehension (Whitney 1987). Nassaji (2006) defines inferencing as the attempts made by readers to extract meaning from a text. Inferencing is viewed as a significant cognitive ability in reading comprehension (Whitney 1987). Nassaji (2006) defines inferencing as the attempts made by readers to extract meaning from a text. As a cognitive activity involved in the act of reading comprehension both in L1 and L2, inferencing is achieved through various strategies ranging from establishing connections between different parts of text and linking the text with background knowledge to looking for cohesion and coherence within the text as well as making informed guesses about the unfamiliar vocabulary items. Inferencing is a necessary tool in the context of L2 (English as a foreign language or EFL) learning, through which learners engage in the extraction of meaning whenever they fail to comprehend the new lexical items appearing in the text
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