Language Learning Styles and Learning Strategies of Tertiary-Level English Learners in China

Abstract

This study focuses on the relationship between learning styles and language learning strategies in the EFL context in China. The study presents two kinds of data: quantitative and qualitative. In the quantitative study, the subjects consisted of 187 second-year undergraduates. Two self-reported inventories, the Chinese version of MBTI-G and a questionnaire on the use of learning strategies adapted from O’Malley and Chamot’s classification system, were used to examine the students’ learning styles and learning strategies respectively. Structured interviews have been performed among the six high and low achievers in the qualitative aspect of the study. The analyses show that learning styles have a significant influence on learners’ learning strategy choices. There is evidence that the Judging scale correlates positively with seven sets of learning strategies. Thus it turns out to be the most influential learning style variable affecting learners’ learning strategy choices. Compared with low achievers, high achievers are more capable of exercising strategies that are associated with their non-preferred styles. Based on the available research results, it is proposed that learning styles may influence learners’ language learning outcomes through their relationship with learning strategies. The pedagogical implications of these findings are discussed, as are suggestions for future research.