The Relationship between Learning Styles, Study Effort and English Language Proficiency in Chinese Middle Schools

Abstract

Though disputed and deemed a neuromyth, many teachers are still convinced by the idea that identifying and later tailoring instructional strategies to individuals’ learning styles would enhance learning. This correlational study considers visual-auditory-kinaesthetic (VAK) preferences as a range instead of a category, and investigates the concept as applied to language learning, and the compensatory effects of study efforts exerted while learning a foreign language. The results showed that kinaesthetic preference was a poor predictor of English exam scores in contrast to visual and auditory preferences, and that effort played a significant role in predicting exam scores when combined with kinaesthetic preferences, suggesting a possibility that learners with kinaesthetic learning predispositions might have to compensate by working harder to attain higher language proficiency levels as compared to learners with visual or auditory learning preferences.