Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire Research Articles

Perceptual learning style preferences among Iranian graduate students

Research suggests that a host of cognitive, affective, and perceptual variables are at work when individuals go about the task of second or foreign language learning. Among these variables are learning styles that are habitual ways of perceiving, processing, and storing information. This study was conducted as a response to Isemonger and Sheppard's (2003) call for more context-specific research into the relationship between learning styles and background variables due to the inconsistencies existing in the field. The study aimed at exploring the pattern of graduate learners' perceptual learning style preferences and its possible relationship with their gender, age, discipline, and self-rated proficiency level. The participants were 138 graduate students at Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran. They were randomly selected based on a two-stage sampling procedure and responded to the Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire. The questionnaire was translated, piloted, and slightly modified before the study proper. The results revealed that the participants favored kinesthetic and tactile modalities and disfavored group learning style. As for the background variables, some significant differences were detected. The findings and their implications are also discussed.

On the Impacts of Perceptual Learning Style and Gender on Iranian Undergraduate EFL Learners’ Choice of Vocabulary Learning Strategies

Students’ learning styles and vocabulary learning strategies are among the main factors that help determine how students learn second language vocabulary. This work examined the extent to which choice of vocabulary learning strategies is affected by students’ perceptual learning style. In this research, the participants were 54 EFL learners atTarbiatMoallemUniversity majoring in English literature, ranging in age from 20 to 22, and they consisted of both males and females. TOEFL test, Schmitt’s (1997) vocabulary learning strategies questionnaire including 5 categories (Determination, Social, Memory, Cognitive, Metacognitive), and Joy Reid’s (1987) perceptual learning style preference questionnaire were used in present study. After collecting the data, a number of descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted on the data. The findings of the study revealed there was a relationship between learners’ perceptual style and vocabulary learning strategies they use so that learners’ perceptual styles make statistically significant contribution to the prediction of vocabulary learning strategies. The results showed that specific learning styles correlated with specific vocabulary learning strategies. Descriptive statistical analyses showed that the most frequent learning style was visual style. Kinesthetic and auditory styles ranked the second and third styles. Also it was shown that group style with the average of 16.0741 was the least frequent. Moreover, it was indicated that the most preferred vocabulary learning strategy category of all was related to metacognitive strategies. Determination strategies ranked the second. Cognitive, memory and the social strategies ranked the third to the fifth. Concerning the gender differences in both vocabulary learning strategies, and perceptual learning styles of the participants, an independent samples t-test was conducted, and the results showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the vocabulary strategy preferences or learning styles of the two genders. The research emphasized assessing styles and vocabulary learning strategies in the L2 classroom, attuning L2 instruction and vocabulary learning strategy instruction to learners’ style preferences, and remembering that no single L2 instructional methodology fits all students.

Exploring Egyptian EFL Students’ Learning Styles and Satisfaction with Web-Based Materials

Due to the increasing demand on the incorporation of web-based materials into Egyptian higher educational institutions, this study examined students' learning styles, satisfaction with online learning, and the relationships be-tween these two variables and students' gender. The study was conducted on 51 EFL college students (24 males and 27 females) who were assigned to three lab classes. The participants were exposed to various web-based ma-terials (e.g., listening, reading, writing, and grammar) which were intro-duced as an add-on to face-to-face courses. An adapted form of Reid's (1998) Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire (PLSPQ) was used to identify participants' learning styles after exposure to web-based in-struction. Also, a 5-point Likert scale was administered to examine students' satisfaction with web-based learning. Statistical analyses revealed that kin-esthetic, tactile, and visual were the major styles the participants favored when working with online activities. Findings also showed highly positive perceptions toward web-based learning due to an array of benefits (e.g., usefulness, enjoyment, accessibility, convenience, and richness of re-sources). Finally, whereas students' gender had a significant effect on stu-dents' learning style preferences, it had no bearing on their satisfaction with web-based materials. Relevant interpretations and implications were offered.

Influence of grade level on perceptual learning style preferences and language learning strategies of Taiwanese English as a foreign language learners

The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between grade level, perceptual learning style preferences, and language learning strategies among Taiwanese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students in grades 7 through 9. Three hundred and ninety junior high school students participated in this study. The instruments for data collection were the Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire (PLSPQ) and the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL). Results showed that statistically significant relationships were found to exist between grade level and kinesthetic learning style preference ( p = .001), tactile learning style preference ( p = .047), and individual learning style preference ( p = .02). Results also showed that statistically significant relationships were found to exist between grade level and the use of memory strategies ( p = .005), cognitive strategies ( p = .02), metacognitive strategies ( p = .000), affective strategies ( p = .000) and social strategies ( p = .000). Implications are that it is critical for classroom teachers to be more aware of the differences in their students and ensure that their courses present information that appeal to students in different grade levels.

The construct validity of scores on a Japanese version of the perceptual component of the Style Analysis Survey

Abstract This study examines the psychometrics of the perceptual component of the Style Analysis Survey (SAS) [Oxford, R.L., 1993a. Style Analysis Survey (SAS). University of Alabama, Tuscaloona, AL]. The study is conducted in the context of questions over another perceptual learning-styles instrument, the Perceptual Learning Styles Preferences questionnaire (PLSP) [Isemonger, I.M., Sheppard, C., 2007. A construct-related validity study on a Korean version of the Perceptual Learning Styles Preference questionnaire. Educational and Psychological Measurement 67 (2), 1–12; Reid, J.M., 1984. Perceptual Learning Style Preference questionnaire. Copyrighted by Reid. Available through Joy Reid, Department of English, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82070; Wintergerst, A.C., DeCapua, A., Itzen, R.C., 2001. The construct validity of one learning-styles instrument. System 29, 385–403], and questions surrounding the usefulness and operationalization of learning styles generally [Curry, L., 1990. A critique of the research on learning styles. Educational Leadership 48 (2), 50–55; Ferrari, J.R., 1996. Psychometric properties of the revised Grasha–Riechmann student learning style scale. Educational and Psychological Measurement 56 (6), 166–172; Furnham, A., 1992. Personality and learning styles: a study of three instruments. Personality and Individual Differences 13, 429–438; Goldstein, M.B., Bokoros, M.A., 1992. Tilting at the windmills: comparing the learning style inventory and the learning style questionnaire. Educational and Psychological Measurement 52, 701–708; Moran, A., 1991. What can learning styles research learn from cognitive psychology. Educational Psychology 11, 239–245]. The study aimed to address the psychometrics of the perceptual constructs of the SAS, and by extension the issue of whether the problems with the PLSP are peculiar to the instrument or one instance of a more general problem with learning-styles instruments measuring perceptual constructs. The findings indicate possible problems with the perceptual constructs on the SAS, and raise the question of how well perceptual constructs operationalize.

The construct validity of one learning styles instrument

Learning style research has become ubiquitous in second/foreign language teaching and research. While such an approach has a great deal of intuitive appeal, difficulties arise when researchers attempt to conceptualize actual learning styles and relate these to factors other than individual preferences. These difficulties are further compounded when working with second/foreign language learners and the inherent issues of learner proficiency and target language comprehensibility. The present study examines the reliability and validity of Reid's (1984) Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire (PLSPQ), an instrument used to assess the learning style of English as a Second Language (ESL) students. Exploratory factor analysis was used to explore the dimensionality of the PLSPQ. Results showed that specific survey items did not necessarily group into factors conceptually compatible with Reid's learning style model. Subsequently, an alternative learning style factor structure was explored.