Language Learning Style Preferences of Low English Proficiency (LEP) Students in a Tertiary Institution

Learning styles are a person’s natural, habitual and preferred ways of absorbing, processing and retaining new information and skills. It has been hypothesized that, in a language classroom, a match between the students’ preferred learning styles and their teacher’s teaching style will lead to success in language learning whereas a mismatch will lead to adverse effects such as failure and demotivation on the students’ part. This study examined the learning style preferences of 252 Low English Proficiency (LEP) students at a local tertiary institution. It also examined the role of gender in determining the preferred learning styles of this particular group of students. Reid’s (1987) Perceptual Learning Style Preferences Questionnaires (PLSPQ), a widely-used, reliable 30-item self report inventory with a Likert-style response format, was used in this study to identify the students’ preferred learning styles (Visual, Auditory, Kinaesthetic, Tactile, Group and/or Individual). Descriptive statistics and an independent t-test were used to analyse the data. Results indicated that all six styles were negative learning styles and that gender did not seem to influence students’ learning style preferences. Implications of the findings for teaching and learning are then discussed. The study concludes with the recommendation that, when dealing with LEP students, every effort must be made to improve the students’ confidence and motivation in learning the language.