Learning styles of L2

It is about an individual preferred way of processing, that is, of perceiving, conceptualizing, organizing, and recalling information related to language learning. The language learning styles are the overall patterns that give general direction to learning behavior. Unlike factors of age, aptitude, and motivation, its role in explaining why some L2 learners are more successful than others has not been well established, it involves a complex interaction with specific L2 social and learning contexts.

Here are 4 types of learning styles.

1. Field Independent (left brain dominance)

Confident being engaged in a situation or classroom activities: enter a field and use or learn second language.

1.1 Concrete learning style

Learners that use learning style are interested in information that has immediate value. They dislike routine learning and written work and prefer verbal or visual experiences. They like to be entertained and like to be physically involved in learning.

1.2 Communicative learning style

Learners with a communicative learning style prefer a social approach to learning. They need personal feedback and interaction and learn well from discussion and group activities. They thrive in a democratically run class.

2. Field Dependent style (right brain dominance)

Is better at grasping the observing ideas and observing the whole situation. Then elaborate a knowledge of the language acquired into their own concepts and usages.

2.1 Analytical learning style

Learners with an analytical style are independent, like to solve problems and enjoy tracking down ideas and developing principles on their own.

2.2 Authority-oriented learning style

Learners with an authority-oriented style are said to be responsible and dependable. They relate well to a traditional classroom. They prefer the teacher as an authority figure. They like to have clear instructions and to know exactly what they are doing.

3. Convergent vs. Divergent

If you’re a convergent thinker, you’ll tend to take a steady approach to tasks, whereas if you’re a divergent thinker, you can appear more obviously creative, especially when confronted with tasks that require lots of idea generation. 

However, convergent thinkers often produce high-quality results through persistence, and divergent thinkers frequently discard a high proportion of ideas generated early on in a task.

4. Holist-Serialist

Students who adopt a serialist approach tend to work in a systematic, essentially linear way and tend to approach a complicated task by breaking it down into a series of sub-task, mastering each of these separately, and then combining them in order to master the task as a whole. 

Students who adopt a holistic approach, on the other hand, tend to work best by tackling a task as an integrated whole right from the start.