ESPE George Lasluisa

1. Individual differences and
Learning Styles
CHAPTER 5
By George lasluisa

2. Differences
among process,
styleandstrategy.
Process
• General concept.
• Characteristic of human beings to achieve
something.
Style
• Characteristics and intelectual functioning.
• It makes aperson differ from another.
Strategies
• The formulation of a plan.
• Manipulate data and resources.
• Ways to achieve something.

3. Learning Styles
The way we learn a thing and solve a problem.
The link between personality and cognition is COGNITIVE STYLE.
Cognitive styles relates to education are LEARNING STYLES.
Learning styles carry cognitive, affective and physiological traits.

4. Field
Independence
1
FIELD INDEPENDENCE (FI)
 Ability to perceive something in a distracting
environment.
 Too much FI: tunnel vision, not open to new ideas.
FIELD DEPENDENCE (FD)
 Ability to perceive every characteristic ofthe whole
environment. (Field Sensitivity)
 Too much FD: Possibility to identify the whole
characteristics of a problem.

5. Field Independence
increases in
adulthood
2
FIELD INDEPENDENCE (FI)
 Freer and democratic norms.
 Independent, competitive, self-competence.
FIELD DEPENDENCE (FD)
 Authoritarian societies, families, environment.
 Tend to be more socialized, emphatic, perceptive.

6. Howdoesthis
relate toSL
learning?
3
FIELD INDEPENDENCE (FI)
 Related to classroom learning.
 Analysis, attention to details.
 Learning language success.
 Better at deductive lessons.
FIELD DEPENDENCE (FD)
 Related to communicative skills.
 Better at inductive lessons.
 There is no true test of FD.

7. Left-andright-
brainfunctioning
1
LEFT HEMISPHERE
 Logical, analytical thought, mathematical, linear
processing.
RIGHT HEMISPHERE
 Visual, tactile, auditory images. Holistic, integrative,
emotional information.

8. Implications forSL
teaching/learning.
2
LEFT HEMISPHERE
 Prefer deductive style.
 Separate words, sequences of operations, classification,
labeling.
RIGHT HEMISPHERE
 Inductive classrooms.
 Generalizations, metaphors, emotional reactions,
artistic expressions.

9. Ambiguity
tolerance
OPEN-MINDED
 Accept ideologies that contradict own views.
 A new language is contradictory: words, rules and
expressions.
 Tolerance excess prevent meaningful subsumption of
ideas.
CLOSE-MINDED
 Reject contradictory items.
 Deal with the reality of the systems.
 0 creativity.

10. Reflectivityand
Impulsivity
REFLECTIVITY
 Study – reflection – solution
 Inductive reasoning.
 Slower but more accurate.
IMPULSIVITY
 Several tries to reach solution.
 Faster reading, several mistakes.
 Shorten the several stages of learning.

11. Visualand
Auditorystyles VISUAL
 Readings, charts, drawings, graphic information.
AUDITORY
 Listening to lectures, audiotapes.

12. Strategies
How to attack a given problem

13. Communication
strategies
AVOIDANCE STRATEGIES
 Lexical: To stop using a lexical item. Doubting.
 Phonological: Better choose of words at speaking.
COMPENSATORY STRATEGIES
 Prefabricated patterns: memorizing chunks of language.
No knowledge of components.
 Code-switching: compensate missing knowledge with
knowledge of a primary or tertiary language.
 Direct appeal for help: “How do you say_____?”
Toreachacommunicativegoal

14. Strategies-Based
Instruction.
Application of learning styles and communication
strategies.
Teaching how to learn.

15. StudentscanbenefitfromSBIif:
Theyunderstandthestrategy.
Theyperceiveitiseffective.
Theydonotconsideritdifficult.
1. Through checklists, test and interviews teachers
become aware of student’s tendencies.
2. Consciously and subconsciously practice strategies
with games, rapid reading, error analysis.
3. Compensatory techniques to overcome weaknesses.
4. Textbooks that include strategy instructions. (content
centered approach)