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Styles and Style-Stretching: How are They Related to Successful Learning?

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Abstract

Although the learning style construct has aroused much interest over the years, questions remain regarding basic issues such as definition, the validity and/or reliability of various measurement instruments, and the relationship between learning style and successful learning. Furthermore, although maintaining stylistic flexibility is recommended by many authors, few studies have attempted to relate the style-stretching concept to successful learning. This study therefore attempted to address these questions. According to results, conducted among 106 Turkish university students, using an original instrument constructed using elements from established questionnaires, a small group of styles was significantly correlated with exam results, accounting for about a quarter of the variance (considered a large effect size in social science). In addition, higher-scoring students reported a more eclectic range of styles, suggesting more willingness to style-stretch, while lower-scoring students reported a more limited range. Pedagogical implications as well as areas for ongoing research are suggested.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ELT Department, Fatih University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Carol Griffiths

  2. School of Foreign Languages, Yeditepe University, Kayışdağı Caddesi, 26 Ağustos Yerleşkesi, Ataşehir, Istanbul, Turkey

    Görsev İnceçay

Authors
  1. Carol Griffiths
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  2. Görsev İnceçay
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Görsev İnceçay.

Appendix: Inventory of Language Learning Styles (ILLS)

Appendix: Inventory of Language Learning Styles (ILLS)

Please rate each of the following learning style preferences according to the scale:

5 = strongly agree; 4 = agree; 3 = neutral; 2 = disagree; 1 = strongly disagree.

I like to learn

Item

Style

Rating

Comment

1

By reading

Literary style

Fleming and Mills (1992), Oxford (1993)

2

By writing things down

Graphic style

Fleming and Mills (1992), Oxford (1993)

3

By speaking in the target language

Oral style

Reid (1987), Fleming and Mills (1992)

4

By hearing the target language spoken

Aural style

Reid (1987), Fleming and Mills (1992)

5

By seeing, e.g., diagrams, pictures etc.

Visual style

Reid (1987), Fleming and Mills (1992)

6

By moving around

Kinaesthetic style

Reid (1987), Fleming and Mills (1992)

7

By manipulating, e.g., models, cards etc.

Tactile style

Reid (1987), Fleming and Mills (1992)

8

By learning the rules

Rule-based style

Willing (1987)

9

By being corrected

Authority-based style

Willing (1987)

10

With others

Co-operative/social/interactive style

Reid (1987), Willing (1987), Oxford (1993)

11

In an environment that I find pleasant

Environmental preferences

Curry (1983), Dunn et al. (1975), Oxford (1993)

12

By memorizing

Memory-dependent style

Cohen et al. (2002)

13

By having what I need to learn clear and unambiguous

Ambiguity toleration

Ely (1995), Oxford (1993)

14

By concentrating on details

Field in/dependent/global/holistic

Cohen et al. (2002), Witkin (1962)

15

By thinking before speaking or writing

Reflective style

Cohen et al. (2002), Ehrman and Leaver (2003)

16

In order

Sequential

Ehrman and Leaver (2003), Oxford (1993)

17

By playing games

People oriented

Willing (1987)

18

By means of authentic materials

Suggested by comments made by students in the pilot study

 

19

Do you have any other preferences regarding how you learn?

 
  1. NB: For anyone planning to use this survey in their own work, the notes included in the ratings and comments columns are for researcher reference only and should be removed before being administered to students

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Griffiths, C., İnceçay, G. Styles and Style-Stretching: How are They Related to Successful Learning?. J Psycholinguist Res 45, 599–613 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-015-9366-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-015-9366-2

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