One concept in particular which has provided some valuable insights into

learning in both academic and other settings is learning styles. Each of us

have different ways to learn. Some people are hands on learners while some
of them are visual learners. Most educators at educational institution will try
their best to adapt the way they teach to the way their students learn the best.
Different learning styles will give various effects to the learners. That’s why, it
is very important for the students to know their learning style,so they can gain
knowledge easier. The study of learning styles has gone back since the late
19th to the early 20th centuries. Learning styles researchers are more
concerned with the ways students prefered to learn that what they actually
learn. There are three primary concepts that make up the framework of
learning styles which are information processing,instructional preference and
learning strategies.

There are several dimensions of learning styles that were considered to be

the most relevant to the improvement of the learning process. The first one is
field independent versus dependent. A field independent learning styles is
defined as the tendency to separate details from the surrounding context. It
can be compared to the field dependent learning style,which is defined by a
relative inability to distinguish detail from other information around it. The field
dependent learners are those learners who are most affected by their
environment.

They are inclined to overall field learning and tend to get the whole idea
whereas the field independent learners conduct an analytical procedure and
are more likely to break a model into different sections and details and tend to
depend on their inner knowledge and analyze problems all by themselves
without reference or the environment.Considering field dependent-

independent cognitive styles effects on teaching and learning, and especially

on the students’ course selection,studies shows that field independent student
had better academic achievement than field-dependent students. Field
independence has also affected the English language learning. Studies have
shown that field independent learners performed better than field dependent in
learning English language.

The second one is perceptual modality preference. Perceptual learning

styles are the means by which learners extract information from their
surroundings through the use of their five senses. Individuals have different
“pathways” that are specific to them. When information enters that “pathway”
the information is retained in short term memory. Repeated exposure and use
promote retention in long term memory. The seven perceptual modes
(pathways) included in this theory are print , aural, interactive, visual, haptic,
kinesthatic and olfactory. For the print modality, they refers to seeing printed or
written words. A print oriented learner often takes notes, may like to write on
the whiteboard, remembers quickly and easily what is read, learns better after
seeing or writing something, often perceived as a “bookworm”,grasps
important concepts on first reading of material and lastly, loves to read
books,journals and magazines.

Visual modality refers to seeing visual deciptions such as pictures and

graphs. A visual learner likes visual stimuli such as pictures, slides, graphs and
demonstrations. They also learns by seeing and by watching demonstrations
and conjures up the image of a form by seeing it in the “mind’s eye”. The visual
learners often has a vivid imagination and usually stares and needs something
to watch. They also often quiet and does not talk much because they need full
concentration and they will become impatient or drifts away when extensive
listening is required.

Haptic modality refers to the sense of touch or grasp. The haptic learners
likes a “hands-on” approach to learning. For example, they likes to do
artwork,piece thing together,fond of doodling and likes to trace words and
pictures. They are very good with task that requires manipulation.

Kinesthetic modality refers to whole body movement. The kinesthatic

learners often fidgets or finds reasons to move and learns by doing and direct
involvement. They are not very attentive to visual or auditory presentations and
the need gestures when speaking as they are poor listener. Althought they are
poor listener, they responds to music by physical movement and often finds
success in physical response activities.

Olfactory modality refers to seeing visual deciptions such as pictures and

graphs. They learns best through the sense of smell and taste. This is because
smells have a special significance and thats why they can associates a
particular smell with specific past memories.

Aural modality refers to listening and the learners tends to remember and
repeat ideas that are verbally presented. They are excellent listener,that’s why
they can learns well through lectures.they likes to talk,enjoys plays dialogues
and dramas,musics and can repeat or fulfill verbal instructions.

The third one is conceptual tempo that means the rate which is standard of
someone’s take on mental task. Conceptual tempo is a cognitive
reflective-impusive construct and this style recognizes the cognitive modalities
used by individuals when solving a problem. The reflective-impulsive construct
refers to responses made slowly or quickly in a situation with high uncertainty.
People that adopt impulsive will work at fast past and jump with a conclusion
quickly.For example, children who are labelled “reflective” take longer time to
respond and make few errors, whereas “impulsive” children are fast and
inaccurate. The reflective individuals will give logical,accurate responses while
the repulsive learners only give the first answer that comes into mind although
it is incorrect.

The fourth one is levelling versus sharpening. Leveling and sharpening are
concepts that have been introduced by early Gestalt psychologist as memory
distortions that occurs when we fail to remember details of a certain memory.
Leveling occur when some details are lost or it can also happen when we want
to tone down certain moment. Sharpening is how we remember and
emphasise smaller details that are consistent with our cognitive framework and
affects when we retells the stories. Sharpening can even influence us to add
some details that weren’t there. These automatic function of our memory
makes it easier to fill in the gaps. Both biases get worse over time as we tell
our stories and reshape certain details.

Fifth, the conceptual level is a development trait characterizing how much

structure a student requires for optimal learning. Student with low conceptual
level will more affected by what they experienced than student that have high
conceptual level when informations was presented to them. There were
additional factors that related to conceptual level which is responsibility,the
capacity of students to follow through on a task without direct or frequent
supervision,the need for structure,and the amount of structure required by
different individuals.

Sixth, the locus of control. Locus of control is an individual’s belief system

regarding the causes of his or her experiences and the factors to which that
person attributes success or failure. This concept is usually divided into two
categories which is internal and external. If a person has an internal locus of
control, that person attributes success to his or her own wfforts and abilities. A
person who expects to succeed will be more motivated and more likely to learn.
People with an external locus of control are also more likely to experience
anxiety since they believe that they are not in control of their lives. There are
other variables to be considered,however, psychological research has found
that people with a more internal locus of control seem to be betteroff and they
tend to be more achievement oriented and get better paying jobs.

Seventh,achievement motivation,also referred to as the need for

achievement, is an important determinant of aspiration,effort, and persistence
when an individual expects that his performance will be evaluated in relation to
some standard of excellence. Individuals with high achievement motivation
perform activities not for reward but only for achieving their goals. They also
set realistic goals that they can to fulfill.

Next, social motivation refers to the human need to interact with other
humans and to be accepted by them. Those interactions are considered to be
social behaviours that address, either directly or indirectly,other people with
the purpose of soliciting a response. Social motivation is driven by cultural
influence. Learners can be affected by many factors including,socio-
economics backgrounds , culture , and the standards and expectations of their
group.

Lastly, is the masculine-feminine behaviour dimension. There are

differences on brain behaviour responses between males and females. Males
are more aggressive than females,and males prefer deductive reasoning while
females tend to have inductive reasoning. Females can relate verbally and
have better fine motor control than males. This is because, males are more
sensitive to spatial relations ad mathematical processes.

In conclusion, the significance of understanding learning styles is to

effectively learn how an individual understands new information so that they
can determine the most effective way to collect, interpret, and present
information.
REFERENCE

Nahla M.Moussa (2014). The Importance of Learning Styles in Education.

Institute for learning styles journal,vol 1,19-27.
 DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTICS

UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA

TOPIC :

THE IMPORTANCE OF LEARNING STYLES IN EDUCATION

NAME : QISTINA BINTI AHMAD FIZAL

MATRIX NO. : AD180174

LECTURER’S NAME : DR. ZULIDA BINTI ABDUL KADIR

COURSE NAME : ENGLISH FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

COURSE CODE : UHB10100

SECTION : 58