Wednesday, July 20, 10:00 am -1:00 pm

Agenda

1. Thoughts/questions

2. Discussion of reading, “Learning Styles and Strategies: An

Overview”

3. Looking at learning styles and strategies

4. Other learner characteristics

5. Language skills

Discussion:

“Language Learning Styles and Strategies” by Rebecca Oxford

Questions:

What are learning styles?

What are learning strategies?

What is your style? What are your strategies?

Learning styles are general approaches to learning

• global• auditory• visual• analytic• imaginative• common sense• Dynamic

• Do any of these words describe your learning style?

-- BREAK –10 minutes

Activity: Learning Style Survey

• Complete the survey• Find two classmates who have completed the

survey, compare your results, discuss these questions:- What, if anything, surprises you?- Are some styles better than others?- How might your learning style affect your teaching?

Learning strategies are specific actions, behaviors, techniques that help us

• use all mental processes• organize, evaluate learning• remember more effectively• compensate for missing knowledge• manage emotions• work with others

Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL)

Can be useful for:

• identifying students’ strategies• choosing activities and materials• planning lessons• helping students learn new strategies

Activity: SILL

• Complete the inventory• Be sure to draw the graph showing your

strategy preferences

Lunch

Learning strategies, continued

Activity:1. With three classmates, compare your strategies

graphs.2. How are they similar and/or different?3. Are there aspects of your culture, language,

education that might explain the similarities?4. Do you have different learning styles,

personalities that might explain the differences?

Turkish learning strategies – what does the research show?

Preferences are for compensating and for organizing and evaluating learning.

Other strategies used less often

Conclusion: All strategies should be taught

Selma Deneme (2008). Language Learning Strategy Preferences of Turkish Students. http://www.jlls.org/Issues/Volume%204/No.2/s

Questions for reflection

• Why is it important for us to understand something about our own styles and strategies as well as those of our students?

• How much control do we have over our students’ learning?

• Are we responsible for our students’ learning?• What other factors affect learning?

Other learner characteristics

Internal• age/intellectual development• personality• motivation• anxiety• self-esteem• experiences• cognition• native language/culture

External• curriculum• instruction• culture and status• motivation• access to native speakers

Adapted from http://esl.fis.edu/teachers/support/factors.htm

What do we know about language

skills?

What do we know about language skills?

Activity: Discussion, small groups1. Each group discusses questions related to one skill

area2. Each group reports a summary of its discussion to

the class

Homework

• Respond to at least three of your group members’ reflections.