VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACUTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES TRẦN THI ̣NGÂN AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE GAP BETWEEN TEACHERS’ TEACHING STYLES AND LEARNERS’ LEARNING STYLES AT SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY TÌM HIỂU KHOẢNG TRỐNG TRONG PHONG CÁCH GIẢNG DẠY CỦA GIẢNG VIÊN VÀ PHONG CÁCH HỌC TẬP CỦA SINH VIÊN TẠI KHOA NGOẠI NGỮ, ĐẠI HỌC THÁI NGUYÊN M.A COMBINED PROGRAMME THESIS Field : English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Hanoi, 2017 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACUTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES TRẦN THI ̣NGÂN AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE GAP BETWEEN TEACHERS’ TEACHING STYLES AND LEARNERS’ LEARNING STYLES AT SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY TÌM HIỂU KHOẢNG TRỐNG TRONG PHONG CÁCH GIẢNG DẠY CỦA GIẢNG VIÊN VÀ PHONG CÁCH HỌC TẬP CỦA SINH VIÊN TẠI KHOA NGOẠI NGỮ, ĐẠI HỌC THÁI NGUYÊN M.A COMBINED PROGRAMME THESIS Field : English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Assoc. Le Van Canh Hanoi, 2017 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com AUTHORSHIP DECLARATION I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and it contains no material previously written by other people or published in both online and printed version. This is true copy of the thesis, including any required final versions, as approved by my instructor. I understand that my thesis may be made electrically available to the public.
Hanoi, 2017 Trầ n Thi Ngân ̣ i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisors Associate Professor Le Van Canh for his excellent supervision and careful guidance in the completion of this thesis. He provided me with valuable experience and comments, and I always greatly appreciate it. I am grateful to teacher, Dr. Tran Thi Nhi for her inspiration and endless encouragement throughout my academic life.
Without her tremendous support in the past four years, my dream of becoming a tertiary teacher would not become true. I would also acknowledge the principals and the heads of departments of School of Foreign Languages, Thai Nguyen University who permitted the research. I thank all of my research participants who have contributed to this study. Last but not least, I would like to thank my parents and my husband for their unconditional love and support throughout my life.
ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT English language teaching and learning styles play a crucial role in the success of both teachers and learners. Research has shown that a match between learning styles and teaching styles will improve students learning experience and achievements (Cornett 1983). According to Willing (1988 p.1) “An effort to accommodate learning styles by choosing suitable teaching styles, methodologies and course organization can result in improved learner satisfaction and attainment”. Whereas, the mismatch between teachers‟ teaching styles and learners‟ learning styles is very likely to happen and it not only leads to students‟ frustration and demotivation in learning but also greatly affects their performances.
Instructors, confronted by low test grades, unresponsive or hostile classes, poor attendance and dropouts, may become overly critical of the students or begin to question their own competence as teachers. Despite its extreme importance, the matter of match or mismatch between these two factors received very little attention in our teaching and learning context. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the major teaching and learning style preferences of teachers and students at School of Foreign Languages, Thai Nguyen University. Also, it is going to point out the intertwine relationship between teachers‟ teaching styles and learners‟ learning styles as well as the importance of matching them in Vietnamese context.
It also investigates into the perceptions of teachers and students on this matter, together with their major teaching and learning style preferences. Moreover, recommendations and suggestions on how to understand teachers and learners‟ preferences and bridge the gap between them will be discussed. iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF TABLE Table 2.1 Definitions of learning styles .Grasha’s identification of teaching styles .The Likert Scale of the Learning Style Questionnaire and the Teaching Style Questionnaire. The Major, Minor and Negative Learning/Teaching Styles .Demographic Information: Gender and Year at University .2:Demographic Information: Years of studying English .3: Demographic Information: Studying Major.Students’ Learning Styles Preferences.
Teachers’ Demographic Information .Teachers’ Teaching Styles Preferences .48 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3. Conceptual Framework of the Study. Qualitative data analysis procedure. Students’ major, minor and negative learning styles .45 v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS AUTHORSHIP DECLARATION.
iii LIST OF TABLE. iv LIST OF FIGURES. v TABLE OF CONTENTS. vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .Rationale of the study.
English Languages Teaching and Learning at School of Foreign Languages - TNU (SFL-TNU). Objectives of the study:. Structure of the study .5 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW. Introduction to Learning styles .1 Definition of learning styles .1 Definitions of learning styles.
Different theories and models of learning styles. Elements of Learning Styles. Literature review of related studies. The relationship between teaching and learning styles.
Matches between teachers’ teaching styles and learners’ learning styles .18 vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Mismatches between teachers’ teaching styles and learners’ learning styles. Previous studies on the match and mismatch between teaching styles and learning styles. Studies in learning styles.
Studies in teaching styles. Quantitative research method. Qualitative research approach. Quantitative data analysis.
Qualitative data analysis .40 CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH RESULTS. Results from questionnaire survey with student participants. Students’ learning styles. SFL-TNU teachers’ teaching styles .64 vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.
Summary of the research’s finding .1 Learning style preferences of students at SFL-TNU. Teachers’ teaching styles at School of Foreign Language, TNU. Matching or mismatching between teaching and learning styles:. Understanding students’ ability to accept unfamiliar styles of teachers.
Understanding the existence of differences in the classroom. Implementing small class size. Limitation of the research. Suggestions for further research.
I APPENDIX A: LEARNING STYLE PREFERENCE QUESTIONNAIRE WITH STUDENTS. II SELF-SCORING SHEET. V EXPLANATION OF LEARNING STYLE PREFERENCES. VII APPENDIX B: TEACHING STYLE PREFERENCE QUESTIONNAIRE WITH TEACHERS.
IX APPENDIX C: PROMPT INTERVIEW QUESTIONS WITH STUDENTS. XIII APPENDIX D: PROMPT INTERVIEW QUESTIONS WITH TEACHERS. XIV viii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1. Overview The purpose of this chapter is to provide the rationale as well as the objectives of the research.
Firstly, an introduction to the existing research with regard to the match and mismatch between teaching and learning styles is presented. Then, the rationale followed by the background information of teaching and learning status at School of Foreign Languages - Thai Nguyen University (SFL- TNU) is mentioned. Finally, the objectives together with structure of this research are going to be included. Rationale of the study For many teachers, the crucial concern is to try to motivate students, involve them into the lessons and activities implemented, and inspire them to learn more effectively.
One of the challenges to achieve that goal is there is no one-size-fits all- solution. This is because students learn in so many different ways, from seeing to hearing, playing to acting or reflecting to visualizing. Similarly, different teachers prefer different teaching styles. Some prefer lecturing, some like demonstrating, discussing, or others focus on rules or emphasize memorization.
How much and how well a student learns in a class is governed partially by his innate ability and prior background knowledge, but we cannot deny the interference of the matching between his learning preference and the teacher‟s methodological styles. According to Reid “ In order for teaching and learning to become more effective the teacher should take the students‟ needs, interests and learning styles into account”(1998, p. It is undeniable people cannot perform well and produce good result if that is not his area of interest, and there is no exception in education. The best outcome cannot be produced if students, who are recently considered as the center of teaching and learning process, do not enjoy and feel satisfied with activities that 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com their teachers provide.
In other words, they cannot learn well if what provided in the classroom are out of their styles. Learning style theories have been cited as an effective means for helping teachers recognize the incredibly diverse needs students bring into the classroom (Felder & Brent, 2005; Hall &Mosely, 2005; Sternberg, Grigorenko, & Zhang, 2008; Williamson & Watson, 2007). According to Zapalska and Dabb (2002), an understanding of the way students learn improves the selection of teaching strategies best suited to students‟ learning. In addition, these theories provide a framework that enables teachers to knowledgably develop a variety of instructional methodologies to benefit all students (Williamson & Watson).
Research has shown that a match between learning styles and teaching styles will improve students learning experience and achievements (Cornett, 1983). Conversely when a mismatch between teaching and learning styles exists , learning can be impeded (Willing, 1985, cited in Nunan ,1998). Serous mismatch may occur between the learning styles of students in a class and the teaching styles of the instructor (Felder & Silverman (1988); Lawrence (1993); Oxford et al. (1991);Schmeck(1988)) with unfortunate potential consequences.
The students tend to be bored and inattentive in class, perform poorly on tests, get discouraged about the course and may conclude that they are not good at the subject of the course and give up (Felder & Silverman (1988); Godleski(1984); Oxford et al. Instructors, confronted by low test grades, unresponsive or hostile classes, poor attendance and dropouts, may become overly critical of the students or begin to question their own competence as teachers. According to Willing(1988) “Research shows that an effort to accommodate learning styles by choosing suitable teaching styles, methodologies and course organization can result in improved learner satisfaction and attainment.” However, the issue has not been adequately research in the SFL-TNU. This is the reason why this study was conducted.
As stated above, styles in teaching and learning play a crucial role in the success of both teachers and learners. Previous research in this field has shown that 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com the mismatch between teachers‟ teaching styles and learners‟ learning styles is very likely to happen and it not only leads to students‟ frustration and demotivation in learning but also greatly affects their performances. Moreover, with the current teaching and learning status at SFL-TNU, the researcher decided to carry out this study in order to investigate the teachers‟ style preferences and students‟ learning style preferences to see whether they are matched or not. The results of this study will be analyzed and discussed in order to help to bridge the gap between teaching and learning process.
Recommendation for teachers and students at School of Foreign Languages – Thai Nguyen University will be suggested with the objective of enhancing both teaching and learning quality and experience. English Languages Teaching and Learning at School of Foreign Languages - TNU (SFL-TNU) SFL-TNU is one of the important language training faculties/universities in the North of Vietnam. There are five languages being taught here including English, French, Chinese, Russian and Korean, in which English language is predominant. As for English language, SFL is training students with two main majors: English Education and English Language.
Those who belong to the former are supposed to serve as English teachers at secondary and high schools and students of the latter type have more free choices of work in such places as non-government organizations, foreign companies, and so on.