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VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE GRADUATE STUDY PROGRAM LE THI THANH TU HOW A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF LEARNING STYLES ENHANCES MY TEACHING AT BANKING UNIVERSITY A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF TESOL SUPERVISOR: CHU THI LE HOANG, M.A HO CHI MINH CITY, SPRING 2010 i ABSTRACT This research was conducted to investigate EFL students’ preferred learning styles at Banking University, and to compare any differences between learning style preferences and individual background factors (here means major fields of study, course years, genders, ages, learning language experience, and English proficiency levels). A total of 196 respondents from different departments participated in this study. The research was based on an analysis of data derived from a several sources. The self-assessment instrument designed specially for EFL students, was used – Reid’s Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire (1987), including six categories: visual, auditory, kinesthetic, tactile, group, and individual.

In addition, interviews with EFL students to get further opinions on learning and teaching were performed. The findings showed that perceptual learning style preferences were influenced by some background factors, particularly major fields of study and course years. Overall, the dominant learning style preferences for the sample were kinesthetic and tactile. The higher levels of English EFL students got the more kinesthetic and tactile they appeared.

Furthermore, the students with the shortest length of studying English tended to be those with a variety of preferred learning styles, except individual. As far as genders were concerned, females showed a stronger tendency toward kinesthetic while males gave more preference to tactile learning. i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that the thesis entitled “HOW A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF LEARNING STYLES ENHANCES MY TEACHING AT BANKING UNIVERSITY” is my own work. Any help received in this research work and the preparation of the thesis itself, and all information resources and literature used in the thesis have been acknowledged.

I also certify that this thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other institution. Ho Chi Minh City, April 27, 2010 LE THI THANH TU ii RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, Le Thi Thanh Tu, being candidate for the degree of Master of TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s Thesis deposited in the Library. In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the library for care, loan, and reproduction of theses. Ho Chi Minh City, April, 2010 LE THI THANH TU iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author wishes to acknowledge people who made this study achievable.

First, I truthfully thank Ms. Chu Thi Le Hoang, M., my thesis advisor, for her continued thorough support throughout this study. Also, my gratitude is expressed to my instructor, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Tuan, Ph., for his comments, suggestions, valuable time, and input for this study.

Without their support and patience, this thesis could not have been completed. Second, I would like to acknowledge all the lecturers of my MA course at University of Social Sciences and Humanities who gave me invaluable, enormous insights and thoughts. Third, I would like to thank all the ESL teachers and students at Banking University in the development of the survey for this study. I really appreciate their understanding and cooperation for my data collection.

Moreover, I really appreciate for warm support from my family, especially my beloved husband and my younger sister, and my friends during this period of study. Thank you very much for your smile and positive words! iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS LIST OF FIGURES, CHARTS, and TABLES Chapter 1- INTRODUCTION .1 Background to the study .2 The ESL teaching and learning circumstance in Vietnam .3 Aims of the Study .4 Significance of the study .5 Definitions and description of key terms .6 Limitations of the Study .7 Organization of the study. 8 Chapter 2 - LITERATURE REVIEW .2 Definitions of Learning Styles .3 Differences between learning styles and learning strategies .4 Framework for Categorization .1 Cognitive Learning Styles .2 Sensory Learning Styles.3 Personality Learning Styles.4 Tolerance of Ambiguity Styles.5 An overview of relevant research .2 Research Questions of the Study .4 Data Collection Procedures .5 Data Analysis Procedures. 37 Chapter 4 - RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .2 The overall learning style preferences of EFL students .3 Learning style preferences and major fields of study .4 Learning style preferences and course years .5 Learning style preferences and genders .6 Learning style preferences and ages .7 Learning style preferences and learning language experience .8 Learning style preferences and English proficiency levels .9 Students’ opinions of their study of English and their teachers’ teaching styles.

61 Chapter 5 - IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION .3 Recommendations for further research. 68 APPENDICES REFERENCES Appendix A – Questionnaire (English version) Appendix B – Questionnaire (Vietnamese version) Appendix C – Interview Questions Appendix D – One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for Learning Style Preferences According to Major Fields of Study Appendix E – One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for Learning Style Preferences According to Course Years Appendix F – One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for Learning Style Preferences According to Genders Appendix G – One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for Learning Style Preferences According to Ages Appendix H – One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for Learning Style Preferences According to Learning Language Experience Appendix I – One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for Learning Style Preferences According to English Proficiency Levels vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ESL English as Second Language EFL English as Foreign Language BU Banking University LS Learning Style L2 Second Language PLSPQ Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire viii LIST OF FIGURES, CHARTS, and TABLES Table 3.1 Distribution of EFL students due to genders Table 3.2 Distribution of EFL students due to major fields of study Chart 3.1 EFL students’ ages Table 3.3 Distribution of EFL students due to learning language experience Chart 3.2 EFL students’ English proficiency levels Table 4.1 Overall Percentages of Learning Style Preference of EFL Students Chart 4.1 Distribution of Overall Learning Style Preference of EFL Students by Percentage Table 4.2 Overall Learning Style Preference Scores of EFL Students Chart 4.2 Distribution of Visual Learning Style by Percentages Chart 4.3 Distribution of Auditory Learning Style by Percentages Chart 4.4 Distribution of Kinesthetic Learning Style by Percentages Chart 4.5 Distribution of Tactile Learning Style by Percentages Chart 4.6 Distribution of Group Learning Style by Percentages Chart 4.7 Distribution of Individual Learning Style by Percentages Table 4.1 Learning Style Preference Scores According to Major Fields Table 4.3 Learning Style Preference Scores According to Course Years Chart 4.3 Distribution of Visual, Kinesthetic, and Individual Learning Style Preference Scores for the Course Years ix Chart 4.4 Distribution of Major Learning Style Preference for Genders by Percentage Table 4.5 Learning Style Preference Scores According to Ages Table 4.6 Learning Style Preference Scores According to Learning Language Experience Table 4.7 Learning Style Preference Scores According to English Proficiency Levels Table 4.8 Students’ Further Opinions on Learning and Teaching Styles (Percentages) x Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study In recent years, the most crucial key to research efforts and educational improvement is the shift from an emphasis on the language teaching methodology to language learners and variables that affect language learning. Mainstream language teaching no longer regards teaching methods as the key factor in determining the success or failure of language teaching and learning (Richards & Rodgers, 2001). Learners shape their own learning process tremendously.

The rise of individual difference research has brought forth new perceptions of the nature of learner differences. More and more studies have been carried out to deal with individual differences in the learning process such as Bialystok, 1979; Chapelle & Roberts, 1986; Naiman, Frohlich, & Todesco, 1975; Rubin, 1975. These studies have focused much on such basic questions as what makes a good language learner and why some students develop proficiency more quickly and easily than others do. One of the causes is because there are considerable individual differences in language learning such as gender, age, social status, motivation, attitude, aptitude, culture, etc.; what works for one learner might not work for another.

There is the fact that students take in and comprehend information in different manners. Some like to learn individually while others prefer to interact with their partners. Some enjoy listening to lectures and others like to do more experiments. It is widely believed by many researchers (Kolb, 1984; Reid, 1987; Celcc-Murcia, 2001) that the different ways of how a learner takes in and processes information are collectively referred to as learning styles or learning preferences.

While researchers and ESL teachers in foreign countries have discussed a great deal on the topics of learners’ characteristic differences in learning English, and language learning styles have been one of the most popular aspects researchers have focused 1 on; little attention has paid to this field in Vietnam. Up to now, only few studies have been found. Some researchers such as Nguyen Ngoc Quang (1989), Dao Van Tien (1982), Le Hai Chau (1982) in their journals tried to mention about learning strategies in general. Recently, Le Thanh Hoang (1999) has studied the differences in language learning strategies of learners of English in Hue City and Nguyen Thi Thanh Thao (2005) through her study investigated the different reading style preferences of the ESP students at Ton Duc Thang University.

In other words, in Vietnam, the field of perceptual learning style preferences in language learning has been ignored and considered as an insignificant component in the learning process. When we look deeply into the teaching practices of the lecturers, it is explicit that the majority of the lecturers are not aware of their students’ learning styles. They are unaware of the importance to establish and identify learning styles, which leads to unanticipated consequences. Therefore, there is a need to assess the learning styles of the students as well as other variables related such as genders, ages, language experience, or English proficiency, etc.

to accommodate different learners. This study, as a result, explores students’ perceptual learning style preferences at Banking University in the ways they learn English and investigates whether any differences between language learning styles and other variables (major fields of study, course years, genders, ages, learning language experience, and English proficiency levels) exist. Hopefully, this study partially contributes to the improvement of the quality of teaching and learning EFL at Banking University.2 The ESL teaching and learning circumstance in Vietnam Since Vietnam “adopted an open-door, or doi moi, policy in 1987, English has reemerged as the main foreign language widely used, this time, in the whole society. The role of English in Vietnam is quite important as it is in many other developing countries.

New technology and the adoption of the internet have resulted in a major transition in terms of business, education, science, and technological progress, all of which demand high proficiency in English. 2 Mergers, associations, and takeovers are common and English is used as the means to communicate, negotiate and execute transactions by participants. Social demands have forged the reemergence of English as the language for broader communication and cooperation. English has thus regained its role as the main foreign language taught and used in Vietnam (Alter, & Moreau, 1995; Mydans, 1995; Shapiro, 1995; Wilson, 1993, cited from Do Huy Thinh, 2006).

In the last few years, English has undergone explosive growth; hundreds of language centers have been established all over the country, with an overwhelming majority of learners studying English (Ministry of Education and Training, 1993c; Nguyen Ngoc Quang, 1993). It is widely seen that there have been great changes in English language teaching in Vietnam.