Learning style and teaching style preferences in a foreign language classroom in Malaysia

Despite learning styles being one of the main topics of interest in education, not many studies have considered the influence of learning styles regarding students learning foreign languages in Malaysia. This study investigates the learning style preferences of 35 Spanish beginner level students aged between 20 and 24 years, the teaching style preferences of their Spanish teacher, and the relationship between the matching of teacher and learner styles and the learners’ language achievement. Data were collected using an adapted perceptual learning style preference questionnaire, a teaching style questionnaire, interviews and class observations. The findings show that the learners preferred kinaesthetic and auditory learning styles, while the teacher preferred kinaesthetic and tactile teaching. Interestingly, the results suggest that improvement in terms of achievement may not necessarily be related to a match between teacher and learner style. It was found that learners who improved were those who could adapt to the teacher’s styles and also those who would use multiple strategies to learn Spanish. Also, the results indicate that application of multiple teaching styles help students learn Spanish in a more enjoyable and effective manner. These insights are of interest to research on learner styles in general, and specifically to Spanish teachers in their instruction planning.