Culture and Its Relation Culture and Its Relation to Multiple Intelligences to Multiple Intelligences and Students’ English and Students’ English

Language Preferred Language Preferred Learning StylesLearning Styles

Nora El-BilawiNora El-BilawiEDUC 872EDUC 872

General Policy Claim

❖Integrating Culturally Responsive Practices in Classroom Activities

and English Language Curriculum targeting ESL students’ preferred

learning styles.

First Article

❖ Wu, S.-H., & Alrabah, S. (2009, November). A cross-cultural study of Taiwanese and Kuwaiti EFL students’ learning styles and multiple intelligences. Innovations in education and teaching international, 46(4), 393–403 . doi:10.1080/14703290903301826

Research Questions

❖ (1) What were the general profiles of the Taiwanese and Kuwaiti students’ learning styles?

❖ (2) What were the general profiles of the Taiwanese and Kuwaiti students’ multiple intelligences?

❖ (3) What was the extent to which the instrument demonstrated consistent results about the respondents’ dominant learning styles and multiple intelligences?

Literature Review

❖ Learning Styles (Oxford, 1998)

❖ Multiple intelligences (Gardner, 1999); (Christison, 1998)

❖ Role of culture (Rogoff, 1991)

❖ “Typical” behavior vs. stereotyping ((Donmoyer & Kos, 1993)

Methods❖ Sample:

❖ Freshman-level students in a Taiwanese university (N=138),

❖ Freshman-level students in Kuwait’s College of Basic Education (N=112)

❖ Instruments:

❖ Oxford’s learning style survey: Divided into perceptual, cognitive, and affective categories of learning styles.

❖ Christison’s multiple intelligences survey

❖ Analysis:

❖ Microsoft Excel

Results❖ Table 1

❖ Section 1:

❖ The Taiwanese group scored highest on the visual learning style (M=17.04)

❖ The Kuwaiti group showed a strong preference for both visual (M=18.32) and hands-on ‘tactile’ (M=17.18)

❖ Section 2: Both the Taiwanese and the Kuwait groups demonstrated a greater preference for an extroverted learning style than an introverted learning style.

❖ Section 3:

❖ The Taiwanese group showed a clear preference for an intuitive learning style (M=16.10)

❖ The Kuwaiti group scored closely on both intuitive (M=19.73) and concrete-sequential (M=19.13)

❖ Section 4: They both like to be explicitly given step- by-step instructions on how to accomplish projects and perform tasks. This style contrasts with the open-ended style which is more related to discovery learning in which information is learned in an unstructured way.

❖ Section 5: Both groups showed a clear preference for a global learning style which indicates that they both like to get the main ideas and to communicate even if they don’t know all the words or concepts

Results❖ Table 2

❖ Taiwanese group gained a very high score on both visual (M=7.80) and interpersonal intelligence (M=7.78) indicating these intelligences to be most dominant.

❖ Table 2 also shows that musical intelligence (M=6.62) ranked third for the Taiwanese group.

❖ The Kuwaiti group showed a very high score for interpersonal intelligence (M=8.83), with visual intelligence (M=7.83) ranking second.

❖ Weaknesses

❖ Ineffective data analysis instrument

❖ lack of detailed procedure

Strengths

* Organized structure

* Random sampling

* Clear instruments

Relevance to Policy Claim

❖ The information provided by this study can be used to suggest the most appropriate choices of teaching strategies that suit the Taiwanese and Kuwaiti students’ preferred learning styles and multiple intelligences.

❖ Each intelligence and style preference exhibited by both the Taiwanese and Kuwaiti groups offers significant strengths in learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL).

Second Article

❖ Dunn, R., Gemake, J., Jalali, F., Zenhausern, R., Quinn, P., & Quinn, J. (1990, April). Cross-cultural differences in learning styles of elementary-age students from four ethnic backgrounds. Journal of multicultural counseling & development, 18(2), p68-93. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9706113720&site=ehost-live

Research Questions❖ This study hypothesizes significant':

❖ (a) differences between and among the mean scores of African-American, Chinese-American, Greek-American, and Mexican-American fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students on the 21 subscales of the Learning Style Inventory (LSI) (Dunn, Dunn, & Price, 1985);

❖ (b) differences between and among African-American, Chinese-American, Greek-American, and Mexican-American students' field dependence/independence scores on the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) (Oltman, Raskin, & Witkin, 1971);

❖ (c) differences between and among fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students' field dependence/independence scores on the GEFT; and

❖ (d) a correlation between the mean LSI and GEFT scores for the African-American, Chinese-American, Greek-American, and Mexican-American students

Literature Review❖ Field dependence/independence (Witkin &

Goodenough, 1981; Witkin, Moore, Goodenough, & Cox, 1977)

❖ Different sensory modality strengths were revealed among Chinese, Jewish, Black, and Puerto Rican students (Stodolsky & Lesser, 1967)

❖ learning style (Dunn, 1988; Dunn & Dunn, 1978

❖ Drop-out reduction (Dunn, Beaudry, & Klavas, 1989)

❖ Jacobs study (1987)

Methods❖ Sample

❖ Three grade levels and the four ethnic groups included an equal number of fourth, fifth, and sixth graders, as well as an equal number of African Americans, Chinese Americans, Greek Americans, and Mexican Americans. A total of 300 students from the four ethnic backgrounds were chosen through a system of random selection to participate in this sample.

❖ Instruments

❖ Learning Style Inventory (LSI)

❖ Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT)

❖ Procedures

❖ discussed both orally and in writing with the principals and teachers

❖ Children who met all the above criteria were randomly selected so that 25 students from each ethnic background and in each grade

❖ participants were administered both tests--the LSI and the GEFT.

❖ The GEFT booklets were hand scored by the examiner and each individual's score and ethnic origin were number coded on the LSI computer answer form. The completed surveys were computer processed and analyzed.

Methods❖ Data analysis

❖ Hypothesis 1: (significant differences among the mean scores of four ethnic groups on the LSI subscales)

❖ series of one-way Analyses of Variance (ANOVAs)

❖ post-hoc multiple comparison procedures using Tukey's HSD Test.

❖ statistical data were subjected to a stepwise discriminant analysis using the Wilks's lambda criterion.

❖ Hypothesis 2 & 3: (significant difference among the ethnic groups and grade level of students and their GEFT scores)

❖ two-way ANOVA

❖ post-hoc multiple comparison procedure including Tukey's HSD Test and a comparison of simple effects.

❖ Hypothesis 4: (significant relationships between the students' LSI and GEFT scores)

❖ examined with the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients procedure.

Results

❖ Children from different areas of the American subculture have different patterns of preferred learning strategies.

❖ Classrooms should be varied, providing both extremely quiet areas and sections for student interaction, and a conventional versus an informal seating arrangement.

❖ Children should be permitted to work either alone, in pairs, in a small group, or with the teacher as they feel most comfortable while learning.

❖ Teachers develop an approach to introducing new and difficult material through each youngster's strongest modality and reinforcing through the secondary or tertiary modality.

❖ Strengths

❖ Random sampling

❖ Clear data analysis instruments

❖ Detailed results

Weaknesses

* Unorganized Literature review lay-out

* No definition of important keywords

Relevance to Policy Claim

❖ Students form different cultural and environmental backgrounds have different learning styles, habits, and intelligences

Third Article

❖ Xiao, L. (2006, December). Bridging the gap between teaching styles and learning styles: A cross-cultural perspective. Teaching English as a second or foreign language , 10(3), 29-44. Retrieved from http://tesl-ej.org/ej39/a2.pdf

Research Statement❖ Investigate the mismatch caused by culture-based

differences in perceptions and attitudes towards different language teaching and learning styles in classroom-based setting.

❖ Intend to identify student concerns and to provide some insights into how Chinese students have experienced learning and how they have perceived the communicative approach at their language institutes in Ireland.

❖ Find bridging strategies that can help Western teachers to adjust their teaching styles to the needs of their Chinese students.

Literature Review

❖ Culture influences thought and behavior (e.g., Hofstede, 1986, 1991; Gudykunst, 1994; Samovar & Porter, 1995)

❖ Individualism and collectivism; different perceptions of power and authority; and different types of achievement motivation (cf. Littlewood, 2001)

Methods❖ Sample

❖ Chinese students were randomly selected to answer a questionnaire. Almost all the respondents were high-school leavers in their early twenties, and had been in Ireland for periods of time varying from six to twelve months.

❖ Forty-eight questionnaires were distributed and thirty-four were collected. Eight Chinese students took part in the follow-up semi-structured interviews, which was designed to elicit more detailed information not articulated in the questionnaire.

❖ Instruments

❖ Qualitative methods involving a questionnaire, interviews, and classroom observation were used. The questionnaire consisted of 41 questions written in Chinese and a 5-point Likert scale

❖ Procedures

❖ Permission was obtained from two foreign language institutes in Ireland, one private and the other affiliated to a tertiary institution in Dublin, Ireland

Results❖ Table 1

❖ thought that teachers seemed to spend too much time involving students in group discussions and games.

❖ students were not accustomed to the communicative approach

❖ pointed out that group activities were over-emphasized at the sacrifice of linguistic forms and structure

❖ some topics for interactive activities

❖ were uninteresting, beyond the scope of their intuitive knowledge, and incongruent with their cultural background

❖ students expressed a strong desire that Irish English teachers

❖ should prepare their lessons and teach in a more coherent, systematic, and structured way

❖ Table 2

❖ accuracy-oriented rather than gist-centered learning style contradicts the communicative principles of CLT widely adopted by many Western teachers.

❖ Weaknesses

❖ Unclear questions

❖ Generalization

Strengths

* Organized structure

* Concise and detailed results

❖ Data analysis instrument

Relevance to Policy Claim

❖ Student's native culture has influenced their perceptions of how a second language is learned and taught. It is worth noting that cultural influence on L2 education, in which Chinese students' learning styles have been conditioned, is deeply rooted, strong and persistent, though very often invisible.

Fourth Article

❖ Zualkernan, I. A., Allert, J., & Qadah, G. Z. (2009, January 16). A cross-cultural comparison of learning styles: The AUS-UMD experience. Decision sciences journal of innovative education, 7(1), 295-320.

Research Statement❖ Establish a general profile for undergraduate

students in computer science and engineering in the Middle-East, determine any relationship of their learning styles to course outcomes

❖ Examine the learning styles of computer science and engineering undergraduates in the Middle-East and the United States and compare their learning styles studying two culturally diverse institutions with programs of comparable size: The American University of Sharjah (AUS) in the United Arab Emirates and the University of Minnesota, Duluth (UMD) in the Midwestern United States.

Literature Review

❖ Learning styles (Kolb’s Learning Styles Inventory (LSI) and the Felder-Silverman learning styles model based on student opinion surveys.

Methods❖ Sample

❖ (AUS, n=68, UMD n=71) with response rates above 95%

❖ Procedures

❖ The Soloman/Felder Index of Learning Styles (ILS) instrument was administered.

❖ Post and pre-test: This learning style inventory tool was administered in the first week of the semester and again at the end.

❖ Questionnaires were administered once during the semester to assess the student’s prior programming experience and their opinions as to the effectiveness of various aspects of the course.

Results ❖ Table 1 (Learning Style differences between AUS and UMD students (two-tailed t-Test))

❖ The results of the learning style, for each of the learning style continua based on the initial administration of the Soloman-Felder ILS, are strikingly similar.

❖ Statistical characterization of the differences between these two groups using two-tailed t-tests on the first administration of the ILS also showed no significant differences.

❖ Table 2 (Learning style preferences across countries)

❖ The learning styles of AUS and UMD students are in similar ranges to those from comparable Universities in the US.

Results

❖ Table 3, Table 4 (Correlation between Learning Styles and Course Outcomes

for AUS & UMD Students)

❖ The only statistically significant linear relationship seems to be for the AUS students (R = 0.275) between ACT-REF dimension and the course GPA. Reflective learning style students achieved higher grades more frequently.

❖ Table 5 (Correlation between overall GPA for AUS students)

❖ Shows the correlation between learning styles and students’ overall GPA. It also shows that sequential students tend to have a higher overall GPA.

❖ Strengths

❖ Accurate data analysis

Weaknesses

* In-concise literature review

* lack of background knowledge of cultural background

* Subject to doubtful final discussion

* Chosen sample population

Relevance to Claim

❖ The most significant result of this study is that students from diverse cultural backgrounds, countries and schooling systems with fundamentally different pedagogical bases have remarkably similar learning profiles based on Soloman-Felder ILS.

Overall Evidence For Policy

❖ Most of research body in qualitative and quantitative research indicate that ESL/EFL students’ cultural background has a great influence on these students preferred learning styles and multiple intelligences.