Ryan

Language and Language Development

Professor Stephanie LaQua
19 March 2015
Assignment 1B
Learning Styles and Strategies
After completing a credential program, I have gained familiarity with
a variety of learning styles, and have seen them in my one and half years of
teaching. I have taken similar learning questionnaires before, and have got
some of the same answers. I was surprised to see some change, however,
since the last time I filled out a learning style survey.
I knew already that I was a predominantly visual learner. I often take
rigorous notes, and need to write something in the margins, even if it is
nearly the same as the text on the same page. Rewriting it and visualizing
it helps me to retain the information. I can also glance back at my notes,
much easier than skimming through a text, when referencing. I thought
my other learning types were in auditory, but I tend to be much stronger in
kinesthetic that auditory. While I dont mind listening to lectures, I think I
tend to get more from the notes I take during the lectures rather than the
actual verbal messages. Overall, the results were similar, and I remain to
be a predominantly visual learner.

As a teacher I always try to consider my students learning styles

when designing and implementing lessons. I cant always accommodate
every learning type, though I try when I can to offer at least some variation.
For example, I teach reading intervention to a small group. I provide them
with options for completing their spelling homework by using a Tic-Tac-Toe
model. Students choose between 9 activities, one of which is student
selected pending teacher approval. The other activities include doing
jumping jacks while spelling words out (kinesthetic/or rhythmic), or using a
flashlight to spell words on the wall (kinesthetic). Others include hidden
picture words (visual/spatial), and a few written activities for the visual
learners, and oral spelling tests for the auditory. I try to include as many
types as I can on this particular activity.
Brown discusses a history of strategies for language learning. He
states that in the 1970s, it was found that there was no one way of learning
language. This was important because researchers began to notice that
there were individual differences that led to the successful acquisition of
language, meaning that there are different strategies employed by different
individuals. Brown continues by stating that it is important for teachers to
keep in mind the lists of successful strategies language learners can use, as
well as recognize that there are individual needs and a cultural context of
learning (Brown 133.).

It is interesting to read through the lists provided by Brown,

especially the learning strategies that are broken down into three
categories, Metacognitive, Cognitive, and Socioaffective strategies. I have
seen these used by my ELL students in the past, and the ones that have
been very successful stand out. Self-monitoring, for instance, is a
metacognitive strategy that was employed very regularly by one of my most
successful ELL students. He would bring me the same book each morning
and follow along with his finger, until he was feeling ready to try on his own.
He then began reading to me, and asking for help on certain words. Finally,
he would read on his own to me. He was very aware of the progress he was
making, and was good about letting me know. He actually became quite
talkative.
Awareness of learning strategies and styles is something that I am
looking forward to improving. On a daily basis I can recognize that a
student may be hindered from something, based on the way it is presented
to him or her. I see when they may benefit from a different method or
approach. When I am able to, I go after that approach and differentiate on
the spot. Other times, I take note and try to make the changes in the
future. One of the most difficult tasks sometimes seems to be presenting
the information in a manner in which all can grasp and understand. Having
an idea of different strategies to look for will be immensely helpful in
differentiating for learning styles.