The diverse learners in polytechnic and teaching strategies to suit their needs
- 1. Understanding Learners Of Diverse Learning And English Anxiety Levels To Cater For More Effective English Learning Strategies. Noreen Nastasha Binti Yusof 1 Department of General Studies Department Politeknik Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Persiaran Usahawan Seksyen U1, 40150 Shah Alam Selangor e-mail: princezz_asia@yahoo.com ABSTRACT Educators are very much aware of the various learning styles of our learners but any visit to schools would prove otherwise. Educators are merely listening to the numerous theories about the diversity of learning styles our learners are bringing to the classroom and nothing substantial is taken into consideration. We are forced to deal with issues about the reticence and reluctant learners in the English classes and ways in which to alleviate this growing problem. This is in response to the concern expressed by the Minister of Higher Education and representatives from various industries regarding the low English proficiency level of polytechnic graduates. However, before any best practice is proclaimed, the most important criteria that have to be scrutinized would be to identify the characteristics of the learners in order to engage them in learning. Having understood these characteristics of the learners would enable more effective techniques to cater to their diverse learning styles. This paper attempts to identify students’ English language anxiety and their learning styles preferences. The sample will be randomly selected from the first semester Diploma students. Out of the 30 polytechnics in Malaysia only 15 polytechnics will be randomly selected participate in the research. The study will utilize both qualitative and quantitative approach. An adaptation of Joy Reid’s Learning Style Preference Instrument and a Horwitz’s Anxiety Test will be used to obtain data. Both the findings of the learning style preference and anxiety test will be analyzed and used to strategized a more effective method to teach speaking English. There is a crucial need to engage learners with the different teaching strategies in order to ensure the diverse needs are addressed. Keywords: learning styles preference, English anxiety, diverse needs, and teaching strategies
- 2. INTRODUCTION Learning Style Preference relates to the different learning methods utilized by different types of learners to get the most out of their learning activities. It is believed that by finding out the different Learning Style Preferences (LSPs) and the learning methods best suited to learning, one can help to improve a learner’s performance. Some studies show that identifying a student's style and then giving instructions that match that style contributes to more effective learning (Claxon and Murrell 1987:iii). For example, Pask's extensive research on matching and mismatching of material and types of learners shows that students learn more quickly and effectively where a match occurs (Ford 1985:120). According to Willing (1988:1), "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". STATEMENT OF PROBLEM The paper aims to bring to light the learner diversity and their learning preference in order to enable educators to fully understand their needs and try to accommodate their teaching strategies The issue is crucial as the status and standards of any educational institution may be determined by the quality of graduates they produce. Institutions should be engaged in a continuous process of maximizing the quality of graduates for the job market and further education. However before the best practice is proclaimed, the educators must be aware of the learners’ diversity. This is to avoid a mismatch of teaching and learning for the learners. Personally, it is fair to assume that the English Module in the Polytechnic level is not tailored to meet the diversity of the learners’ styles. Therefore, these English Module classes may not been able to fully tap on the learners’ fullest potential. This descriptive paper aims to in highlight the learning styles of the learners and by understanding their learning styles; we can probably design or modify our teaching strategies to suit their needs. In this paper, I will be discussing 3 main issues: 1. What are the learning styles and English learning proficiency of Polytechnic students? 2. What are the levels of English Anxiety among Polytechnic students? 3. How can the learning styles and English anxiety levels be used to improve on teaching speaking English methodology? SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY Learning and teaching are two different things but if done correctly it will complement each other and bring about success for both parties. Before any teaching strategies are employed, it is only best to know one’s audience and how they learn best. This is something I personally feel that is lacking as a novice teacher I assumed that my perceived learning strategies should be acceptable to all. After several years, I realized that one can not force a single method to a class of diverse learners. These learners are using different kinds of language learning strategies or specific action and behavior to learn. Their strategies differ greatly, recent research Erthman & Oxford 1988, suggest that learning style has a significant influence on students’ choice of learning strategies and both styles and strategies affect learning outcomes. By identifying the Learning Style Preferences (LSP) and types of activities that complement them, indirectly the materials, module
- 3. and teaching strategies during the Module Courses could be tailored to their needs of learners to improve the effectiveness of the courses. LIMITATION OF STUDY The questionnaire adapted the Joy Reid’s Instrument but I had to decide which items of description best fit the learning styles scope. I had to select the parameters which I thought was most relevant to my particular interest in investigating the learners’ style preference. So I chose the parameters which I felt would be most interesting for both students and teachers to ponder upon: learning styles. Indeed there are many kinds of individual differences which affect learning – age, aptitude, general intelligence, modality preference ( e.g. Visual. Auditory, Kinesthetic) and sociocultural factors being other important variable in this aspect. (Skehan, 1989) Another limitation of this study could be that students are not portraying the actual learning styles because the approach used to collect data was through an adapted questionnaire. The best method of gaining valuable insights would be to observe students while they are actually doing the task and to make notes of their strategies.
- 4. LITERATURE REVIEW One of the most serious problems that the majority of polytechnic students face is the inability to communicate effectively and convincingly in the English language. We often hear the stakeholders’ complain that polytechnic graduates lack communicative competence in English. This is not uncommon amongst second language learners as this problem was also identified by two Iranian researchers, Maleki and Zangani (2007), who conducted a study on Iranian students learning English. The Iranian EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners faced similar inability to communicate and handle English after graduating from the university. This study was conducted by the two researchers to identify the importance of English language proficiency towards academic achievement especially in speaking and writing. The TOEFL paper was used as their instrument to gauge their Iranian students’ English Language Proficiency. They concluded that having a good foundation in English at the point of entering the university would ensure a better achievement outcome upon graduation. Similarly, the intent of the present study is to identify the English language proficiency of polytechnic students prior to entering the polytechnics and their learning styles in general. According to Stern (1983) cited in Maleki & Zangani (2007), proficiency is defined as a standard that one can use to serve as a criteria to assess their level of ability. The level of proficiency ranges from zero to native-like proficiency. The proficiency test used in this research is geared towards evaluating the subjects’ communicative competency. However complete competence is hardly ever achieved (p.341) In addition to that, learning styles and preferences also play a significant part in attaining good language proficiency. Reid (1987) came to the conclusion that the learning style preferences of non-native speakers often differ significantly from those of native speakers; that ESL students from different language backgrounds sometimes differ from one another in their learning style preferences; and that variables such as sex, length of time in the United States, length of time studying English in the U.S., field of study, level of education, TOEFL score, and age are related to differences in learning styles. Research in the U.S. school children (R. Dunn 1983,1984:Reinert, 1976) has demonstrated that learners have four basic perceptual learning channels: 1. Visual learning : reading, studying charts 2. Auditory learning: listening to lectures and audiotapes 3. Kinesthetic learning: experiential learning 4. Tacticle learning: “ hands on” learning such as building models or laboratory experiments Far (1971), reported that students who identify their learning preferences through self –reporting questionnaires showed that their actual learning style is parallel with the learning strengths or proficiencies. To conclude, while it is important to understand the level of proficiency of students before they begin their English language courses at the polytechnics, it is also useful to understand and explore each individual’s learning style. Analyzing the students’ learning styles can be very helpful to the students as it helps them become more focused and attentive, and ultimately more effective communicators. This study will provide a platform for further researches in the areas of learning styles and preferences.
- 5. RESEARCH METHOD In this study the questionnaire will be adapted based on the Joy Reid’s Instrument and Horwitz’s Anxiety Test. The purpose is to identify the learner types that the students preferred at the beginning of their semester in the polytechnics. This finding will help accommodate the students’ needs and help teachers to design learning tasks that suit the diverse learners’ needs. The study will target December session students from 15 polytechnics in Malaysia. The target sample will comprise of various ethnic background. These students will be from different secondary educational backgrounds such as secular schools, boarding schools, technical and vocational schools, and religious schools. A systematic random sampling will be used in the selection of students. Every 10th student of the selected diploma level classes from the different departments of Electrical, Civil, Mechanical Engineering, Commerce, Food Technology, Hospitality, Fashion Design and Visual Communication will be chosen for this study. A demographic questionnaire will also be administered for the polytechnics. Polytechnic which are randomly chosen will be as follows: 1. Politeknik Ungku Omar (PUO) 2. Politeknik Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah (POLISAS) 3. Politeknik Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah (POLIMAS) 4. Politeknik Kota Bharu (PKB) 5. Politeknik Kuching Sarawak (PKS) 6. Politeknik Port Dickson (PPD) 7. Politeknik Kota Kinabalu (PKK) 8. Politeknik Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah (PSA) 9. Politeknik Johor Bahru (PJB) 10. Politeknik Seberang Perai (PSP) 11. Politeknik Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin (PSMZA) 12. Politeknik Merlimau Melaka (PMM) 13. Politeknik Sultan Azlan Shah (PSAS) 14. Politeknik Tuanku Sultanah Bahiyah (PTSB) 15. Politeknik Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin (PTSS) The process of the collecting the survey questionnaires will be done through the various English language departments. The demographic data and marks will be tabulated into OMR and then transferred into Microsoft Excel for cleaning the data, identifying discrepancies and errors in typing. The SPSS Version 15 will be employed for labeling the variables, assigning labels to the values, analyzing of data and interpreting of data output in accordance to the research question statements. The data will be analysed and reported. Conclusions and recommendations will be made for future studies.
- 6. REFERENCES Claxon, C. S. and Murrell, P. H. (1987). Learning Styles: Implications for Improving Educational Practices. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 4. Washington D.C.: Association for the Study of Higher Education. Ehrman, M. & Oxford, R. (1989). “Ants. And grasshoppers, badgers and butterflies:Qualitative and Quantitative Exploration of Adult Language Learning Styles and Strategies.” Paper presented at the Symposium on Research Perspectives on Adult Language Learning and Acquisition, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. Cobbinah, S., Abid, M., & Gilbert, H. (1987). Application of non linear diffusion model to the drying cereals: A step function approximation of the variable diffusivity, A.S. Mujumdar (Ed.), Drying’87, Washington, D.C.: Hemisphere Publishing Corporation, pp. 24 - 28. Daud, W. R.W. Ibrahim, M.H., & Talib, M.Z.M. (1996). Characteristic Drying Curves of Cocoa Beans, Drying Technology, 14, (10): 2387 - 2396. Daud, W. R. W., & Talib, M. Z. M. (1997). Parameter estimation of Fick’s Law of Drying Equation, Drying Technology, 5, (6): 119 – 125. Ford, N. June. (1985). Styles and strategies of processing information: Implications for professional education, Education for Information 3:115-32. Skehan, P. (1989). “Individual differences in second language learning.” London: Edward Arnold. Willing, K. (1988). Learning Styles in Adult Migrant Education. Australia: NCRC Research Series.
- 7. REFERENCES Claxon, C. S. and Murrell, P. H. (1987). Learning Styles: Implications for Improving Educational Practices. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 4. Washington D.C.: Association for the Study of Higher Education. Ehrman, M. & Oxford, R. (1989). “Ants. And grasshoppers, badgers and butterflies:Qualitative and Quantitative Exploration of Adult Language Learning Styles and Strategies.” Paper presented at the Symposium on Research Perspectives on Adult Language Learning and Acquisition, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. Cobbinah, S., Abid, M., & Gilbert, H. (1987). Application of non linear diffusion model to the drying cereals: A step function approximation of the variable diffusivity, A.S. Mujumdar (Ed.), Drying’87, Washington, D.C.: Hemisphere Publishing Corporation, pp. 24 - 28. Daud, W. R.W. Ibrahim, M.H., & Talib, M.Z.M. (1996). Characteristic Drying Curves of Cocoa Beans, Drying Technology, 14, (10): 2387 - 2396. Daud, W. R. W., & Talib, M. Z. M. (1997). Parameter estimation of Fick’s Law of Drying Equation, Drying Technology, 5, (6): 119 – 125. Ford, N. June. (1985). Styles and strategies of processing information: Implications for professional education, Education for Information 3:115-32. Skehan, P. (1989). “Individual differences in second language learning.” London: Edward Arnold. Willing, K. (1988). Learning Styles in Adult Migrant Education. Australia: NCRC Research Series.