Styles and strategies

1. Styles andstrategies

2. Process, Style and Strategy Process: the most general concept universal, such as generalization & attririon Style: consistent tendencies or preferences within an individual that differentiate him from anyone else Strategies: specific methods of approaching a problem vary intraindividually

3. Learning Styles Def. cognitive, affective and physiological… predisposition to process information * Learning styles mediate between emotion and • cognition . • Physical, affective and cognitive domains merge in LS. • Significant LS in SLA:

4. 1- Field Independence (FI) Def. of field independence: The ability to perceive a particular item in a field of distracting items. In general psychological terms field refers to a set of thoughts, ideas or feelings Field dependence (FD) = Field sensitivity It depends on the total field, so the parts are not easily perceived. Field sensitivity carries a positive connotation

5. Advantages of FI style: 1- distinguish parts from a whole 2- concentrate on something 3- analyze separate variables without the conta- mination of neighboring variables. Too much FI = cognitive tunnel vision Thus, the development of FD style has positive effects : you perceive the whole picture * Both FI and FD are necessary for most of the cognitive & effective problems we face

6. Intelligence Factors analytical attention-concentration verbal comprehension How are these factors related to FI/FD ? Only the 1st one is related to FI • FI/FD develops in childhood but stable in adult- hood and a person tends to be dominant in one mode or the other

7. FI/FD is socially determined Authoritarian or agrarian= more FD persons Democratic, industrialized, competitive= FI person Characteristics of FI persons 1- more independent 2- competitive and 3- self-confident

8. Characteristics of FD 1- more socialized 2- derive their self-identity from persons around 3- more empathic and perceptive of the feelings and thoughts of others How does all this relate to SLL ? Two conflicting hypotheses have emerged 1- in favor of FI 2 in favor of FD

9. Studies in favor of FI proved: -FI is related to classroom learning that involves analysis, attention to details, mastering drills -FI correlated positively & significantly with lang. success in the classroom -FI is related to cloze test that requires analysis -FI correlated to lang. success as measured both by traditional, analytic, paper & pencil test & by oral Interview FI = deductive FD= inductive

10. Conclusions in favor of FD depend on anecdotal or observational evidence Why ? Tests for FI but not FD. No standardized means of measuring FD * FD persons are successful in learning the communicative aspects of a 2nd lang. The paradox: How could FD and FI be equally important ?

11. Both styles are important because we have two different kinds of lang. learning. 1- natural face-to-face communication = FD 2- familiar classroom activities = FI This conclusion is supported by diff. studies • FI/D differentiates tutored from untutored SLL • FI/D differentiates child and adult lang. acqui. • Logically & observationally FI/D is variable within one person depending on learning context

12. Some people might be highly FI and highly FD as contexts vary. The burden on the learner is to invoke the appropriate style for the context The burden on the teacher is to understand the preferred style of each learner and to sow the seeds for flexibility.

13. 2- Left- and Right-Brain Functioning Different functions for left/right hemispheres (see table 5.1 + 1stparag.) • Left and right hemispheres work together as a team, both involved in most neurological activity of the human brain. • How is left-/right-brain functioning related to 2nd lang. learning & teaching ?

14. Left-brain-dominant= deductive Produce separate words, gather the specifics of lang., carry out sequences of operations and deal with abstraction, classification ion, labeling & reorganization. Right-brain-dominant=inductive deal with whole images, generalization, metaphors, emotional reactions & artistic expressions.

15. 3- Ambiguity Tolerance • Def. • Open-minded vs. close-minded • Advantages of tolerant of ambiguity: • 1- free to entertain innovative possibilities • 2- not disturbed by ambiguity & uncertainty * In 2nd language learning

16. Disadvantages of tolerance of ambiguity 1- accepting every proposition 2- not efficiently subsuming necessary facts 3- preventing meaningful subsumption of ideas e.g. linguistic rules. Advantages of intolerance of ambiguity 1- guard against the wishy-washiness 2- close off avenues of hopeless possibilities 3- reject entirely contradicting material 4- deal with the reality of the system

17. Disadvantages of intolerance of ambiguity 1- close the mind too soon 2- the mind is too narrow to be creative This may be particularly harmful in SLL * few research findings are available on this style

18. 4- Reflectivity and Impulsivity Reflectivity= systematic Def. Impulsivity= intuitive Def. R/I implications for language acquisition In child 1st lang. acquisition: 1- reflective children make fewer mistakes in reading/ impulsive are faster readers and master the psycholinguistic guessing game.

19. 2- reflective = inductive reasoning R/I in second language learning 1- reflective= slower but more accurate in reading 2- reflection was weakly related to performance on a proofreading task 3- fast-accurate or good guessers are better learners In second language classroom learning & teaching 1- Tr. judge mistakes by impulsive learner too harshly

20. 2- reflective learners require patience from Tr. 3- impulsive learners may go through a number of rapid transition of semigrammatical stages while reflective ones may remain longer at a particular stage

21. 5- Visual and Auditory Styles Visual learners = reading & studying charts, drawings, graphic information Auditory learners = listening to lectures and audiotapes Successful learners utilize both * Cross-cultural differences