Spanish EFL undergraduate students' perceptions of learning styles

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of research on learning styles carried out in a Spanish EFL higher education context. The specific objectives of the study were to investigate students‟ perceptions of their learning styles and to determine students‟ responses to the identification of their learning styles using the Kolb Learning Style Inventory (LSI) adapted by McCarthy (1980). Participants included 53 students from an English Philology degree program. The results showed that most of the students had a Diverging style and an Accommodating style. The findings also suggested that students had a positive reaction to the identification of their learning styles, despite its novelty in the Spanish EFL university context. Most of the students‟ perceptions of their own learning styles concurred with the results obtained from the Kolb LSI. More research on educational practices and university instruction that have to do with learning style concepts is needed.