LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 13:12 December 2013
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Learning Styles of Iranian EFL Male High School Seniors in
Computer-Based and Traditional Face-to-Face Contexts

Zahra Moharrer and Wong Bee Eng

Abstract

The Iranian education system has pursued the trend of using computers, especially at secondary school level, to help students cope with their learning problems independently. This study is an attempt to find out the different trends of learning style preferences among Iranian male high school seniors in two instructional formats, namely, computer-based and face-to-face learning. Willing’s (1988) questionnaire was distributed among 236 students in the electronic distance education and traditional schools in Shiraz, Iran. The different types of language learners in this EFL context were investigated using Exploratory Factor Analysis.

The findings indicated that learners in the computer-based context were largely not oriented adequately to learning English language through an interactive multimedia CD-ROM program independently. The findings also showed that although students in the traditional face-to-face context preferred the conventional classroom, they also showed communicative preference towards the opposite condition which is not prevalent in the Iranian traditional schools; in other words, they strongly preferred communication which was not highlighted in the school curriculum. Such findings have implications for the Iranian EFL classroom.

Key words: Learning styles, computer-based learning, traditional face-to-face learning, high school seniors, Iranian EFL context.

1.0 Introduction

The advent of advanced technology and its integration with education has suggested new channels of delivery for English language learning, in particular distance learning. However, a review of distance teaching and learning in Iran has shown that less attention has been paid to language learners’ characteristics such as learning styles; instead the focus has been mostly on system effectiveness, educational policies, distance learning management, and curriculum (e.g. Tabatabaie, 2010; Doulatabadi & Dillon, 2009; Sarlak & Aliahmadi, 2008; Shaikhi Fini, 2008; Yaghoubi, Malek Mohammadi, Iravani, Attaran, & Gheidi, 2008; Sarlak & Jafari, 2006; Gharehbakloo, 2005; Montazer & Bahreininejad, 2004).

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Zahra Moharrer
z.moharrer@gmail.com

Wong Bee Eng
beeupm@gmail.com

Department of English Language
Faculty of Modern Languages and Communications
Universiti Putra Malaysia
UPM Serdang
43400, Selangor
Malaysia
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