The Learning Style Preferences of Semarang State Polytechnic Students in Second Language Learning

Abstract

There are a large number of learning styles, strategies and approaches, based on different psychological constructs, however, this study only focus on learning styles in second language learning. It is important to know the students’ learning style preferences to avoid mismatchbetween the learning styles of the students and the teachers’ teaching style, in order to get effective teaching-learning outcome. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the preferred learning styles of Semarang State Polytechnic students in English language learning, since being a supporting subject in Semarang State Polytechnic, English only gets a little amount of teaching hours comparing with other subject. The method being used in this study was a cross sectional study of the students in the second year of Semarang State Polytechnic. The samples of this study were taken from all the seventeen study programs in Semarang State Polytechnic, with the response rate was 85.88%. The validated VARK Questionnaires was used to categorize the learning styles of the students. The questionnaire consists of sixteen (16) items which identify four (4) different learning styles: visual, aural; reading/ writing and kinesthetic. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the students learning styles. The result of the study showed that 6.2% of the students prefer visual mode, 11.3% prefer aural mode, 2.3% prefer reading/ writing mode and 8.1% prefer kinesthetic mode, and the rest 72.1% prefer multiple learning styles. The result of this study can provide useful information for improving the quality of the teaching and learning process in Semarang State Polytechnic. Therefore, it can produce qualified and high competitive graduates.

Keyword : learning style, learning preference, second language learning, VARK