TUNING LEARNING AND TEACHING STRATEGIES TO INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AMONG LEARNERS OF ENGLISH IN ARAB UNIVERSITIES

Abstract

Teachers of English language in different contexts across the world use different strategies to cater to individual learner differences: diversified resources, spectrum of intelligences and multi-sensory experiences, tracking, adaptive teaching, etc. The present study investigated learning and teaching strategies applied by teachers of English in English as the second language (ESL) classes and those with a focus on Arab universities and the strategies to address unique individual student differences. This study reviewed the extant academic literature to identify the documented techniques used by teachers of English in different contexts with a focus on Arab university context. A structured questionnaire survey and Microsoft Excel were utilized to collect, analyze and present data respectively. Results revealed that distinct language learning behavior existed among learners of English in Arab universities: learning styles, personality, proficiency, intelligence, and motivation. As revealed in the results, particular strategies were employed by teachers of English in Arab universities to cater to individual differences among learners with adaptive teaching method as the most dominant technique. These strategies included project-based learning, classroom discussion, cooperative learning, and demonstrations, and other diverse learning materials. Teachers of L2 in Arab university can use these findings to understand what learners of English in L2 classroom needed, how they acquired and learned a language, and the ways to enhance quality learning using strategies that ensured that all learners could learn, gain maximum, and reach their full potential.