Exploring the Learning Styles of Russian-Speaking Students of English as a Second Language

Abstract

This study investigates the learning styles of college and university Russian-speaking students of English as a second language (ESL) through an analysis of their responses to Reid’s (1984) Perceptual Learning Styles Preference Questionnaire (PLSPQ), of their responses to a background questionnaire, and of data from oral interviews. The research questions are: 1. What learning styles emerged from Reid’s PLSPQ? 2. How well did the PLSPQ findings correspond to the oral interview results? 3. Did the learning style preferences reflect more the students’ individual preferences or their cultural traditions? Findings from the data indicate that the preferred learning style of these Russianspeaking students is kinesthetic, closely followed by auditory. In addition, the results of the data suggest that the learning style preferences of these subjects reflect more their individual learning style preferences than the influence of cultural traditions. Discrepancies, however, arose in the findings among the three elicitation instruments. The article also provides insights into the area of research design and methodology and questions the validity of the PLSPQ.