Effects of Learning Styles on Self-directed Foreign Language Vocabulary Learning

Abstract

Vocabulary learning is an on-going and life-long process, which is greatly influenced by individual differences. It has been noted that there is inefficient self-directed FL vocabulary learning of college students in mainland China and non-individualized learning may be one of the major reasons. As one of the most significant individual differences, a student’s learning style is supposed to largely determine their selection of learning strategies and have an effect on learning outcomes. This paper focuses on categorizing diversified vocabulary learning tasks which activate various vocabulary learning strategies, and integrating them into a learning system along particular learning paths to cater for different learning styles. The system is also tested in an empirical study for the purpose of checking the effects of these learning paths.