Learning Style Preferences and Language Learning Strategies - An Input to Course Design

Key words: learning styles, language learning strategies, course design ABSTRACT This study aims to examine the learning style preferences and language learning strategy use of the 1st year undergraduate students of English language and literature at a Croatian university. A total of 41 students attending the same core English language course were asked to complete the Style Analysis Survey (SAS), a questionnaire which was used to identify the following aspects of learning styles: how they use their physical senses to study or work, how they deal with other people, how they handle possibilities, how they approach tasks and how they deal with ideas. In addition, the participants completed Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL), which was used to determine the extent to which the following strategies are used: memory, cognitive, compensatory, metacognitive, affective and social. The data was obtained at the end of the 1st semester course and will be used as input for the 2nd semester course, which directly builds on the previous one. In order to provide opportunities for all students to achieve success and fulfill their potential, course activities will be centered on the students’ learning styles. The findings regarding learning strategies will be the basis for implementing Styles- and strategies-based instruction (Cohen, 2002), which is intended to help the students complement their current strategy repertoire with language learning strategies that match their style