Asian Learning Styles

The Review of the Article In the article "Matching Teaching Styles with Learning Styles in East Asian Contexts" an author described the learning styles of the East Asian learners and compared them to the learning styles of the non-Asian learners. The article is based on the learning styles employed when learning English as a foreign language. Since English, in the East Asia, is mostly taught by the foreign teachers, the author intention was to show the problems which occur when the two cultures meet in the classroom; the learners’ and the teacher’s one. I will briefly describe the East Asian learners’ preferences, problems which may occur in the classroom when the teacher’s teaching styles do not correspond the learners’ learning styles and

The teaching-learning style conflict occurs when the learners’ learning style preferences do not match the teacher’s teaching style. There is no way for a teacher to adjust the lecture so that it suits all the students but a teacher’s task is to make it as richer as possible. The first step to adjusting the lecture to the learners is to get to know them. The teacher should be familiar with the learners’ needs and preferences. The best way for the teacher to get to know its students is through diaries. Teacher should instruct its students to write their opinion on the course, to comment the teacher and activities done in the classroom, and to write any problems they have while encountering a foreign language. This way, each student will be heard and eventually taken into consideration when the lesions are planned. It is important for the teacher to state that no one will read diaries except him/her and that it is for the educational purposes only. Since all of the activities won’t suit all the learners, the variety is important. Teacher should plan the activities in a way that all the learners have at least some that are appealing to them. There should be as much group work as individual and as much tasks which

Because of the cultural differences and the differences in the education system, there is often a teaching-learning style conflict. The conflict occurs when the teaching style does not suit the learning style of the learners. It is very important for a teacher to get to know its students and adjust its teaching method and techniques in a way that they suit the learners’ needs. In the East Asia, the conflict occurs because the East Asian learners prefer the teacher-centered method; they are used to the traditional way of teaching. In Croatia that is mostly also the case. Although we are more open to the new methods and we will gain some knowledge even though the teaching style might not suit us perfectly, we are used to the frontal method of teaching. In my opinion, the variety of methods should be introduces in the early stages of the learners’ education in order to be fully successful. Ones the students get used to one way of learning it is hard to change