Nowadays, it has become fashionable to encourage language learners to find out what their style of learning is. This is very useful because if you know your preferred style, you will have a better idea of what strategies will work to help you to learn better. There are also other good reasons why it is useful to know what your preferred learning style is. It is a good idea, for example, to use opportunities occasionally to find out about other learning styles than your own. It may be that if you are a very experienced or successful learner, you will not have thought about other ways of learning. If you do, though, you may also discover new ways of helping you to learn.

Are there different models of learning style?

There are many models of learning style that have been devised. Sometimes they concern the way in which we process information (such as Kolb’s learning styles or Gregorc’s mind styles model). Sometimes they help to explain personality patterns, as is the case with the Myers-Briggs Type indicator and the Keirsey temperament Sorter. There are also other models that explain learning styles in terms of social interaction (e.g. how individuals engage with their peers within the world of work).

The questionnaire below uses the well known V-A-K model of learning styles (Visual – Auditory- Kinaesthetic). According to the website http://www.businessballs.com, the original VAK concept was first developed in the 1920s by psychologists and teaching specialists such as Fernald, Keller, Orton, Gillingham, Stillman and Montessori. It has been adapted, for example, into the V-A-R-K model (which includes reading). It is designed to provide a general guide to your learning style and is not intended to ‘classify’ people into separate categories.

Try the questionnaire