This research examined how spatial ability, sex, and cognitive styles associate with self-directed multimedia resource use (study 1) and learning outcomes (study 2). In study 1, three learning resource options were offered: two unimodal (text-only and labelled-picture) and one multimodal (picture-with-narration). Findings revealed that lower…

Despite the widespread recognition of learning styles (LSs) in online language learning contexts, there seems to be a paucity of research on their direct role in learners' task preferences. Therefore, this article aims to investigate the role of LSs in learners' preferences for the specific tasks added to the typical online English learning…

This study combines research methods from student approaches to learning research and social network analysis (SNA) to examine patterns of students' collaborative learning based on their learning orientations amongst 193 postgraduates enrolled in a blended course. The study identified two distinct learning orientations, namely 'understanding' and…

The present research aimed to investigate how field-dependent and field-independent learners perceived and processed information when they were engaged in an implicit foreign language learning task and to explore differences between them in this regard. The majority of studies in the pertinent literature have adopted quantitative methods to date.…

The goal of this study was to investigate cognitive style (the visualizer-verbalizer dimension) and cognitive ability (spatial and verbal abilities) in terms of corresponding resource use behavior. The study further examined the potential link between cognitive style and cognitive ability based on observable behavior. A total of 67 university…

The efficacy of Corrective Feedback (CF) is contingent on various factors; conflicting results have been obtained regarding the roles of individual differences and the linguistic focus of CF. The current study investigated the relationship between the linguistic focus of recasts (the most common CF type) and noticing. It further explored the…

This research involved the design of a task-based dialogue system and evaluation of its learning effectiveness. Dialogue training still heavily depends on human communication with instant feedback or correction. However, it is not possible to provide a personal tutor for every English learner. With the rapid development of information technology,…

This study starts from the observation that current empirical research on students' processing strategies in higher education has mainly focused on the use of self-report instruments to measure students' general preferences towards processing strategies. In contrast, there is a rather limited use of more direct and online observation techniques to…

This study investigated listening strategies used by students in different listening tasks and situations in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context. Thirty EFL students in a university in Vietnam were recruited for the study. The study aimed to explore what listening strategies EFL Vietnamese learners at university level used and why and…

In this article, the authors present three adolescent Latinas' perceptions of ideal mathematical competencies, their perception of their individual "abilities" in mathematics, and their work on a mathematics problem-solving task. Results indicate that these Latinas recognize flexible mathematics as the ideal mathematical competency in…

The authors propose an instructional use for Google Earth (a GIS application) as an anchoring tool for knowledge integration. Google Earth can be used to support student explorations of world geography based on Wikipedia articles on earth science and history topics. We asked 66 Taiwanese high-school freshmen to make place marks with explanatory…

Learning to learn (L2L) is an important component of lifelong learning. First, the article discusses various possible definitions of L2L and identifies the most comprehensible definition, which provides the basis for the analysis. Subsequently, it presents the results of a pilot study carried out in the early stage of primary education. This study…

Dynamic assessment (DA) is based on Vygotsky's (1978) sociocultural theory and his Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). ZPD is the range of abilities bordered by the learner's assisted and independent performances. Previous studies showed promising results for DA in tutoring settings. However, they did not use proficiency-based rubrics to measure…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of question prompts on student learning in relation to their learning styles. The context of the study is technology-enhanced learning in an ill-structured domain. Design/methodology/approach: The study conditions were the same for all the students in the four learning style groups.…

Students with differing profiles of epistemological beliefs--their beliefs about personal epistemology, intelligence, and learning--vary in thinking, reasoning, motivation, and use of strategies while working on academic tasks, each of which affect learning. This study examined students' epistemological beliefs according to gender, school…