Learning Styles

The term 'learning styles' refers to the different ways in which the students absorb, understand, and retain knowledge in a better way. It is said that we all are made equal but different at the same time, and this is particularly true when it comes to the process of acquisition of a determined knowledge. The notion of differentiate learning styles has became popular among educational theorists in recent years. Nowadays, classes are planned in a way that attempts to stimulate all the different styles in which the students learn, this is one of the reasons why it is very common that, for example, one foreign language lesson usually includes speaking, reading or listening activities, so that all the students in the classroom can get the knowledge in their own way. Individual learning styles depend on cognitive, emotional, and environmental factors, and on prior experiences.

It is a must for teachers to understand the differences and characteristics of learning styles. There is a well known understanding of learning styles, the VARK (it stands for Visual, Auditory, Reading/Writing, and Kinesthetic learners). The VARK model establishes that students have different approaches to how they process information, referred to as “preferred learning modes.”

The categories of learning styles, according to the VARK, are:

• Visual learners: They prefer the use of images, pictures, diagrams, maps and graphics to organize and understand new information.

• Auditory learners: They get new information through listening and speaking in situations such as discussions, lectures or debates.

• Reading and Writing learners: They learn best through words. They are good note takers and readers, and have an ability to sintetize complex or abstract ideas in short phrases, sentences or schemes.

• Kinesthetic learners: They understand best through touching or tactile representation of how an object works or a process is carried out. They learn by doing.

The teacher that understand and identify those styles in his classroom has a better perspective of his students as a group, and can plan his lessons taking the particular needs of his group into account.