A Qualitative Case Study into Exploring the Learning Styles and Learning Strategies of Non English Major Vietnamese College Students

Abstract

Learning styles and learning strategies have long been studied because they can influence learners’ success and promote learners’ autonomy, particularly in language learning. However, most studies in this area are carried out in international contexts rather than locally. Thus, many false assumptions have been made about Asian learning styles in general and Vietnamese learners in particular, i.e. they are passive and group-oriented learners,and they tend to learn by rote and memorising knowledge. The case study represents an attempt to find out if first-year non-English majored collegiate learners in Vietnam are passive or active. The significant findings from semi-structured interviews with two first-year non-English-majored Vietnamese college students indicate that Vietnamese college students are not passive and rote learners and the reasons for their reticence in class relate to their learning styles and the nature of the questions asked by their teacher. Furthermore, whether Vietnamese college students are group-oriented or not is not clearly proven from the finding. It may also depend on the students’ personality and how they view learning in a group. For that reason, further research is necessary. As regards learning strategies, it is not always the rote learning approach that the students employ. They only resort to it for fear of having lower marks in the exam. They learn with understanding and use other strategies to help them memorise the knowledge.