teachers versus learners styles preferences : probing the match.

Abstract

The current descriptive study was conducted to identify the most preferred learning and teaching styles among third-year middle school students and teachers. Furthermore, the research aimed to investigate any potential match or mismatch between learners' learning style preferences and teachers' teaching style preferences in the foreign language (FL) classroom. To achieve this, a mixed-methods approach was utilized, integrating both quantitative and qualitative research methods. It involved administering an adapted version of Ried’s (1987) perceptual learning styles questionnaire to 52 3rd-year middle school students at Bachir Ibrahimi Middle School, located in Mila. Moreover, semi-structured interviews based on Grasha's (1994) teaching styles were conducted with four middle school teachers to determine their preferred teaching styles. Additionally, classroom observations were carried out over five sessions with two groups and two teachers. The findings revealed that third-year middle school students are multimodal learners, displaying a preference for auditory learning styles. Concerning educators, teachers tended to adopt the facilitator teaching style, integrating a range of nstructional approaches to accommodate the diverse learning styles of their students. This resulted in a match between teachers' teaching styles and learners' learning styles. The study emphasized the importance of customizing instruction to align with students' multiple learning styles and enhance the effectiveness of the teaching-learning process.