The Effects of Differential Instruction and Learning Styles of Low-level L2 College Students Grammar Acquistition

Abstract

This study examined the effects of differential instruction on low-level L2 college studentsgrammar acquisition and learning styles. One hundred and four university students with low English proficiency level were participated in the study and assigned to the either deductive or the inductive grammar instruction groups. The participantsEnglish grammar acquisitionwas checked through pre, post, and delayed tests, and a survey adapted from Learning Style Survey (LSS) (Cohen, Oxford & Chi 2002) was administered to measure the participantslearning styles. The results revealed that both of the instructions positively influenced on the learnersgrammar acquisition for the long-term retention even though the learners in the deductive instruction group initially showed greater improvement in their L2 grammar knowledge. This study discovered no significant difference among the extroverted, introverted, and mixed learners regardless of the different instructional types while the deductive grammar instruction was more helpful for the L2ers with particular learning style rather than the global and mixed styles for the immediate learning effects.