Matching The Students’ Learning Preferences With Teacher’s Teaching Methods: The Case Of International EFL Students In Malaysia

Abstract

Due to the paramount significance of English as a lingua franca, TESOL has attracted the attention of researchers globally which necessitates the suitable usage of the best methods for achieving the learners’ goals. This study examined the students’ learning preferences and their teachers’ methods and strategies used in specific classrooms. The sample of the study was 20 international EFL male and female learners and one English professor from the National University of Malaysia. The data were elicited from the samples using three instruments: an adapted from Oxford (1990) questionnaire, classroom observation and semi-structured interviews.  The findings revealed that the teacher’s techniques to some extent support the students’ tendencies and styles toward learning the English language.  It was shown that students are strongly motivated and have the ability to use all the possible strategies during their learning process. Moreover, the teacher confirmed that she supports the students’ self-confidence despite the existence of some barriers between the students and their teacher. It is recommended that teachers pay more attention to their students’ style preferences during the learning process.