The challenge of academic writing for Chinese students within ...

settings; when reaching the end of the continuum greater emphasis is given by the
theorists on the influence of prior experiences and contextual factors on learning
styles and approaches/strategies students choose to employ. Coffield et al. (2004) also
point out the limitations of their grouping of the learning styles: overemphasising the
differences of each cluster of the learning style models; or placing a learning model in
one group while it may appear belong to another group.
Given the large amount of learning style models and theories, this chapter does not
intend to provide a comprehensive review of all the learning style models existing in
the literature. Learning styles as learning preferences and as learning
approaches/strategies are investigated in this section, with an evaluation of some key
learning models of each category. The selection is based on three criteria: a) the
taxonomies of Kolb (2000) and Honey and Mumford‘s (1992) learning styles models,
identified within the group of learning preferences, are widely known and employed
in the UK; b) some western conceptions of Chinese learners are associated with the
learning models of the learning approaches/strategies category; c) the characteristics
of the group of learning approaches/strategies, underlining the interplay of learners
and contextual aspects of learning, would provide excellent theoretical groundings for
the research.
Learning preferences – Taxonomies of Kolb‘s, Honey and Mumford‘s learning styles
As mentioned above, learning styles are perceived by Kolb and his proponents as
differential learning preferences, to some extent varying with situations, and with
some long-term stability (Kolb 2000). Kolb (2000) states that learners will
demonstrate distinct preferences for some learning experiences, but not others.
Kolb‘s renowned experiential learning theory (ELT) is regarded as the inauguration of
the modern learning styles movement (Coffield et al., 2004). Kolb‘s ELT defines
learning in relation to process and emphasizes the importance of experience in the
learning process.
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