Differences in learning style preferences: A study of mainland Chinese college students studying in Hong Kong

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate if college students from mainland China have different learning style preferences from local college students in Hong Kong. Participants of this study were college students in Hong Kong, they include 55 (31%) local Hong Kong college students, 69 (39%) students from a Cantonese speaking city in mainland China, and 53 (30%) from a non-Cantonese speaking city in mainland China. They were coming from different cultural background and they used different medium of instruction and languages in learning. A 35-item questionnaire was used to collect their learning style preferences through an online survey website. Two-tailed independent samples t-tests were used to compare the learning style preferences of these groups in terms of visual, auditory, tactile, kinesthetic, group, and individual styles. Results revealed that local Hong Kong students and students from mainland China have significant differences in learning preferences in visual, kinesthetic, and tactile styles to different extents. Recognizing the group difference in learning style preferences of learners enables us to develop more cost effective solutions to address students’ learning style preferences in the form of groups with common preferences.