The Impact of Learning Styles and Teaching Styles on Foreign Language Learning Fluency, Accuracy, and Complexity

The enduring, yet contested, concepts of learning and teaching styles continue to influence pedagogical discourse in foreign language education. This study critically examines the relationship between these stylistic preferences and tangible language production outcomes. Specifically, it investigates the extent to which students' learning styles and their teachers' teaching styles correlate with measures of oral fluency, accuracy, and complexity (FAC) among Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Adopting a correlational research design, the study involved ۱۲۰ intermediate university students and their ۶ instructors. Students completed Grasha-Reichmann's Student Learning Style Scales (GRSLSS), while teachers completed Grasha's Teaching Style Inventory (TSI). Student oral proficiency was measured via a picture narrative task, with speech samples coded for the three FAC dimensions. Pearson correlation analysis revealed a series of weak to moderate, albeit statistically significant, relationships. For instance, a collaborative learning style was positively correlated with fluency (r = .۲۹, p < .۰۵), while a dependent style showed a positive association with accuracy (r = .۲۶, p < .۰۵). From the teaching perspective, a facilitator style was linked to higher student fluency and complexity, whereas a formal authority style correlated positively with accuracy but negatively with fluency. The findings do not support a strong version of the 'matching hypothesis.' Instead, they suggest a more complex and nuanced interplay between stylistic preferences and specific facets of language production. The study argues for a shift away from rigidly tailoring instruction to presumed styles and toward fostering metacognitive awareness and pedagogical variety.

کلیدواژه ها:

learning styles ، teaching styles ، fluency ، accuracy ، complexity ، CAF ، EFL ، individual differences