This doctoral research investigates the relationship between learning styles and strategies among foreign language learners, assuming that a compatible match between both factors can significantly enhance linguistic performance. Historically, language education was teacher-centred, disregarding learners’ internal cognitive processes. However, since Rubin’s seminal 1975 study highlighted the importance of understanding successful learners’ strategies (Rubin, 1975, in Griffiths, 2008), attention has shifted toward learner-centred paradigms. The thesis is divided into two parts: a theoretical framework and an empirical section. The first part defines core concepts such as learner autonomy, viewed as the learner’s critical capacity for decision-making and independent action (Holec, 1981; Little, 1991). It also reviews learning style models (Kolb, 1984; Felder and Silverman, 1988; Oxford, 1990) and strategy taxonomies, distinguishing between direct and indirect strategies (Oxford, 1990), and contextualises them within evolving teaching methodologies. The second part presents two empirical studies with secondary school students in Madrid preparing for the First Certificate Exam. Study I analyses the performance of twenty students before and after applying learning strategies tailored to their individual styles. Study II, more rigorous in design, includes surveys on learners’ beliefs, motivations and preferences, followed by an assessment of the correlation between style-strategy alignment and academic outcomes. Findings show that compatibility enhances performance, while mismatches lead to negative experiences (Zhenhui, 2001; Schroeder, 1993). The work concludes that promoting autonomy, metacognitive awareness and learning personalisation not only yields better academic results but also empowers learners as active agents. This paradigm shift demands a redefinition of the teacher’s role, from knowledge transmitter to facilitator (Little, 1996a), and calls for institutional openness to learner-centred approaches. Ultimately, this dissertation argues that foreign language teaching becomes most effective when structured around learners’ needs, styles and strategies, integrating theory and practice into a model that fosters autonomous, strategic, and self-aware learners.
Yilén Gómez Rodríguez (2012) Estilos de aprendizaje y estrategias para aprender: un estudio en aprendientes de inglés como lengua extranjera. Tesis doctoral. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.
