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Abstract
As Vietnam repositions English from a foreign language (EFL) to a second language (ESL), understanding how learners process language through communicative approaches becomes essential. This quantitative survey study investigates the perceptual learning-style preferences of 300 EFL learners in Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) classes at a Vietnamese police college (The People’s Police College II - PPC II), alongside the perceptions of seven English teachers. Drawing on Reid’s (1984) Perceptual Learning Style Preference Model and Gardner’s (1983, 2011) Theory of Multiple Intelligences, the study administered validated questionnaires covering six modality categories and compared self-reported proficiency before and after CLT implementation. Data were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics. Findings reveal skill-differentiated preferences: the Visual modality dominated vocabulary learning (53.3%), the Kinesthetic dominated grammar (34.3%) and speaking (26.7%), the Auditory dominated listening (56.0%), and the Individual dominated reading comprehension (25.3%) and writing (34.0%). All modality mean scores exceeded 4.0 on a five-point Likert scale, confirming major-level perceptual orientations. Following CLT implementation, 52.67% of students reported improved proficiency, and teacher assessments indicated average score gains of approximately 30%. These findings reveal a partial mismatch between conventional CLT delivery and learners’ dominant perceptual tendencies, underscoring the need for style-responsive adaptations — particularly multimedia visual scaffolding for vocabulary, authentic audio for listening, and structured individual tasks for reading and writing — in Vietnam’s ESL transition context.
Keywords: EFL learning styles, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), multiple intelligences, Reid's perceptual model, Vietnamese higher education, learner-centred pedagogy
Biography
Nguyen Thi Trang is an English lecturer at People's Police College II (PPC II), Dong Nai Province, Vietnam, with eleven years of experience teaching English as a Foreign Language in law enforcement higher education. She holds a Master's degree in English Language from Lac Hong University (2024) and has developed particular expertise in learner-centred pedagogy, Communicative Language Teaching, and learning-style differentiation in specialised institutional contexts. Her research focuses on the perceptual and cognitive profiles of EFL learners at PPC II, with the aim of generating evidence-based pedagogical adaptations responsive to Vietnam's national EFL-to-ESL policy transition. She is committed to bridging applied linguistics research and frontline classroom practice in Vietnamese police education.
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