Deductive versus inductive grammar instruction: Investigating possible relationships between gains, preferences and learning styles

This study experimented the inductive and deductive approaches to grammar instruction with junior high school students in order to uncover their preferences and seek possible relationships between their learning gains, preferences and learning styles. Students were found to have expressed a preference for the deductive approach, but rated both approaches as equally effective. No relationships were discovered between their gains and their preferences or learning styles, which revealed that liking or not an approach had no influence on learning in this case. However, some connections were established between preferences and learning styles: learning styles where conscious learning play a role were generally associated with the liking of grammar instruction irrespective of the fact that it was provided inductively or deductively. Since both approaches were explicit in nature, the discussion explores the idea that explicit teaching may agree better with certain learning styles, and that it would perhaps be wise not to completely discredit implicit teaching on the basis that some studies show a learning advantage for explicit teaching.