Are you having a hard time learning English? Well, it might be because there is a mismatch between your learning style and the teaching methods being used in your ESL class.

Research has found that people learn in different ways, which are called "learning styles." Some people learn by doing things (kinesthetic learners). If you are a kinesthetic learner, you want a teacher who uses the Total Physical Response teaching method (TPR) or a similar method in her class (maybe active learning through drama). In this kind of class, you would learn English by doing. You would perform actions and learn how to talk about those actions at the same time. Some people learn by seeing (visual learners).

If you are a visual learner, you want a teacher who uses a lot of pictures, diagrams and visual cues. For example, it is possible to teach grammar using visual cues instead of (or in addition to) traditional grammar presentations. Instead of teaching grammatical terms like "subject," "object," and "verb," some teachers use colored blocks to represent grammatical units and to demonstrate how the units can move and change. The blocks can also be given to the students so that they can move them around and learn grammar that way, which helps the kinesthetic learners to learn grammar by doing - by moving the blocks around.

Some people are aural learners; they learn by listening. These people can learn a language just by listening to it. I have a friend who learned Spanish this way. She went to Mexico and lived there for a year without ever speaking a word of Spanish. She listened for the whole year and then, after one year, she opened her mouth, and she spoke fluent Spanish.

Some people are print learners. They learn by reading. Most print learners can do very well in a traditional classroom. They can learn to read and write a language very well this way. Some people are interactive learners. They learn by talking with other people, or maybe just to themselves. These learners would do well in a classroom where the teacher doesn't talk very much, but the students talk a lot and practice their English.

Many people think that you need to practice speaking a language in order to learn it, but that is not always true. It depends on your learning style. Some people are shy and just want to listen to a language, and that's fine - that's the aural learner's learning style and they should be able to listen as long and as much as they want, and they should never have to talk until they are comfortable doing so. And, of course, you cannot learn to read and write a language well if all you ever do is speak it. I have had many students come to my ESL class speaking English very well, but they couldn't write it at all.

The important thing is just to find a good match between your purpose for learning English, your learning style, and your teacher's teaching style. Some teachers are very good at helping all of the different kinds of learners; some teachers specialize in one kind of teaching. Find out what your learning style is, and then find a teacher who can help you.

Joan Pougiales, Ph.D. has taught English as a Second Language for over 30 years to college-bound students in the U.S., as well as to adult immigrants and refugees. Her web site is devoted to helping refugees and immigrants, beginning and intermediate students, to learn English and succeed in their new lives in the U.S. Visit her at http://www.growenglish.com.