Assessment of Thinking Style Preferences and Language Proficiency for South African Students whose Native Languages Differ

Abstract

The language proficiency of first-year students at the University of Pretoria (56 men and 59 women, M age = 19.40 yr., SD = .80, range from 18.00 to 20.70) was assessed by means of the English Language Skills Assessment. More than one third of the students did not show proficiency at Grade 10, as expected. This language assessment was not correlated with academic achievement equally well for students in a group. The diversity of thinking style preferences of the students enrolled in a language development course was also assessed on the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument. Scores indicated a range of thinking style preferences but the group's overall mean scores represented detail-oriented and feeling-based modes of thinking processes. These preferences were correlated with academic achievement and learning of languages. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that thinking styles could be a focus of educational strategies in South Africa, using the perspective that qualitatively different approaches to teaching might be associated with students' qualitatively different approaches to learning.