Title: Tolerance of Ambiguity and Inductive vs. Deductive Preference Across Languages and Proficiency Levels at BYU: A Correlational Study
Abstract: Tolerance of Ambiguity and Inductive vs. Deductive Preference across Languages and Proficiency Levels at BYU: A Correlational Study Jordan R. Bledsoe Center for Language Studies, BYU Master of Arts This study explored the relationships between roughly 330 participants’ tolerance of ambiguity and their preference for either an inductive or deductive presentation of grammar by means of an online survey. Most participants were college students. Other variables examined included years of study, in-country experience, proficiency, age, year in school, and language of choice. A new instrument for measuring inductive vs. deductive preference was also created based on the Learning Style Survey (Cohen, Oxford, & Chi, 2001). Results showed weak correlations between: tolerance of ambiguity and inductive preference (.25), tolerance of ambiguity and proficiency (.25), and inductive preference and proficiency (.20). Additional findings include: a correlation (.62) between proficiency and years of instruction received, a slight correlation (.22) between age and tolerance of ambiguity, no correlation between years of language instruction and tolerance of ambiguity, no correlation between studying abroad and ambiguity tolerance or inductive/deductive preference, and no correlation between age and inductive vs. deductive preference. Lastly, data was analyzed to determine whether language was a contributing factor or not, and only the participants learning Japanese were significantly different (p = .004), with a higher preference for inductive learning.
Publication Year: 2011
Publication Date: 2011-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 2
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