International Students’ English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Learning Styles: Socratic and Confucianistic

This study investigated the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning styles of East Asian as well as Middle Eastern undergraduates in a Malaysian university. Socratic values as opposed to Confucian traditions in the classroom call for teachers to be facilitator and organizer while assisting students to develop creativity and independence in language learning. Many Western studies have claimed that East Asian students are reticent and embedded in their “Confucianistic” learning styles where teachers dominate the learning process and students are expected to be passive in class and speak only by invitation. Likewise, studies have also found that Middle Eastern students come from a culture of rote learning and predictable examinations, impairing their ability to adapt to independent learning. Using focus group interviews and an analysis of the undergraduates’ performances in the English proficiency courses, the findings of this qualitative study found that EFL teachers can incorporate more Socratic learning styles to further enhance students’ EFL performances.