Types of language learners

Posts0Likes0Joined3/9/2018LocationSkopje / MK
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Hi! 


According to a few articles I was just reading and what I myself concluded, there are types of language learners and many have tried categorising them/us! We can be categorised according to our personal interests, what motivates one from another, and the pace and dedication each one of us undertakes when learning a new language. I liked this categorisation, although there are many personal and/or biased, yet founded viewpoints and categorisations out there! This one divides us into 6 categories (https://www.linguacore.com/blog/6-types-of-language-learner-1/ ): 


1. Language Enthusiast

2. Language Learner

3. Bilingual also Monolingual, Trilingual, Quadrilingual, etc.)

4. Linguist

5. Polyglot

6. Hyperpolyglot


A language enthusiast is someone who apparently loves (learning) languages, but is not necessarily a language learner! It means he/she can have a very basic knowledge of multiple languages, count to ten, have basic vocabulary, eager to learn, but have not or is not necessarily learning those languages. I fall into that category often! It gives an allegory of sport fans who don't necessarily need to be sports people. This is a categorisation based on one's motivations and skills. 


There is also a division into auditory, visual and/or kinetic learners -


https://blog.thelinguist.com/are-there-different-types-of-language-learners. 

I find it also valuable and trustworthy. 


And in this third article, I find the writer dividing them into personalities more than into languages learners, but that's just my viewpoint: 


https://www.gonaturalenglish.com/the-5-different-types-of-language-learners/ 


What do you think? Which category do you fall into? And what categorisation do you find more reliable and support more? 


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#1
Posts1630Likes1092Joined18/3/2018LocationBellingham / US
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Mai wrote:
There is also a division into auditory, visual and/or kinetic learners -https://blog.thelinguist.com/are-there-different-types-of-language-learners.
I find it also valuable and trustworthy.

Are you saying you find Steve Kaufmann's article that you linked to valuable and trustworthy? Because as he says in the article, he doesn't believe in these different types of learners. If that's the case I agree with you. They have done several studies to try to prove learner types exist, but failed. 

In Thailand now. Next up Tanzania and Philippines.

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#2
Posts0Likes0Joined3/9/2018LocationLagos / NG
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Would you be surprised if i told you some learners actually belong to multiple categories? Like some possess fractures of two or more categories. 

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#3
Posts0Likes0Joined3/9/2018LocationSkopje / MK
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TemitopeAkinyede wrote:

Would you be surprised if i told you some learners actually belong to multiple categories? Like some possess fractures of two or more categories.


Yeah! Totally! That was also said in the articles, and I relate to that too totally. I am an enthusiast AND a bilingual. 


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#4
Posts0Likes0Joined3/9/2018LocationSkopje / MK
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leosmith wrote:

Mai wrote:
There is also a division into auditory, visual and/or kinetic learners -

https://blog.thelinguist.com/are-there-different-types-of-language-learners.

I find it also valuable and trustworthy.

Are you saying you find Steve Kaufmann's article that you linked to valuable and trustworthy? Because as he says in the article, he doesn't believe in these different types of learners. If that's the case I agree with you. They have done several studies to try to prove learner types exist, but failed.


Yeah I guess yes, it's not that one person belongs to one category only. We are multiple, but I do believe there are certain skills that you were designed to do better than others. Like being more auditory than visual, or the other way around. 


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