How Business Students Learn Spanish Learning styles and didactic implications

Students at WU (Vienna University of Economics and Business) may opt to learn Spanish as part of their degree program. As a first step towards making those who do so more aware of their preferred learning strategies, and thus promote autonomous learning, a study of their learning profiles was conducted. For this purpose, a German translation of the CHAEA questionnaire (Alonso et al., 1994) was produced and a digital survey designed. Both were piloted and later reviewed by a panel of five experts. The survey was sent to 744 students, of whom 198 responded (response rate: 26.6%), providing a highly significant sample for the study. The responses indicate that business students predominantly display one of two opposing learning profiles: while some combine reflective and theoretical styles, others display active and pragmatic ones. This dichotomy, which contrasts with the results obtained from other learner populations, suggests that business students are in a position to benefit from any learning situation, since they possess strategies drawn from all learning styles.