This study sought to investigate the link between preferred learning styles, performance, and cognitive load. After determining learning styles (visual or auditory), undergraduate students were assigned to three instructional formats, namely: Listen Only, Read Only, and Read + Listen. A pretest was administered to assess students' prior knowledge on lightning. During acquisition, students received instructions specific to the instructional format they were assigned to. For example, students in the Read Only group received written materials only while those in the Listen Only group received auditory materials only. The acquisition phase was followed by a posttest phase. Based on cognitive load theory, it was hypothesized that different instructional formats would result in differences in student performances. Two-way between-groups ANOVA results confirm the hypotheses, in that student's cognitive load was a better predictor of student performance than student learning styles. Educational implications and limitations are also discussed.

The United Arab Emirates has been rapidly developing its educational institutions and trying to adopt a western system of higher education. The government has chosen English to be the medium of instruction in universities and thus has become a critical factor in student learning. In mathematics classes, it can be seen that students struggle to grasp concepts not just because of the actual content but also because of the language barrier. Language is intertwined with the multiple facets of mathematics education but one of the more salient areas is in comprehending mathematical text and problems. This paper attempts to summarize previous research findings that are related to this issue and describe problems faced by teachers using actual classroom cases. The conclusion of this paper outlines some tentative recommendations and a future research agenda to develop strategies to resolve these issues.

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