Many British universities have experienced sharp increases in the numbers of international students. Research suggests that international students may experience a certain degree of alienation during their learning experience. In the past, overseas students were expected to ‘fit-in’ to the British university system but students are now seen to be valued consumers of a service for which there is increasing choice from competing institutions.

Rather than pursue an investigation into whether the University of Nottingham provides a particularly ‘British’ approach to learning and education (which could potentially result in stereotypical assumptions about cultural identity), this research investigates whether trends in preference of learning style can be mapped onto the cultural background of students.

A questionnaire was distributed to Home/EU and International students across the Schools of Modern Languages, American and Canadian Studies, Business, the Built Environment, and Pharmacy. The questionnaire included questions about the students’ personal background, types of teaching and assessment received, as well as qualitative-based questions inviting feedback on their learning experience, and how it is supported at school and university level. In direct relation to our research question, the questionnaire contained a self-evaluation test designed to find out the students’ preferred learning style.

Out of eighty seven returns, sixty eight questionnaires were usable for the analysis. These were grouped into three categories: EU (non-UK) (11 students), Home (26 students), Asia (31 students). Given the experience of some international students, we had anticipated a correlation between preferred learning style and regional grouping. In fact, this was not the case. There was no significant relationship between preferred learning style and regional origin.

However, a preference, irrespective of regional origin, was expressed for ‘innovative’ and ‘dynamic’ learning, which emphasise concrete and experiential elements in the learning process.

This means that the cause of international student’s alienation is not related to differences in learning styles, and in our presentation we will speculate about other possible causes. Yet the data suggests that student diversity is better conceived in terms of learning preferences, rather than cultural differences. Thus, the diversity of learning styles exhibited by the sampled students highlights the importance of ensuring that teaching accommodates all styles of learning. Our data suggests that more emphasis needs to be given to experiential approaches to learning, although it also suggests the need to develop abstract and conceptual approaches.