INTRODUCTION: The increasing enrolment of Chinese students in UK higher education (HE) has brought various challenges, particularly the difficulties they encounter in adapting to the Western classroom environment. While previous studies often considered Chinese students' learning preferences as culturally determined, such portrayals risk oversimplification and neglect the individual variations in educational and cultural experiences. Recognizing the necessity of understanding the learning preferences of both Chinese and UK students, this study seeks to move beyond simplistic cultural characterizations. Specifically, this study examines the influences of Chinese and UK university students' past learning experiences, individualist-collectivist (I-C) cultural identity, and individual characters of social value orientation (SVO) on their preferences for cooperative, competitive and individualistic learning approaches. METHODS: A total of 562 undergraduates completed an online questionnaire assessing these constructs. RESULTS: Structural equation modeling showed that cooperative learning experiences were positively associated with cooperative learning preferences, and negatively with individualistic learning preferences. Competitive learning experiences were positively related to competitive learning preferences. SVO was positively related to I-C cultural identity and cooperative learning preferences. I-C cultural identity was found to mediate the paths between SVO and competitive and individualistic learning preferences. Furthermore, the multigroup analysis revealed that these relationships were different in the UK and Chinese undergraduates. DISCUSSION: Current findings highlight the complex interplay of educational and cultural factors and individual characters in shaping learning preferences. The study provides valuable insights for creating inclusive and culturally responsive learning environments in HE.