Role of Cognitive Style of Field-dependence/ independence in Using Metacognitive and Cognitive Reading Strategies by a Group of Skilled and Novice Iranian Students of English Literature
Role of Cognitive Style of Field-dependence/ independence in Using Metacognitive and Cognitive Reading Strategies by a Group of Skilled and Novice Iranian Students of English Literature
Keywords: No Keyword
Behzad Ghonsooly
Ferdowsi University, Iran
Ahmad Reza Eghtesadee
Tarbiat Modares University, Iran
Bio Data
Dr. Behzad Ghonsooly is an associate professor at Ferdowsi University in Mashhad. He got his Ph.D. in applied linguistics from Stirling University. He has supervised more than 15 M.A. theses in TEFL. He has written a book and published 15 articles in different local and international journals. He has also presented papers at nine conferences.
Ahmad Reza Eghtesadee has an M.A. degree in TEFL from Ferdowsi University. He has published articles on different issues of language teaching in local Iranian EFL journals. He is currently a Ph.D. student in TEFL at Tarbiat Modares University in Tehran.
This study aimed at investigating the role of cognitive style of field-dependence/ independence (FD/FI) in using metacognitive and cognitive reading strategies in novice and skilled readers. Therefore, a TOEFL test was used to select some low and advanced level subjects, and the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) was employed to determine the cognitive style of subjects. Ultimately, based on the results of TOEFL and GEFT, 12 subjects (3 skilled field-dependent, 3 skilled field-independent, 3 novice field-dependent and 3 novice field-independent) were selected. The subjects were sophomore and senior students of English at Ferdowsi University.
Each group of skilled and novice subjects were given two reading texts and they were asked to read the texts and say aloud whatever occurred in their minds while reading (think-aloud method). The subjects’ voices were recorded and then transcribed. The resulting transcriptions which are called protocols were analyzed on the basis of a classification of metacognitive and cognitive reading strategies and the employed strategies were identified. Next, the frequencies of metacognitive and cognitive strategies employed by each group of subjects were obtained and to compare these frequencies, a Chi-Square technique was used. The results of the Chi-Square technique showed that the difference between frequency of metacognitive and cognitive strategies used by novice field-dependent readers and those used by novice field-independent readers is not meaningful. This may mean that cognitive style of field-dependence/independence does not influence the use of metacognitive and cognitive reading strategies in novice readers. However, the difference between the frequency of metacognitive and cognitive strategies used by skilled field-dependent and skilled field-independent readers was meaningful which may mean that cognitive style of FD/FI influences the use of reading strategies in skilled readers.
It was also found that the difference between metacognitive and cognitive strategies used by novice field-dependent and skilled field-dependent subjects was not meaningful. This may mean that the level of proficiency does not influence the use of metacognitive and cognitive reading strategies in field-dependent subjects. However, the difference between the metacognitive and cognitive reading strategies used by novice field-independent and skilled field-independent readers was meaningful which may mean that cognitive style of FD/FI influences the use of metacognitive and cognitive reading strategies when readers are field-independent.
See pages 119-150
[/private]Category: Main Editions, Volume 8 Issue 4
