The Relationship between Field Dependence and Field Independence and Reading Ability: A case of Female Students in Gorgan

Regarding learners different cognitive styles in the realm of TEFL, and the growing interest in selfdirected language learning/teaching, it is highly beneficial for teachers and learners to get familiar with a number of cognitive styles in language teaching, one of which is field dependency. This study decides to determine if there is any significant relationship between field dependence or field independence and reading comprehension ability among female students of Gorgan. This study also indicates whether there is a significant relationship between field dependence, field independence and gender. The participants are 64 pre-university students. Three instruments were used in this research. GEFT test and WYSSE questionnaire were used to determine field dependence/field independence. The reading part of Key English Test (KET) by Cambridge was used to assess students’ performance in reading. A correlation was done between them afterwards. The results show that field independent students have a better performance compared to field dependent students. The results also indicate that female field independent students perform better than male field independent students. Teachers who are the main beneficiaries of this study could use the findings to facilitate the learning process by grouping the learners based on field dependence/independence characteristics. Also, advanced students may use the results to discover their own cognitive style in order to make their further stagesof learning easier and more efficient.

کلیدواژه ها:

Cognitive styles ، field dependent ، field independent ، reading comprehension