The Effect Of Cognitive Style On English Reading And Writing-Field Independence And Field Dependence

In English teaching and learning, reading and writing are two closely-related basic skills andhave attracted many researchers’ attention. As a main channel for English learners to acquire linguisticinput, sufficient and effective reading can facilitate English learning in many aspects. As an importantform of linguistic output, writing can strengthen linguistic input and manifest learners’ target languageproficiency. Reading and writing are complex cognitive activities. Learners with different cognitivestyles show different preferences in processing information, and have different methods of encodingand decoding linguistic materials, forming different schemas, which ultimately influence their readingand writing proficiency. As an important concept in cognitive style, field independence/dependence(FI/FD) is used to describe the cognitive differences in identifying concrete items from complexbackground.The present research attempts to investigate if language learners’ English reading and writingproficiency is related to their field independent/dependent cognitive style. Ninety freshmen studentsfrom Jincheng College, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics were examined through aGroup Embedded Figure Test (a cognitive style test), a reading comprehension test, a writing test andan interview. Twelve subjects attended the interview.Detailed analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data generated the following findings: thereis positive correlation between FI/FD cognitive style and reading as well as writing proficiencyrespectively. The more field independent the subjects are, the better reading and writing proficiencythey have. FI subjects perform better in both reading and writing tests than FM and FD students. ForFI subjects, their reading proficiency is positively correlated with their writing proficiency. However,such correlation is not found in FM or FD groups.Suggestions are put forward for the teaching of English reading and writing: Firstly，teachersshould help students realize their cognitive style of Fl/FD and the importance of Fl/FD cognitive stylein language learning; Secondly, teachers should instruct students to make full use of their advantagesand overcome their disadvantages in their own cognitive style and adopt flexible strategies to dealwith different learning tasks; Thirdly, teachers should adopt different teaching styles for students withdifferent cognitive styles.