A Correlation Survey Between The Cognitive Style Of Field Independence/Field Dependence And Senior High School Students' English Scores

With the development of disciplines such as psychology and psycholinguistics,many linguists and researchers have gradually shifted the focus of second language acquisition studies from teaching methods to individual differences among learners.Different cognitive styles play an important role in individual differences.Based on cognitive style theory and psychological differentiation theory,this study investigates the correlation between the two cognitive styles of high school students—field independent/field-dependent cognitive styles and their English scores,and mainly explores two issues.(1)Is there any correlation between field independent/field dependent cognitive styles and senior high school students' English scores?(2)What is the relationship between field independent/field dependent cognitive styles and senior high school students' English listening,reading and writing performance?In this study,241 students from three classes in the second grade senior high school of Baota Middle School in Yan'an City were selected as the study subjects.They were first tested with “Cognitive Style Figure Test” to determine their cognitive styles;then their first semester of the 2017-2018 academic year of the subjects scores and the results of each item was collected;finally statistical software SPSS was used to analyze the correlation between the two data.(1)There is a positive and weak correlation between the independent/field-dependent cognitive styles of senior high school students and the total score of English,and the level is not significant.Independent English learners' performed better than field dependence,but the difference was not significant.(2)There is a weak correlation between the independent/field-dependent cognitive styles of high school students and English listening performance,and the level is not significant.Students who rely on cognitive style have better English listening performance than those who are independent,but the difference is not obvious.(3)Cognitive style was moderately correlated with English reading scores,and there was a significant difference in English reading performance between field independent/field dependent cognitive styles.Field independent cognitive styles had significantly better reading results than field dependent ones.(4)Cognitive style is positively correlated with English writing performance,but the level is significant.Field independent cognitive style learner writing performance is slightly better than field dependent cognitive style.From the research results,it can be seen that cognitive style is related to senior high school students' English scores and various skills.Therefore,this study can inspire teachers and learners of second language.Teachers should try to teach students according to their individual differences.Students should find suitable learning strategies and methods for effective English teaching and learning.