General and specific cognitive/metacognitive reading strategies used by field-dependent/independent iranian efl learners

The current study attempted to investigate if there was a significant difference between field-dependent/independent Iranian EFL learners in terms of the use of cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies. The difference between these two groups was studied with reference to both their general reading strategy use and the strategies they used in reading a particular text they were invited to read. To this end, 62 EFL students (27 males and 35 females) who were assumed to be skilled in L2 reading were chosen from Urmia University. As a first step, Group Embedded Figures Test was employed in order to assign the participants into either field-dependent or field-independent groups. Next, they were requested to answer a self-reported reading strategies questionnaire to determine their general reading strategies utilized across various contexts. After one week's interval, a reading text was given to the participants to read first and then to answer another adapted reading strategies questionnaire to identify context-specific strategies they actually used in the reading task that they had just completed. The frequency of general/specific cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies employed by male and female field-dependent/independent students were calculated and compared through Chi-Square statistical test using SPSS software. The results indicated that there was a significant difference between field-dependent and field-independent participants in terms of using general metacognitive and specific cognitive reading strategies. However, there was no significant difference between Field-dependent/independent learners regarding the use of general cognitive as well as specific metacognitive reading strategies.

Field-Dependence ,

Field-Independence ,

General Reading Strategies ,

Specific Reading Strategies ,

Cognitive Reading Strategies ,

Metacognitive Reading Strategies ,