Abstract:

The controversy on the link between good readers and their personality characteristics is an on-going one. In order to contribute to the thriving body of knowledge in the area and to bridge a gap on the relationship between cognitive style and reading performance, this study investigated field-dependent (FD)/independent (FI) Iranian EFL learners’ use of general and specific cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies. Twenty seven male and thirty five female EFL students from Urmia University were given a Group Embedded Figures Test to identify their cognitive style. Afterwards, they were administered a self-reported reading strategies questionnaire to determine their general reading strategies. Subsequent to these steps, a reading comprehension test was given to them to identify their context-specific reading strategies. Chi-square analysis indicated that there was a significant difference between FD and FI EFL learners’ use of general metacognitive and specific cognitive reading strategies. Furthermore, concerning the use of general metacognitive reading strategies, females in both groups outperformed their male peers. The paper includes further findings and discusses them.

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