The relationship between EFL learners’ personality types and their cognitive learning styles

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between male and female EFL learners' learning styles and their personality types. To this end, one-hundred English majors took part in the study. The participants consisted of 78 females and 22 males. The Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) was used to assess the participants' field dependent/independent (FD/FI) learning styles. The Personality Style Inventory (PSI) was also administered to assess the personality types of the participants. The data obtained from the PSI showed that the most frequent personality types were ISTJ (introvert, sensing, thinking, judging), ESTJ (extrovert, sensing, thinking, judging), and ESTP (extrovert, sensing, thinking, perceiving) personality types, and the least frequent types were ENFJ (extrovert, intuitive, feeling, judging), and INFJ (introvert, intuitive, feeling, judging). Moreover, the results of the GEFT showed that 52% of the subjects were of FI learning style type and 48% of them had a FD learning style. The results of Chi-Square test and Fisher's Exact Test also showed that there was no statistically significant relationship between males and females' learning styles and personality types. The EFL instructors' awareness of these differences in personality types and learning styles can enable them to create a more dynamic atmosphere in the classroom through designing activities that meet the learning preferences of different types of learners.