Examining the effects of two cognitive styles (field dependence vs. field independence) on learners’ mobile-assisted vocabulary acquisition

Abstract

Learners with different cognitive styles (here, field dependence vs. field independence ) may learn second language vocabulary differently in different vocabulary learning settings. Although cognitive style has been widely studied in second language research, little is known about how field dependence/independence affects learners’ vocabulary acquisition in a mobile-assisted learning setting. One approach to solve this problem is to investigate the possible effect(s) of field dependence/independence on learners’ short-term vocabulary recall in a mobile-assisted vocabulary acquisition setting (here, Memrise ). To investigate such effect(s), this study adopted a pretest-posttest design involving 147 intermediate-level learners of English as a second language. Using the Group Embedded Figures Test, participants were divided into two groups: field dependent and field independent learners. For 4 weeks, both groups practiced and reinforced a set of English vocabulary, selected from the Vocabulary Level Test, through Memrise flashcards. Our findings reveal a post-intervention improvement among both field-dependent and field-independent learners, but with field-independent learners slightly outperforming their counterparts in the short-term recall of the vocabulary. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.