A Study of Critical Thinking Ability in Relation to Learning Styles of EFL Learners

Abstract

This study aims to fill the gap by exploring critical thinking ability in relation to the key learning styles for language learning: field independence, left-brain dominance, ambiguity tolerance, reflectivity/impulsivity, and visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. To do this, students performed the critical thinking process according to the specific syllabus, and the questionnaires for WGCTT (Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Test) and LSA (LSA) were distributed. The data were collected from 127 EFL students to identify their learning styles and critical thinking ability. In this study, while analyzing the questionnaire of the WGCTT and LSA, hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to verify the influence of independent variables on changes in dependent variables. According to the results, some components of critical thinking ability were positively related to left-brain dominance, ambiguity tolerance, and reflectivity, while others were negatively associated with some elements of critical thinking ability. The positive relationship between critical thinking and learning styles could imply that some learning style patterns could change with adopting the critical thinking ability in the L2 performance.