Influence of Field Independent-Dependent Cognitive Styles and Exam-oriented Education on Second Language Syntactic Priming

Abstract

Syntactic priming is an important paradigm for the study of sentence production. It refers to the tendency to repeat previously used sentence structures in the process of language production and comprehension. Field independent-dependent dimension, as an essential dimension of cognitive style, has different effects on individual perception, thinking and other cognitive processes. The nine-year compulsory education that most Chinese students receive is an exam-oriented education, which includes English learning. The effect of exam-oriented education on second language syntactic priming is unclear. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of the field independent-dependent dimension of cognitive style and exam-oriented education on second language syntactic priming. In this study, field dependent-independent cognitive style is measured by Embedded Figure Test, and second language syntactic priming is measured by picture description. The results show that field independent-dependent cognitive style has no effect on second language syntactic priming. While exam-oriented education inhibits second language syntactic priming for English learners at different levels. Future studies may use different methods of syntactic priming and cognitive style to measure and refine the thresholds for second language level in syntactic priming studies.