Abstract
This study aims to explore the difference between the field independent (FI) and field dependent (FD) learners in the area of EFL critical reading skills. To this end, 60 undergraduate EFL students who had taken and passed the Critical Reading course involved as the subjects. The Group Embedded Figure Test (GEFT) was administered to classify the students’ cognitive styles into FI and FD groups. Furthermore, to measure the students’ critical reading skills, the critical reading comprehension test (CRCT) in the form of multiple choice questions was developed and administered. The test items were focused on assessing students’ analytical and inferential skills of reading texts, specifically on determining the main idea, the purpose, the tone, making an inference and taking conclusion. The findings indicate that there is a statistically significant difference in the critical reading skills between FI and FD students. More specifically, the differences are in determining the main idea, determining the purpose, making an inference, and taking the conclusion of the texts in the CRCT. Pedagogically, selecting appropriate reading texts to be used in Critical Reading course practice for developing the students’ critical reading skills will be beneficial for both of FI and FD students.
Highlights
At the university level where English is a foreign language, the teaching of reading is divided into literal, interpretative and criticalJEELS, Volume 5, Number 1, May 2018 reading comprehensions exercising; and these skills are occurring interactively and sequentially (Crawley & Mountain, 1995; Eanes, 1997; Burns et al, 1996)
The main aim of the study is to investigate the difference of critical reading ability between the field independent (FI) and field dependent (FD) students in finding the main idea, determining the purpose, making an inference, recognizing the tone, and taking the conclusion of the English texts in the Critical Reading Comprehension Test (CRCT)
The number of the students who had good ability in taking conclusion based on the information in the text was same both in FI and FD groups
Summary
At the university level where English is a foreign language, the teaching of reading is divided into literal, interpretative and criticalJEELS, Volume 5, Number 1, May 2018 reading comprehensions exercising; and these skills are occurring interactively and sequentially (Crawley & Mountain, 1995; Eanes, 1997; Burns et al, 1996). The readers need to view the writers' point of view of the passage critically. It is done by investigating the implied main idea, determining the purposes, separating the facts and opinions, recognizing the writers’ tone, taking inference and conclusion to grasp the information from the texts effectively (Bowen et al, 1985). With the skills acquired in the critical reading instruction, the students are expected to be judgmental readers They are required to synthesize, evaluate, interpret and selectively use the information in texts they read to help them become successful students in this digital era (Walz, 2001)
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