The relationship between cognitive styles and pronunciation accuracy in english as a second language

Abstract

In recent years various publications have dealt with the importance of individual learner factors in language learning. Studies of learner characteristics have looked at how various kinds of factors might affect “success” with language learning as well as learners' approaches to different language learning tasks. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between field dependence/independence, “left” vs “right” information processing, rational vs.experiential information processing (i.e., cognitive styles), and ESL pronunciation accuracy, as measured by various tasks (e.g. perception and production). The results revealed a complex pattern of relationships between cognitive styles and aspects of pronunciation accuracy. In the case of perception of final consonants, field independence and a right hemispheric dominance was related to better performance, while in the case of production (the degree of aspiration of initial consonants), field dependence and a left hemispheric dominance was related to better performance. The results also indicated that high faith in intuition was related to better perception of final consonants as well as to greater production pronunciation accuracy as measured by subjects' control over phonetically conditioned as well asphonemically distinctive vowel lengths. High need for cognition was related to better pronunciation accuracy in all instances where vowel length was measured. The results should, however, be tentatively interpreted and investigated further.