ELT Voices Indiaeltvoices.in/Volume3/EVI_31_6.pdfCognitive Style and the Use of Idioms in ......
Transcript of ELT Voices Indiaeltvoices.in/Volume3/EVI_31_6.pdfCognitive Style and the Use of Idioms in ......
[Type text]
ELT Voices – India Volume 3 Issue 1 | February 2013
ISSN 2230-9136
© Ignite (India) Publishing, Bhavnagar, Gujarat – India
www.eltvoices.in
ELT Research Paper 6
On the Relationship between Impulsivity/Reflectivity Cognitive Style and the Use of Idioms in Composition Writing Among Iranian Advanced EFL Learners Mahdi Mahdavinia (Ph.D.) Islamic Azad University, South Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran
Maryam Molavizadeh (M.A.) Islamic Azad University, South Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran
Mahdi Mahdavinia & Maryam Molavizadeh: On the Relationship between Impulsivity/Reflectivity Cognitive Style and the
Use of Idioms in Composition Writing Among Iranian Advanced EFL Learners
49 | E L T V o i c e s – I n d i a ( V o l . 3 I s s u e 1 ) | F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 3 | I S S N 2 2 3 0 - 9 1 3 6
Abstract
The main purpose of the present research was to see if Impulsivity/Reflectivity as two
cognitive styles of learners may indicate any relationship with the use of idioms in
composition writing among Iranian Advanced EFL learners. To this end,80 male and
female university students completing their studies for an M.A. degree in TEFL took
part in this study. They were given a TOEFL test to ensure their homogeneity of
language proficiency and a Persian version of Impulsivity Sub-scale of Eysenck's
(1990) Impulsiveness Questionnaire to divide the participants into two groups of High
Impulsive and Low Impulsive (Reflective). Then they were given a Love Story which
was consisted of 20 Idioms and at last they were asked to write two compositions
according to the given topics related to the Love story. The results of the study revealed
that Low Impulsive (Reflective) learners used more idioms in their writings than the
other participants. Language learners and teachers of TEFL may benefit from the
findings of this study.
Keywords: Cognitive Style, Idiom, Impulsivity, Reflectivity, Writing.
Mahdi Mahdavinia & Maryam Molavizadeh: On the Relationship between Impulsivity/Reflectivity Cognitive Style and the
Use of Idioms in Composition Writing Among Iranian Advanced EFL Learners
50 | E L T V o i c e s – I n d i a ( V o l . 3 I s s u e 1 ) | F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 3 | I S S N 2 2 3 0 - 9 1 3 6
1. Introduction
It is stated by many educators that one's success in learning a second language in all
educational settings is primarily dependent on theories of second language acquisition. The
researchers had to understand what, how, and why it is that is acquired, and thus a lot of
theories were produced by second language acquisition researchers such as discourse
theory, accommodation theory, neuro-functional theory, the monitor model, etc. This
theorizing is the intricacy of the process of second language acquisition which in Ellis’s
(2003) view is a complex process, involving many interrelated factors.
To study this complexity, language researchers suggested theories that generalized in nature
and often not productive. These theories denied individual differences and looked for just to
illustrate globally how people learn, and what common characteristics there are in language
learning. Even though these theories have contributed much to our overall understanding of
second language acquisition, the fact still remains that some individuals are more successful
at acquiring an L2 than are others (Jamieson, 1992; Brown, 2000). Examining of learners
variables and individual characteristics is the researchers' works in this area to explain
differences in one's ability to acquire an L2. Since many studies have tried to connect
learning differences to variables such as gender, age, brain plasticity, and lateral cerebral
dominance (Krashen, 1975; Walsh & Diller, 1981; Selinker, 1982), other researchers have
concentrated on variables such as integrative and instrumental motivation, attitude, anxiety,
aptitude, ambiguity tolerance, field dependence/independence, and reflectivity/ impulsivity
(Chapelle & Roberts, 1986; Oxford, 1989). In recent years, language researchers and teachers
have begun to focus on the individual differences of learners, such as age, language
proficiency, learning motivation, cognitive styles and so on.
Cognitive style or "thinking style" is a term used in cognitive psychology to describe the way
individuals think, perceive and remember information. Kogan (1981) studied the educational
implications of nine different cognitive styles, and concluded that the implications of
Reflection-Impulsivity (R-I) on several areas of personality, behavior, and learning were
noticeable. Neil Salkind and John Wright (1977) studies have found that students who are
placed with a reflective teacher tend to score more reflectivity at the end of the year than at
the beginning, while students placed with an impulsive teacher score higher levels of
Mahdi Mahdavinia & Maryam Molavizadeh: On the Relationship between Impulsivity/Reflectivity Cognitive Style and the
Use of Idioms in Composition Writing Among Iranian Advanced EFL Learners
51 | E L T V o i c e s – I n d i a ( V o l . 3 I s s u e 1 ) | F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 3 | I S S N 2 2 3 0 - 9 1 3 6
impulsivity at the end of the year. This indicates that there is some environmental influence
on the level of reflectivity-impulsivity and its expression in student behavior.
2. Review of the related literature
The aims of language teaching are usually termed through the four skills: listening, speaking,
reading and writing (Seidlhofer & Widdowson, 1999). L2 writing is a complex process.
Writing is a process of forming a text as a communicative bridge between the reader and the
writer. As for writing in EFL, French and Rhoder (1992) stated that writing could be viewed
as the main area in the curriculum that we associate with creativity, noting that writing is one
of the most tasks that we can be asked to perform. Writing is a demanding activity especially
for learners of a second /foreign language and yet it is a skill that they have to master in order
to do well in content courses. Using idioms, phrases or sentences that cannot be
understood literally and most of which have historical, philosophical, sociocultural, or
even political origin, in writing reflects the transformation in conceptualization of the
universe and the relationship between human beings and the universe. Previous studies
indicated that English idioms are difficult for English native speakers, and then they would be
much more problematic for ESL/EFL learners (Cooper, 1999; Buchwald, 2000). For many
EFL learners to use idioms in their writing is sometimes a troublesome part of writing.
Idioms make up a large proportion of any discourse, and the comprehension and production
of them are the main parts of the studies of idiomaticity in both first and the second language
literature. This study therefore aimed to find the answer to the following question:
Can any significant relationship be found between impulsivity/reflectivity cognitive style and
Iranian advanced EFL learners' use of idioms in writing composition?
Impulsivity and reflectivity
Impulsivity (I) and Reflectivity(R) are two characteristic of human beings in cognitive
domain. Kagan (1965), classifies reflective person as "the individual who takes relatively
longer respond and make fewer errors" and believes that "impulsive attitude begins its growth
during the preschool years and may be a deeply entrenched habit". Block et al. (1974) believe
that reflective learners are "slow deciders in uncertain situations" while impulsive ones are
"quick deciders in uncertain circumstances" (p.611). Zelinker and Jeffrey (1976) believe that
reflectivity may not always be the most optimal style. They found that "reflective children do
Mahdi Mahdavinia & Maryam Molavizadeh: On the Relationship between Impulsivity/Reflectivity Cognitive Style and the
Use of Idioms in Composition Writing Among Iranian Advanced EFL Learners
52 | E L T V o i c e s – I n d i a ( V o l . 3 I s s u e 1 ) | F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 3 | I S S N 2 2 3 0 - 9 1 3 6
better on tasks that require analyses of fine internal detail; impulsive children do better on
tasks requiring attention to outer contours of objects and global comparisons. Messer (1976)
claims that young children are typically impulsive, as they grow older, they become more
reflective. They take longer to respond, and they also become more accurate. It has been
found that children who are conceptually reflective tend to make fewer errors in reading than
impulsive children. (Kagan.1965). Messer (1976), considers that "Reflectivity/Impulsivity is
the extent to which a person reflects on a solution to a problem for which several choices are
potential" (p.532). Brown (2000) states that impulsivity is a person's quick or gambling guess
at an answer to a problem and Reflectivity is a person's slower and more calculated decision.
Brown (2000) further asserts that "impulsive persons are usually faster readers, and
eventually master the psycholinguistic guessing game of reading such that their
impulsive style of reading may not necessarily deter comprehension." According to Kagan
(1965), the impulsive child places a greater value on "quick success" than on "avoided
failure". In contrast a reflective child demonstrates higher standards for mastering intellectual
tasks and attempts to solve problems in a deliberate and correct way.
3. Methodology
3.1. Participants
The hypothetical population of this study was 80 advanced university students randomly
selected from among students completing their studies for an MA degree TEFL regardless of
their personality characteristics and gender. These participants were selected from a
population of 80 students of Azad universities on the basis of their scores on the TOEFL test.
Every effort has been taken to select the participants from as homogeneous a population as
possible. For this reason, it has been tried to select the participants with an advanced level of
English language proficiency according to their scores ranging from 60 to 90 from 90 on
the TOEFL test. By doing so, the effect of proficiency factor on the writing performance of
the learners was minimized. On the basis of the results of a revised version of Eysenck
Personality Questionnaire (I7), the participants were assigned into two groups of high
impulsive and low impulsive.
3.2. Instrumentation
The following instruments were utilized to measure the variables under investigation:
Mahdi Mahdavinia & Maryam Molavizadeh: On the Relationship between Impulsivity/Reflectivity Cognitive Style and the
Use of Idioms in Composition Writing Among Iranian Advanced EFL Learners
53 | E L T V o i c e s – I n d i a ( V o l . 3 I s s u e 1 ) | F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 3 | I S S N 2 2 3 0 - 9 1 3 6
TOEFL Test
In order to be sure that we had more homogenous participants, a version of TOEFL test was
used as a proficiency test to determine the participants' level of language proficiency.
The test consisted of two sections of structure and reading with 90 items. The structure
section consisted of 40 items, and the reading section consisted of 50 items, each with four
alternative choices from which the participants chose the correct response.
Impulsivity Subscale of Eysenck’s Impulsiveness Questionnaire (I7) (IVE)
Impulsivity Subscale of Eysenck’s Impulsiveness Questionnaire (I7) (IVE) ultimate adult I7
Impulsiveness questionnaire Impulsiveness, Venturesomeness and Empathy. Eysenck’s
(1990) Impulsiveness Questionnaire contains 54 items and assesses Impulsiveness (19 items),
venturesomeness (16 items) and Empathy (19 items). A Farsi version of this questionnaire
was prepared by Salimi (2001), and its Impulsiveness subscale was also validated with 1820
subjects from Tarbiat Modarres University. The reliability of the Persian Impulsiveness
subscale was tested using Cronbach’s alpha and Spearman-Brown’s unusual-length split half
reliability. Alpha reliability was found to be 0.86 and split half reliability was found to be
0.86, which are acceptable indicators of reliability. The same Farsi version of impulsivity
subscale serves the Impulsivity scale of the present research. A short love story which
consisted of 20 idioms and two topics which emotionally were related to the short story were
also used.
3.3. Procedures
TOEFL Administration
The TOEFL test was administered to 80 university students from Azad universities of
Tehran. This test was composed of 2 sections with 90 items, Structure and Reading sections.
The first section consisted of 40 items and the second one had 50items, each with four
alternative choices from which the participants chose the correct response. From 80 students
of Azad universities of Tehran who had participated in the TOEFL test, 40 of them who had
got higher scores were selected.
Questionnaire Administration
Mahdi Mahdavinia & Maryam Molavizadeh: On the Relationship between Impulsivity/Reflectivity Cognitive Style and the
Use of Idioms in Composition Writing Among Iranian Advanced EFL Learners
54 | E L T V o i c e s – I n d i a ( V o l . 3 I s s u e 1 ) | F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 3 | I S S N 2 2 3 0 - 9 1 3 6
Then the participants took the prepared Persian Impulsiveness Subscale (IVE) (I7) for which
they were required to mark their answers on the questionnaire itself. The range of
Impulsiveness scores was between 19 and 95. The time allocated to this test was 10 minutes.
According to the test guide, the participants who received the scores between 19 and 57 had
to be categorized in group 1 – high impulsive participants – and the participants who received
the scores between 58 and 95 had to be categorized in group 2 – low
impulsive(reflective)participants. In this category, 22 participants were in the first group, and
18 participants placed in the second group.
Compositions Writing Administration
Then the researcher asked the 40 participants to take part in a composition writing
administration in which they were asked to study a text consisted of 20 idioms, first. Then,
after 2 weeks they were given a topic related to the text they had already read, and they were
asked to write a composition by using the idioms of that text as many as possible. In order the
research results to be reliable, 10 days after the first administration, the researcher asked the
40 participants to take part in the same composition administration with another related topic.
Here the researcher calculated the correlation between the first and the second composition
scores of the participants in each group by SPSS. As shown in table.3.7., and table.3.8., the
results proved to be significant at the 0.01 level, with the correlation of 0.658 and 0.642
respectively each of which shows high positive correlation between the scores.
Table.3.7. The correlation between the first and the second administrations of group 1- high
impulsive participants.
Correlations
S1 S2
S1 Pearson Correlation 1 .658**
Sig. (2-tailed) .001
N 22 22
S2 Pearson Correlation .658** 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .001 N 22 22
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
S1= The scores of the first administration
S2= The scores of the second administration
Mahdi Mahdavinia & Maryam Molavizadeh: On the Relationship between Impulsivity/Reflectivity Cognitive Style and the
Use of Idioms in Composition Writing Among Iranian Advanced EFL Learners
55 | E L T V o i c e s – I n d i a ( V o l . 3 I s s u e 1 ) | F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 3 | I S S N 2 2 3 0 - 9 1 3 6
Table.3.8. The correlation between the first and the second administrations of group 2- low
impulsive participants.
Correlations
S1 S2
S1 Pearson Correlation 1 .642**
Sig. (2-tailed) .004
N 18 18
S2 Pearson Correlation .642** 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .004 N 18 18
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
S1= The scores of the first administration
S2= The scores of the second administration
As each set of scores showed high positive correlation, the mean of two administration scores
of each group was the ultimate score of the participants, as shown in table.3.9., and
table.3.10.
Table 3.9. The ultimate composition scores of group 1- high impulsive participants.
The Ultimate
Composition
Scores
IVE Test TOEFL
Test
Subjects
7 49 82 1
9 50 81 2
4 51 81 3
6 24 80 4
9 38 80 5
8 29 79 6
8 53 79 7
3 27 78 8
5 33 77 9
4 45 77 10
6 34 77 11
7 33 75 12
5 27 75 13
7 46 75 14
9 25 75 15
6 47 73 16
4 28 73 17
8 27 72 18
Mahdi Mahdavinia & Maryam Molavizadeh: On the Relationship between Impulsivity/Reflectivity Cognitive Style and the
Use of Idioms in Composition Writing Among Iranian Advanced EFL Learners
56 | E L T V o i c e s – I n d i a ( V o l . 3 I s s u e 1 ) | F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 3 | I S S N 2 2 3 0 - 9 1 3 6
3 33 69 19
6 36 67 20
5 54 67 21
8 37 66 22
Table 3.10. The ultimate composition scores of group 2- low impulsive participants.
The Ultimate
Composition
Scores
IVE Test TOEFL
Test
Subjects
16 86 82 1
16 73 82 2
14 63 80 3
13 83 80 4
15 81 80 5
14 68 79 6
12 67 78 7
14 71 77 8
14 67 76 9
14 82 75 10
15 85 74 11
13 60 73 12
11 81 73 13
14 64 72 14
16 69 71 15
12 79 70 16
11 73 70 17
14 72 66 18
4. Results and Discussion
Table 4.1. demonstrates the means and standard deviations of group 1 and group 2. Figure
4.1. in which the means comparison between two groups is depicted, follows the table.
Table.4.1. Means and standard deviations of group 1 & group 2 of the study
Std. Deviation Mean Material
Group 2 Group 1 Group 2 Group 1
1.92 1.55 6.23 13.78 The
Composition
Scores
Group 1= High impulsive participants. N=22
Mahdi Mahdavinia & Maryam Molavizadeh: On the Relationship between Impulsivity/Reflectivity Cognitive Style and the
Use of Idioms in Composition Writing Among Iranian Advanced EFL Learners
57 | E L T V o i c e s – I n d i a ( V o l . 3 I s s u e 1 ) | F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 3 | I S S N 2 2 3 0 - 9 1 3 6
Group 2= Low impulsive participants. N=18
Figure 4.1. The means of group 1 & group 2 of the study
An independent sample t-test was run in order to compare the means of two groups of the
study in order to test the null hypothesis which was “High impulsivity/Low impulsivity
cognitive style has no significant relationship with Iranian advanced EFL learners’ use of
idioms in writing compositions”. The result is shown in table 4.2.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Group 1 Group 2
The Composition Score
Mahdi Mahdavinia & Maryam Molavizadeh: On the Relationship between Impulsivity/Reflectivity Cognitive Style and the
Use of Idioms in Composition Writing Among Iranian Advanced EFL Learners
58 | E L T V o i c e s – I n d i a ( V o l . 3 I s s u e 1 ) | F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 3 | I S S N 2 2 3 0 - 9 1 3 6
Table.4.2. Independent Samples t-test for the ultimate scores of group 1 & group 2.
Independent Samples Test
Levene's Test
for Equality
of Variances t-test for Equality of Means
F Sig. t df
Sig.
(2-tailed)
Mean
Differenc
e
Std. Error
Difference
95% Confidence
Interval of the
Difference
Lower Upper
Q
1
Equal
variances
assumed
1.87
1
.179 -
13.426
38 .000 -7.551 .562 -8.689 -6.412
Equal
variances
not
assumed
-
13.719
37.9
98
.000 -7.551 .555 -8.665 -6.436
Based on the result, t-test for equality of means shows that whether equal variances are
assumed or not, in both conditions sig= .000 which is less than 0.05, so the null hypothesis
“High impulsivity/Low impulsivity cognitive style has no significant relationship with
Iranian advanced EFL learners’ use of idioms in writing compositions” is rejected meaning
that there actually is a relationship. Besides, taking the confidence interval of the difference
double ensured us of the same conclusion, given that there is no 0 between -8.665 and -6.436.
It further verifies the fact that means are not equal and therefore the previously stated null
hypothesis is rejected.
5. Conclusions and Implications
The outcome of the presented study related to the research question revealed that in high
Impulsive group there was a negative directional relationship between I/R cognitive style and
the learners' use of idioms in writing composition. Also the obtained result delineated that in
low Impulsive (Reflective) group there was a positive directional relationship between I/R
cognitive style and the learners' use of idioms in writing composition.
Mahdi Mahdavinia & Maryam Molavizadeh: On the Relationship between Impulsivity/Reflectivity Cognitive Style and the
Use of Idioms in Composition Writing Among Iranian Advanced EFL Learners
59 | E L T V o i c e s – I n d i a ( V o l . 3 I s s u e 1 ) | F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 3 | I S S N 2 2 3 0 - 9 1 3 6
Findings reported in this study pertain to the effect of cognitive styleon use of idioms in
writing composition. The researchers believe that utmost implication of this study may also
be of great value for syllabus designers, material developers, and educational managers, when
preparing and designingwriting materials. In other words, they should take the learner into
account at every stage of designing a syllabus, all the learner’s affective and cognitive
factors. The course designers then can produce an integrated series of teaching and learning
experiences. This is consistent with findings by Schunk (1989, cited in Chularut and
Debacker, 2004) that students who believed they were learning a useful strategy had tendency
to feel efficacious about improving their writing.
References
Block, J., Block, J. H., & Harrington, D. M. (1974). Some misgivings about the Matching
Familiar Figures Test as a measure of reflection-impulsivity. Developmental Psychology, 10,
611–632
Brown, H.D. (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching ( 4th
ed.).New York:
Pearson Education.
Buchwald, A. (2000). Don’t say ‘let’s get together’ to a foreigner. In S. K. Cohen(Ed.),
Building reading fluency: Words in focus (pp. 104-105). Singapore: Thomas Learning.
Chapelle, C., & Cheryl, R. (1984). Ambiguity tolerance and field independence as predictors
of proficiency in English as a second language. Language Learning 36,7-45.
Chularut, P., & DeBacker, T. K. (2004). The influence of concept mapping on achievement,
self-regulation, and self-efficacy in students of English as a second language. Contemporary
Educational Psychology, 29, 284-263.
Cooper, T. C. (1999). Processing of idioms by L2 learners of English. TESOL Quarterly, 33,
233-262.
Ellis, R. (2003). The study of second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Eysenck, H. (1990). Biological dimensions of personality. In L. A. Pervin (Ed.), Handbook of
personality: Theory and research (pp. 244–276). New York: Guilford.
Mahdi Mahdavinia & Maryam Molavizadeh: On the Relationship between Impulsivity/Reflectivity Cognitive Style and the
Use of Idioms in Composition Writing Among Iranian Advanced EFL Learners
60 | E L T V o i c e s – I n d i a ( V o l . 3 I s s u e 1 ) | F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 3 | I S S N 2 2 3 0 - 9 1 3 6
French, N., & Rhoder, C. (1992).Teaching thinking skills. Garland Publication, INC, NY,
USA, 238.
Jamieson, J. (1992). The cognitive style of reflection/ impulsivity & field independence &
ESL success. Modern Language Journal, 76, 491-501.
Kagan, J. (1965). Reflection-impulsivity and reading ability in primary grade children. Child
Development, 37,583-594.
Kogan, N. (1981). La psicología en la práctica educativa. Mexico: Trillas.
Krashen, S. D. (1975). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Oxford:
Pergamum Press.
Messer, S.B. (1976). Reflection-impulsivity: a review. Psychological Bulletin. 83, 1026-
1052.
Oxford, R. (1989). The role of styles and strategies in second language learning. Eric Digest:
Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics, 1, 39-48.
Salimi, E. (2001). On the relationship between impulsivity-reflectivity cognitive style and
performance in Tmu English proficiency test. Unpublished Master dissertation, TMUIran,
Iran
Salkind, N. J., & Wright, J. (1977). The development of reflection: Impulsivity and cognitive
efficiency. Human Development 20, 377-387
Zelinker, L., & Jeffrey, S. (1976). Interlanguage. International Review of Applied Linguistics,
10(2), 201-223.
Mahdi Mahdavinia & Maryam Molavizadeh: On the Relationship between Impulsivity/Reflectivity Cognitive Style and the
Use of Idioms in Composition Writing Among Iranian Advanced EFL Learners
61 | E L T V o i c e s – I n d i a ( V o l . 3 I s s u e 1 ) | F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 3 | I S S N 2 2 3 0 - 9 1 3 6
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Mahdi Mahdavinia is a scholar activist with a Ph.D. in education (Curriculum Studies) from
the University of Toronto in Ontario (OISE/UT), Canada, where he carried research and did
his doctoral dissertation in the field of holistic education and its operation in Iran. He is a
Professor of English at the University of Azad, South Tehran Branch. Dr. Mahdavinia’s
research interest centers on holistic education and language learning. His current research is
on holistic education and curriculum development.
Maryam Molavizadeh is an M.A. graduate student in TEFL from South Tehran Branch of
Islamic Azad University. She has recently finished her M.A. studies at the above mentioned
university. She has been teaching English for 5 years in qualified English institutes.