The Relationship between Thinking Styles and Metacognitive Awareness among Iranian EFL Learners

Abstract

Throughout the recent decades, within the realm of educational psychology, learners' thinking styles and metacognitive awareness as influential factors on learning and thinking have received considerable attention. The present study explored the relationship between thinking styles and metacognitive awareness of Iranian EFL university students majoring in English Literature, English Translation, and English Language Teaching. In addition, the study pursued whether thinking styles could act as the predictors of metacognition. Thinking Styles Inventory (TSI) and Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) were administered at 100 Iranian senior undergraduate EFL students at the University of Sistan and Baluchestan and Islamic Azad University of Zahedan. The reliability of TSI and MAI was confirmed, and the analysis of data through Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient indicated that functions and levels of thinking styles were positively correlated with metacognitive awareness. Moreover, significant positive correlations were found between hierarchical, anarchic, and external styles and metacognitive awareness. However, results manifested no significant relationship between monarchic, oligarchic, and conservative styles and metacognitive awareness. The analysis of data also showed positive and significant ISSN 1948-5425 2012 www.macrothink.org/ijl 722 relationship between the two scopes of thinking styles, namely internal and external, and knowledge of cognition as one of the components of metacognition, whereas merely external style was positively and significantly correlated with the other component of metacognition called regulation of cognition. Furthermore, regression analysis suggested that executive, hierarchical, and conservative styles could predict metacognition. International Journal of Linguistics

Thinking styles in occupational therapy students

“…Zhang (2010) stated that legislative, hierarchical and liberal thinking styles correlated with metacognition in Chinese university students. Heidari and Bahrami (2012) highlighted that the conservative, executive, and hierarchical thinking styles predicted metacognition in Iranian English as a foreign language learner. Braojos (2013) noted that the legislative and judicial thinking styles contributed to metacognition in college students.…”

“…There may be many reasons why the study findings are different. The first of these reasons may be the difference in gender distribution in the studies (Female: 55%, 65%, 78%, 81.2%, respectively; Braojos, 2013; Heidari & Bahrami, 2012; Sokmen & Kılıc, 2016; Zhang, 2010). Another reason may be grade level or wide range of ages of participants (only first‐ and fourth‐grade level, not indicated range of ages; not indicated grade level, ages ranged from 17 to 31 years; only fourth‐grade level, not indicated range of ages; only fourth‐grade level, ages ranged from 20 to 41 years, respectively; Braojos, 2013; Heidari & Bahrami, 2012; Sokmen & Kılıc, 2016; Zhang, 2010).…”

“…The first of these reasons may be the difference in gender distribution in the studies (Female: 55%, 65%, 78%, 81.2%, respectively; Braojos, 2013; Heidari & Bahrami, 2012; Sokmen & Kılıc, 2016; Zhang, 2010). Another reason may be grade level or wide range of ages of participants (only first‐ and fourth‐grade level, not indicated range of ages; not indicated grade level, ages ranged from 17 to 31 years; only fourth‐grade level, not indicated range of ages; only fourth‐grade level, ages ranged from 20 to 41 years, respectively; Braojos, 2013; Heidari & Bahrami, 2012; Sokmen & Kılıc, 2016; Zhang, 2010). The other factor may be educational background of participants (not indicated; faculty of education, business and arts; English translation, English literature, and English teaching; psychopedagogy, respectively; Braojos, 2013; Heidari & Bahrami, 2012; Sokmen & Kılıc, 2016; Zhang, 2010).…”

Looking at the Link between Thinking Style and Reading Comprehension: A Case of Indonesian EFL Students at One Madrasah in Palembang, South Sumatera, Indonesia

“…Sternberg (1997) defines the thinking styles as different techniques used by the people in processing the data. Thinking style does not denote the ability, it shows the way people use their abilities Thinking styles are different from the intelligence; intelligence refers to the individual potentials and abilities; however, thinking styles Available online at http://jurnal.radenfatah.ac.id/index.php/tadib refers to the individual preferences (Heiderie, 2012) define thinking styles correspond to the preferred manner of utilizing one's own abilities. Sternberg (1997) and Zhang (2004) proposed a theory of thinking styles termed the theory of mental self-government.…”

“…Internal style, according to Heiderie (2012), internal thinkers perform different activities independently. Fouladi and Shahidi (2016) argue this style tend to work alone, rely on their own world.…”