Examining the effects of two cognitive styles (field dependence vs. field independence) on learners’ mobile-assisted vocabulary acquisition

Learners with different cognitive styles (here, field dependence vs. field independence) may learn second language vocabulary differently in different vocabulary learning settings. Although cognitive style has been widely studied in second language research, little is known about how field dependence/independence affects learners’ vocabulary acquisition in a mobile-assisted learning setting. One approach to solve this problem is to investigate the possible effect(s) of field dependence/independence on learners’ short-term vocabulary recall in a mobile-assisted vocabulary acquisition setting (here, Memrise). To investigate such effect(s), this study adopted a pretest-posttest design involving 147 intermediate-level learners of English as a second language. Using the Group Embedded Figures Test, participants were divided into two groups: field dependent and field independent learners. For 4 weeks, both groups practiced and reinforced a set of English vocabulary, selected from the Vocabulary Level Test, through Memrise flashcards. Our findings reveal a post-intervention improvement among both field-dependent and field-independent learners, but with field-independent learners slightly outperforming their counterparts in the short-term recall of the vocabulary. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.