Glossary & New Concepts

Style Strategies Process cognitive style. Field dependence A field independent (FI) style Field dependent (FD) style communication strategies learning strategies

is a term that refers to consistent and rather enduring tendencies or preferences within an individual. are specific methods of approaching a problem or task, modes of operation for achieving a particular end, planned designs for con­trolling and manipulating certain information. characteristic of every human being. The way we learn things in general and the way we attack a problem seem to hinge on a rather amorphous link between personality and cogni­tion. is, con­versely, the tendency to be "dependent" on the total field so that the parts embedded within the field are not easily perceived, although that total field is perceived more clearly as a unified whole. enables you to distinguish parts from a whole, to concentrate on something (like reading a book in a noisy train station), to analyze separate variables without the contamination of neigh­boring variables. has positive effects: you perceive the whole picture, the larger view, the general configuration of a problem or idea or event. pertain to the employment of verbal or nonverbal mechanisms for the productive com­munication of information. deal with the receptive domain of intake, memory, storage, and recall

Topics & Questions for Study and Discussion

Note: Items listed below are coded for either individual (I) work, group/pair (G) work, or whole-class (C) discussion, as suggestions to the instructor on how to incorporate the topics and (Q) questions into a class session.

1. (I) In order to make sure you understand the continuum of process, style, and strategy, make a list of some of the universal processes you have read in previous chapters, then a list of styles and strategies from this chapter. How do they differ?

2. (G) In a small group, share what each of you perceives to be your more dominant cognitive style along the continua presented here: FI/D, right/left brain, ambiguity tolerance, reflective/impulsive, and visual/audi­tory. Talk about examples of how you manifest those styles both in your approach in general to problems and in your approach to SLA.

3. (I) Look at the list of differences between right- and left-brain pro­cessing in Illustration-2. Check or circle the side that corre­sponds to your own preference, and total the items on each side. Are you right- or left-brain dominant? Does this result match your general perception of yourself?

4. (G) Form five groups, with one of the five cognitive styles assigned to each group. Each group will list the types of activities or techniques in foreign language classes that illustrate its style. Then, decide which list of activities is better for what kinds of purposes. Share the results with the rest of the class.

5. (L) Someone once claimed that FD is related to farsightedness. That is, farsighted people tend to be more FD, and vice versa. If that is true, how would you theoretically justify such a finding?

6. (C) Look at the list of "good language learner" characteristics as enumerated by Rubin and Thompson. Which ones seem the most important? Which the least? Would you be able to add some items to this list, from your own or others' experiences?

7. (C) Discuss any instances in which you have used any of the thirteen communication strategies listed in Illustration-3. Are there some other strategies that you could add?