Study of relation between EFL students' cognitive style and pragmatic competence

Individual difference is one of the important factors affecting the success of learning English as foreign language (EFL). However, very little research has dabbled in the correlation between pragmatic competence and cognitive styles among college students. Two questionnaires (the embedded figure test and the pragmatic competence test) were designed and used to conduct our study among seniors with non-English majors from key universities. The data was analyzed with SPSS 21.0 and results showed that pragmatic competence of the subjects was much lower than expected. Besides, there was a significant and positive correlation between field dependent (FD) cognitive style and inter-language pragmatic competence while no significant correlation was found with field independent (FI). A regression model was also formulated to obtain more specific information. Lastly, some practical advice is offered for teachers to boost students' pragmatic competence in the future with FD/FI cognitive styles into proper consideration.