CONAPLIN JOURNAL Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, Vol. I No. 1 (July 2011) 73 COGNITIVE STYLE AND EFL LEARNERS’ LISTENING COMPREHENSION ABILITY Mandana Yousefi 1 Islamic Azad University email: m_yusefi@yahoo.com Abstract: The current study aimed to investigate whether, and to what extent, there is a relationship between field independence/dependence cognitive styles and Iranian EFL learners' listening comprehension ability. For this purpose, a sample population of 131 subjects was randomly selected. A battery of tests including: a) the Group Embedded Figures Test (1971), b) the TOFEL listening test (1995), c) the listening task preference questionnaire, and d) the Michigan ECPE test (1996) were administered. The data analysis showed that the correlation between the TOFEL and the GEFT scores for FD learners (both males and females) was significant(r =0.70), and higher scores on the GEFT led to an increase in the FD learners’ TOFEL scores. Conducting one-way and two-way ANOVAs, it was suggested that while there was a relationship between cognitive style and listening comprehension (F= 18.02) and no relationship between sex and listening comprehension (F=0.267), the interactional effect was significant (f = 7.03). Therefore, sex can be regarded as a source of performance difference in listening comprehension but not by itself and it seems that the interaction of sex and cognitive style can have a stronger effect on this skill. Regarding the learners’ preference toward the different parts of the TOEFL listening section, most learners favored the short conversations, informal assessment, and one item/one conversation; however, the FI ones did better on the longer conversations of the second and the third parts of the TOEFL Listening test. Keywords: Cognitive style, Field dependence, Field independence, Listening Comprehension Abstrak: Studi ini bertujuan untuk menginvestigasi apakah ada hubungan antara karakteristik kognitif mandiri/tidak mandiri dengan kemampuan menyimak pemelajar Iran yang mempelajari bahasa Inggris sebagai bahasa asing . Untuk tujuan ini, sampel dari populasi 131 subjek dipillih secara acak. Serangkaian tes dipakai dalam studi ini, antara lain: a) the Group Embedded Figures Test (1971), b) the TOEFL listening test (1995), c) the listening task preference questionnaire, and d) the Michigan ECPE test (1996). Hasil analisis data menunjukkan bahwa korelasi antara skor TOEFL dan GEFT pemelajar yang tidak mandiri (laki-laki dan perempuan) adalah signifikan (r = 0.70), dan skor GEFT tertinggi berdampak pada peningkatan skor TOEFL pemelajar yang tidak mandiri. Dari hasil tes ANOVA satu dan dua arah, diketahui bahwa walaupun terdapat hubungan antara karakteristik kognitif dengan kemampuan menyimak (F = 18.02) dan tidak ada hubungan antara jenis kelamin dengan kemampuan menyimak (F = 0.267), diketahui bahwa efek interaksinya siginifi kan (F = 7.03). Oleh sebab itu, jenis kelamin dapat dianggap sebagai sumber adanya perbedaan performa pada kemampuan menyimak dan tampaknya interaksi antar jenis kelamin dan karakteristik kognitif yang berbeda dapat memberikan dampak 1 Mandana Yousefi is a faculty member of Islamic Azad University-Quchan Branch, Mashhad, Iran.