The Effects of Cognitive Styles on Problem Solving in the Context of English Logics

Abstract

To help learners improve logical abilities in English writing, we designed an Academic English Logic Training System (AELTS), where learners developed the understanding of English logic of academic writing via a problem-solving process. Furthermore, an empirical study was conduct to investigate how cognitive styles (i.e., Holists vs. Serilists) affects learners’ reactions to the AELTS during the problem-solving process. The results indicated that Holists significantly obtained higher post-test scores than Serialists but no significant differences were found for task scores. This might be because Holists preferred to use hints to understand the meaning of sentences while Serialists tended to guess the answers by themselves. Furthermore, they also demonstrated different learning behaviors, which corresponded to their characteristics. More specifically, Holists preferred to jump between different objects while Serialists showed a sequential pattern. In summary, the findings from this study contribute the understandings of the development of