the relationship between field-related cognitive styles and global reading comprehension of hypertext

this study investigates the relationship between field-related cognitive styles and global reading comprehension of hypertext. technically, field dependency is prevailing dominance of field on perception of parts, while global comprehension is skim-like reading to grasp the general content. in this research project, 60 senior and junior students of arak university majoring in english literature and translation participated in three intact groups. group embedded figures test (geft) was administered to determine the extent of field dependency. next, they were asked to complete reading module of ielts to determine their reading proficiency. participants gpa and computer literacy were compiled by self-report questionnaires. hypertext summarization test was conducted while participants were exploring and reading a hypertext webpage, in computer laboratory. data analysis consisted of two-way anova and pearson correlation coefficient, and results revealed no significant interaction between field dependency/ independency (fd/i) and hypertext global reading comprehension (grc). therefore, it was concluded that hypertext is unbiased concerning fd/i for this type of reading. hence, it will not necessarily, as previously expected, lead to disorientation, cognitive overload and poorer comprehension of fd individuals. the implications of the findings for language education are discussed. finally, some tentative suggestions for further research are offered.