چكيده
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between EFL learners’ learning styles and their personality types. One-hundred English majors from Rasht Azad University and Payame Noor University of Rasht took part in the study. The participants consisted of 78 females and 22 males. The Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT), which consists of three sections with 25 items, was used to assess the participants’ field dependent/independent (FD/FI) learning styles. In order to complete this test, the participants should find a simple shape that is hidden in a more complex figure and trace it. The Personality Style Inventory (PSI) test was also administered to the participants to assess their personality types. This inventory consists of 32 items each of which includes a pair of sentences. The data obtained from the PSI test showed that the most frequent personality types were ISTJ (introvert, sensing, thinking, judging), ESTJ (extrovert, sensing, thinking, judging), and ESTP (extrovert, sensing, thinking, perceiving) personality types, and the least frequent types were ENFJ (extrovert, intuitive, feeling, judging), and INFJ (introvert, intuitive, feeling, judging). Moreover, the results of the GEFT test showed that 52% of the subjects were of FI learning style type and 48% of them had an FD learning style. The results of Chi-Square test and Fisher’s Exact Test showed that there was no significant relationship between males and females’ learning styles and personality type. Most of the female and male participants preferred an FI and FD learning styles respectively. Moreover, the data revealed that the participants preferred a variety of personality types. The EFL instructors’ awareness of these differences in personality types and learning styles can enable them to create a more dynamic atmosphere in the classroom through designing activities that meet the learning preferences of different types of learners.
