Much has been written on creativity and its relation with other variables (e.g., Houtz et al., 2003; Plucker et al., 2004; Sternberg, 2007; Zhu & Zhang, 2011). Respecting all these studies, however, one of the intellectual style variables that seems related to creativity and can predict creativity styles is thinking style. The correspondence of creativity and thinking styles can help EFL instructors determine the mind-set of their students, and come to the class with knowledge about their students' abilities, needs, and requirements. Recognizing the complex nature of creativity, on the one hand, and importance of thinking styles reported in the recent survey of research, on the other, has led the researchers to investigate the relationship between thinking styles and creativity styles among 110 Iranian EFL learners in Iran. To measure the participants’ thinking and creativity styles, MSG Thinking Styles Inventory (Sternberg & Wagner, 1991) and Creativity Styles Questionnaire-Revised (Kumar & Holman, 1997) were used. It was found that there are significant correlation coefficients between thinking styles and creativity styles. Results of multiple-regression analysis indicated that 8 out of 13 thinking styles: legislative, progressive, conservative, hierarchical, monarchic, oligarchic, anarchic, and external styles significantly predicted creativity styles. It is suggested that EFL instructors pay due attention to the students’ thinking styles and creativity styles in advance. Findings also suggest that EFL/ESL instructors should treat their students in correspondence with their creativity styles. They need to be aware of the appropriate methods and educational situations which are helpful in fostering creativity and ultimately language learning process.
