1. The relationship between extroverted-introverted
and English proficiency among Applied Foreign
Language students at Chaoyang University
Presenter: Patty Tsai
Instructor: Dr. Teresa Hsu
Date: 2013. 01. 07

2. Table of contents
Introduction
Literature review
Methodology
2

3. Introduction
3

4. Background
The classroom in Taiwan where English is learned as a
foreign language (EFL), with the amount of
approximately 45 students and only one teacher, it is not
easy for teachers to notice the relationship between
every student’s personality type and their English
performance.
4

5. Purpose
The purpose of this study attempts to probe
into the relationship between extroversion-
introversion and students’ English proficiency
in Taiwan.
5

6. Research questions
1. Do English high intermediate level students with
extroverted personality type perform better on their
TOEIC tests than introverts?
1. Do the extroverts and introverts use the similar
learning strategies when learning a second language?
6

7. Significance
To provide an “empirical research” into the
scarcity of information on Taiwanese English
major students’ individual differences and their
English proficiency.
7

8. LITERATURE REVIEW
8

9. What is personality?
 Personality is the type of person you are, which is shown
by the way you behave, feel and think.
(Sharma, 2008)
Personality is defined as the sum total of our mental,
emotional, social and physical characteristics that
distinguishes us from others. They are what make us the
unique person we are.
(Yusoff, Rahim, & Esa, 2010)
9

10. Definitions of personality types
 Extraversion- This trait includes characteristics such as excitability, sociability,
talkativeness, assertiveness and high amounts of emotional expressiveness.
 Agreeableness- This personality dimension includes attributes such as trust,
altruism, kindness, affection, and other prosocial behaviors.
 Conscientiousness: Common features of this dimension include high levels of
thoughtfulness, with good impulse control and goal-directed behaviors. Those high
in conscientiousness tend to be organized and mindful of details.
 Neuroticism: Individuals high in this trait tend to experience emotional instability,
anxiety, moodiness, irritability, and sadness.
 Openness: This trait features characteristics such as imagination and insight, and
those high in this trait also tend to have a broad range of interests.
(Fiske et al., 1949)
10

11. The notion of extroversion and
introversion
Extroverts are always regarded as “life of the party” person;
in contrast, introverts are thought of as quite and reserved,
with tendencies toward reclusiveness. Unfortunately, these
stereotypes have influenced teacher’s perceptions of
students, e.g., teachers always admire the talkative,
outgoing students who participates freely in class
discussions, rather than introverts who are sometimes
thought of not being smart.
(Brown, 1994)
11

12. Extroverted-introverted vs. English proficiency
Many SLA theorists claimed that extroverts are the better
language learners.
(Shahila & Meenakshi, 2012)
Introverts actually have higher English proficiency than
the extroverted learners, which is not what she expected.
(Busch, 1982)
12

13. Gap
Even there were some SLA researchers focused
on students’ English proficiency and
extroversion-introversion factors, e.g., Busch’s
study; still, there were very few research
conducted in Asian, especially in Taiwan.
13

14. Hypothesis
H1:
Different personality types of learners especially
extroversive learners can get higher scores on TOEIC
test.
H2:
Different personality types of learners especially
extroversive learners use better learning strategies than
introverts.
14

15. METHODOLOGY
15

16. Methodology
16

17. MBTI questionnaire
Version 1 Version 2 Version 3
93 items 66 items 28 items
17

18. Demographics
18

19. Procedure
19

20. Thank you
for listening!
20