On the Interrelationships among Undergraduate English Foreign Language Learners’ Speaking Ability, Personality Traits, and Learning Styles

Journal of Teaching English Lnaguage Studies

مقاله 4، دوره 6، شماره 3، خرداد 2018، صفحه 65-86   

نویسندگان

Zahra Zohoorian^{* 1}؛ Purya Baghaei²؛ Mahsa Parikari³

¹English Department, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran

²English department, Mashhad branch, Islamic Azad UNiversity, Mashhad, Iran

³English department, Mashhad branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran.

چکیده

The vital role individual differences, such as personality variation, play has long been discussed as the origin of different learning abilities. Accordingly, a cross-sectional survey and a descriptive study was conducted. Data was gathered from a sample of 150 students of both genders (107 females and 43 males) with an age range of 19-22. The translated and validated versions of the Big Five personality traits questionnaire and Kolb’s learning styles inventory were administered. Also, a combination of the three speaking courses scores were considered as the speaking ability. To analyze the data correlational analysis and regression were run. Based on the findings it was concluded that openness turned out to have small and positive unique contribution with speaking ability. Also, there was a negative relationship between extraversion, conscientiousness, and agreeableness factors and speaking ability. Moreover, no significant relationship was found between neuroticism and speaking ability. The results indicated that abstract conceptualization turned out to have a small and positive contribution with speaking ability. On the other hand, active experimentation, reflective observation, and concrete experience had negative relationship with speaking ability. Finally, it was found that the Big Five traits and learning styles explained 23% of variance in speaking ability.

کلیدواژه‌ها

Big five personality traits؛ learning style؛ individual differences؛ speaking ability

مراجع

Bachman, L. F. (1990). Fundamental considerations in language testing. Oxford University
Press.
Brown, D. (2007). Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. California:Pearson ESL.
Chamorrd-Premuzic, T. (2015). Personality and Individual Differences (Vol. 3). United
Kingdom: the British Psychological Society and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Chamorro-Premuzic, T., & Furnham, A. (2005). Personality and intellectual competence.
JOURNAL OF TEACHING ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES, Vol. 6, NO. 3, Wintetr 2018
78
Cobuild, C., & University of Birmingham (GB). (2003). Collins Cobuild advanced learner's
English dictionary. HarperCollinsPublishers.
De Raad, B., & Schouwenburg, H. C. (1996). Personality in learning and education: A
review. European Journal of personality, 10(5), 303-336.
Dornyei, Z. (2005). The psychology of the language learner. US: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates.
Dornyei, Z. (2006). Individual differences in second language acquisition. AILA review, 19
(1), 42-68.
Dornyei, Z. (2009). The psychology of second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Ehrman, M. E., Leaver, B. L., & Oxford, R. L. (2003). A brief overview of individual
differences in second language learning. System, 31(3), 313-330.
Fathi-Ashtiani, A., & Dastani, M. (2009). Psychological tests: Personality and mental
health. Tehran: Besat, 46.
Furnham, A., Chamorro-Premuzic, T., & McDougall, F. (2003). Personality, cognitive
ability, and beliefs about intelligence as predictors of academic
performance. Learning and Individual Differences, 14(1), 47-64.
Furnham, A., & Monsen, J. (2009). Personality traits and intelligence predict academic
school grades. Learning and Individual Differences, 19(1), 28-33.
Ghaffari, R., Ranjbarzadeh, F. S., Azar, E. F., Hassanzadeh, S., Safaei, N., Golanbar, P. ,&
Abbasi, E. (2013). The analysis of learning styles and their relationship to academic
achievement in medical students of basic sciences program. Res Dev Med Educ, 2(2),
73-76.
JOURNAL OF TEACHING ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES, Vol. 6, NO. 3, Wintetr 2018
79
Gibson, J. J. (1977). Perceiving, acting, and knowing: Toward an ecological psychology. The
Theory of Affordances, 67-82.
Hazrati-Viari, A., Rad, A. T., & Torabi, S. S. (2012). The effect of personality traits on
academic performance: The mediating role of academic motivation. Procedia-Social
and Behavioral Sciences, 32, 367-371.
Isaacs, T. (2009). Introverted students in the classroom: How to bring out their
best. Retrieved October, 1, 2009.
Izadi, S. & Admalayi, R. M. (2000). The relationship among students` personality traits,
learning styles, and educational achievement. Jahad Daneshgahi, 1(14), 15-28.
Kolb, D. A. (1985). Learning style inventory. The Power of the 2, 2, 267.
Kolb, L. (1939). Drug addiction as a public health problem. The Scientific Monthly, 48(5),
391-400.
Komarraju, M., Karau, S. J., & Schmeck, R. R. (2009). Role of the Big Five personality traits
in predicting college students' academic motivation and achievement. Learning and
individual differences, 19(1), 47-52.
Lounsbury, J. W., Smith, R. M., Levy, J. J., Leong, F. T., & Gibson, L. W. (2009).
Personality characteristics of business majors as defined by the big five and narrow
personality traits. Journal of Education for Business, 84(4), 200-205.
Mac Crae, R. R. (1992). Neo Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO PI-R). Odessa, FL:
Psychological Assessment Resources.
Nguyen, N. T., Allen, L. C., & Fraccastoro, K. (2005). Personality predicts academic
JOURNAL OF TEACHING ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES, Vol. 6, NO. 3, Wintetr 2018
80
performance: Exploring the moderating role of gender. Journal of Higher Education
Policy and Management, 27(1), 105-117.
Parkes, K. R. (1986). Coping in stressful episodes: The role of individual differences,
environmental factors, and situational characteristics. Journal of personality and
social psychology, 51(6), 1277-1292.
Pawlak, M . (2016). Assessment of language learners’ spoken texts: overview of key issues.
In Chodkiewicz, H., Steinbrich, P., & Krzeminskla-Adamek, M. (Eds.), Working with
text and around text in foreign language environments (pp. 89-108). Switzerland:
Springer International Publishing.
Pervin, L. A., & John, O. P. (2001). Personality: Theory and research (8th Ed.). New York:
John Wiley & Sons.
Rainwater, L. (1956). A study of personality differences between middle and lower class
adolescents: the Szondi test in culture-personality research. Genetic psychology
monographs, 54(1), 3-86.
Revelle, W. (2016). An entry for the Encyclopedia of Psychology. Journal of Individual
Differences. 25, 34.
Rosander, P., Bäckström, M., & Stenberg, G. (2011). Personality traits and general
intelligence as predictors of academic performance: A structural equation modelling
approach. Learning and individual differences, 21(5), 590-596.
White, S. H. (2005). Geographic information systems (GIS) and instructional technology (IT)
diffusion: K–12 student and educator conceptualizations (pp. 1-369).
Zillig, L. M. P., Hemenover, S. H., & Dienstbier, R. A. (2002). What do we assess when we
JOURNAL OF TEACHING ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES, Vol. 6, NO. 3, Wintetr 2018
81
assess a Big 5 trait? A content analysis of the affective, behavioral, and cognitive
processes represented in Big 5 personality inventories. Personality and Social
Psychology Bulletin, 28(6), 847-858.