Language learning aptitude and motivation are said to be the two most telling factors in language learning success. In researching the second edition of The Language Teacher Toolkit, we looked into any possible correlation between aptitude and personality types. As you might imagine, this is a complex area. One or two findings from research might surprise you. This is what we have written.
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It should be noted that the evidence on how different personality types affect language learning is tentative, since personality type classifications used in research vary and because not enough studies have been carried out. Several findings are worth being aware of, however, some of which are counter intuitive. The personality types referred to below are taken from Costa and McCrae’s (1992) ‘Big Five’ model. They generate the acronym OCEAN.
1. Openness to experience. People with high levels of this trait are intellectually curious, independent in their judgment, appreciate beauty and the arts, are in touch with their feelings, love adventure and unusual ideas. Those with low levels are traditional and conservative.
2. Conscientiousness. This denotes thoroughness, punctuality, thoughtfulness and reliability at work. People with this trait prefer planned and structured behaviour to spontaneity and creativity.
3. Extraversion. Highly extraverted people enjoy engaging with the external world, are friendly and warm-hearted, full of energy, enjoy playing and seek stimulation.
4. Agreeableness. This personality trait refers to modesty, compassion, altruism, tendermindedness and honesty. Agreeable individuals are friendly, helpful and usually tend to see the best in people. They appreciate good relationships with others.
5. Neuroticism. Neurotic people are unstable and impulsive who are prone to negative emotions such as anxiety, anger, hostility, resentment and depression. When under stress, they react with fear and irrational behaviour. They are often in a bad mood.
Whether we agree with these categories or not, after reading the above an experienced teacher may be able to predict which factors correlate more strongly with success in language learning. One obvious answer is openness to experience. Why is this important personality trait associated with language learning?
Firstly, it is the factor most strongly linked to intellectual curiosity and flexibility (Biedron, 2011). It goes along with creativity and divergent thinking, which are typical of gifted learners in general. Also, students who are highly ‘open to experience’ are less likely to be critical of a different culture, and, appreciative as they are of art and beauty, more prone to embrace the language of a country with a strong artistic heritage or concerned with aesthetic beauty.
Another factor that may correlate positively with success in second language learning is conscientiousness, especially in the areas of memory and grammar, and in developing cognitive academic learning ability. This is possibly because conscientious people tend to be more dutiful, hard-working and intrinsically driven to do well in whatever they do. Conscientiousness is said to be the best predictor of the quality of professional activity as well as academic achievement (Strelau, 2000).
Agreeableness seems to be a predictor of success in terms of phonological coding and pronunciation, possibly because highly ‘agreeable’ individuals tend to listen more attentively and may subconsciously try to use their voice to harmonise with fellow humans more effectively. This is called ‘phonetic convergence’ (Lewandowski and Jilka, 2019).
As for extraversion, its correlation with language learning ability appears controversial. On the one hand, extraverts display lower levels of anxiety and engage in more frequent communication and greater risk-taking. They may therefore develop more effective interpersonal skills and better oral fluency (Dewaele and Furnham, 2000). Dewaele (2009) notes that studies have consistently shown that extraverts have a working memory advantage.
On the other hand, research seems to indicate that extraversion correlates negatively with language aptitude. This may seem surprising, but we must bear in mind, as mentioned above, that other factors can offset the advantage or disadvantage a given personality trait naturally gives you. The extravert may be too impatient to wait for L2 skills to be embedded.
The factor that seems to correlate most negatively with language aptitude is neuroticism, owing to the high levels of anxiety a neurotic person experiences. The evidence suggests these have a strong detrimental impact on cognitive processing, focus on tasks, memory and motivation. All this can have important implications for learning, especially for students who may not be identified as potentially gifted in general intelligence but may score highly in terms of ‘openness to experience’. Moreover, if you have spotted a child with neurotic behaviour, it may be useful to adopt specific strategies to minimise the risk of causing them stressful experiences and vice versa.
In sum, if you know your students’ personalities to any degree, you may be able to adjust how you interact with them and the type of tasks you set.
All references will appear in the published book, coming very soon.
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