初探內外向性格、學習策略與英文程度之關聯

A Preliminary Examination of the Relationships among Extroversion-Introversion Personality, Learning Strategies and English Proficiency

此初探性研究檢視大學英語系學生之內外向性格、學習策略、與英文程度之間的關聯。學者曾指出，學習者的性格影響其第二語之熟練程度。然而，先前檢視關於學習者性格與第二語熟練程度關聯的研究，卻呈現不一致的研究結果。另有研究指出，學習者第二語的熟練程度與其學習策略較有關聯，而其學習策略則可能與學習者的性格相關。因此，此項研究檢視了台灣某一大學英語系學生的內外向性格、學習策略、與其英文程度之間是否具有關聯。運用問卷調查的方法，此初探性研究採用修改過的「艾森克人格問卷量表」（Eysenck et al., 1985）以及「語言學習策略量表」（Oxford,1990）進行資料收集。共有五十一位就讀於某科技大學應用英語系之學生參與此初步調查。採集後的資料以敘述性統計、成對樣本t檢定、皮爾森相關、以及多元迴歸進行分析。研究結果顯示，大部分的參與學生認為，相較於內向者，具備外向性格者會是較佳的英語學習者。然而，統計的相關分析結果顯示，參與者的多益成績與其個性之間，並沒有任何顯著關聯，但這些學生的學習策略與其多益成績間卻現呈正相關之關聯。換言之，當參與者使用較多的學習策略，越可能獲得較高的多益成績。此外，學生們所使用的社會策略與後設認知策略分別能夠有效地預測其多益聽力與多益閱讀成績。由於這些參與學生的內外向性格與其多益成績之間並無顯著的相關性，所以在此我們無法斷言，性格外向的學生會是較好的英語學習者。

This pilot study looks into the connections among English-major students' extroversion-introversion personality, learning strategies and English proficiency at a Taiwanese university. Researchers have suggested that second language (L2) learners' personality influences their L2 proficiency. However, previous studies examining the relationship between L2 learners' personality and their L2 proficiency demonstrated inconsistent results. Other studies have shown that learners' L2 proficiency is related to their learning strategies which are associated with their personality. Therefore, the present study investigated whether any relationships exist among Taiwanese students' extroversion-introversion personality, learning strategies and English proficiency or not. Using a survey method, Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised-Short Form (EPQR-S) (Eysenck et al., 1985) and Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) (Oxford, 1990) were adopted for data collection. 51 English-major students at a university of technology in Taiwan participated in the survey. Descriptive statistics, paired-samples t tests, the Pearson product-moment correlation and multiple regression analysis were used for data analysis. The results indicated that most participants believed that extroverts are better English learners than introverts. However, correlation analyses showed there was no significant relationship between the students' personality and TOEIC scores but a positive correlation between their language learning strategies and TOEIC scores. In other words, the more strategies the participants used, the higher the TOEIC scores they were likely to receive. Moreover, the students' use of Social Strategies and Meta-cognitive Strategies served as a better predictor of their TOEIC listening score and reading score respectively. Since no significant relationship was found between the participants' personality and TOEIC scores, no claims can be made that extroverts are better L2 learners than introverts.