Personality types and traits, language acquisition and learning,second language learning, Psychology factors at students learning performance.

1. University: South East European
University
Faculty: Languages, Cultures and
Communications
POSTGRADATE STUDIES – SECOND
CYCLE
Thesis: ‘’Personality characteristics and second
language learning’’
Name: Lida Berisha

2. Chapter 1: Introduction
• Personality is ‘’I’’ , we get a good idea of what
personality is by listening to what we say
when we use’’ I ‘’.

3. • When you say I, you are, in effect, summing
up everything about yourself - your likes and
dislikes, fears and virtues, strengths and
weaknesses. The word I is what defined you
as an individual, as a person separate from
all others.”
• Adams (1954, cited in Schultz & Schultz,
1994)

4. • Personality is not the mask we wear; nor
is it simply behavior. It refers to the
person behind the facade, the organism
behind the action’’
Allport( 1961)

5. Development of personality

6. • Classroom is mixed personality room.
• When learning a second language some students make
rapid progress while some of the students make slow
progress.

7. Chapter 2: Literature review
• A trait is what we call a characteristic way in which
an individual perceives, feels, believes , or acts.

8. • Universal trait theory British psychologist Hans
Eysenck developed a model of personality based
upon just three universal traits were sufficient to
describe human personality.
• Introversion-Extroversion
• Emotional Stability
• Psychoticism
• Santroc(1997)

9. •
• Introversion/Extroversion:
• An introverted person is quite unsociable, passive and
careful
• An extroverted person is active, optimistic, sociable
and outgoing.

10. • 2. Emotional Stability:
• A stable person is calm, even tempered, carefree,
and has leadership possibilities;
• An unstable person is moody, anxious, restless,
and touchy.
• 3. Psychoticism: Individuals who are high on this
trait tend to have difficulty dealing with reality and
may be antisocial, hostile, non-empathetic and
manipulative.

11. • Jung believed that every individual can posses
both extrovert and introvert attitude.
• According to Freud the mind can be divided into
two main parts: • The conscious mind includes
everything that we are aware of.
• The unconscious mind is a reservoir of feelings,
thoughts, urges, and memories that outside of our
conscious awareness. Most of the contents of the
unconscious are unacceptable or unpleasant, such
as feelings of pain, anxiety, or conflict.

12. Chapter 3: Methodology
• Research aim was to analyze students
personality type , their success and performance
in L2.
• Analyze the way student’s personality differs in
L1 and L2 classes.
• This research is the combination of two methods
: qualitative and quantitative.

13. 3.2 Research questions
1) Is students personality related to student’s
success?
2) Which personality trait prevents their success in
L2?
3) What kind of impact the teacher has at their
student’s personality and their success in
second language learning?

14. 3.3 Hypothesis
• Student’s personality is related to students
success.
• Students that are quite, passive, reserved,
anxious and shy do not show great success in L2.
• Teacher plays an important role in the class and
he is a model that makes his students learn a
language.

15. Chapter 4: Data Analysis
• Two instruments that were used for this research
are:
• Questionnaire and Observation
4.1 The aim of the Observation was to identify students
success and their personality characteristic in L2 and L1
classes.
• Student’s motivation in L2 classes.
• Teachers influence in the class.
• Teachers work with mixed personality classes.

16. Time 1 Time 2 Time 3 Time 4
Introverts in the
class
X X X
Extroverts in the
class
X X X
Motivation in the
class
X X
Anxious students
talking
X X
Teachers
comments
X X X X
Students interest
in lesson
X X
Mistakes and
feedback
X
Weak students
participation
Table 1. Observation checklist for first class in English language( L2)

17. Time 1 Time 2 Time 3 Time 4
Introverts in the
class
X X
Extroverts in the
class
X X X
Motivation in the
class
X X X
Anxious students
talking
X
Teachers
comments
X
Students interest
in lesson
X
Mistakes and
feedback
Weak students
participation
X X
Table 4: Observation checklist for second class in L1.

18. 4.2 Questionnaires main goal was to:
• Find out students personality characteristics and
success.
• Find out difficulties that students face when learning a
second language.
• Find out what’s their role in the first language classes
and second language classes.
• Questionnaires results are divided in 4 parts:
Male students with high grades: 4(very good) and 5
(excellence)
Female students with high grades: 4(very good) and 5
(excellence)
Female students with low grades: 3(good) 2 (satisfactory)
and 1(acceptable)
Male students with low grades: 3(good) 2 (satisfactory)
and 1(acceptable)

19. 4.2.1 Male students with high grades in L2

20. 4.2.2 Female students with high grades in L2

21. 4.2.3 Male students with low grades in L2

22. 4.2.4 Female students with low grades in L2

23. Conclusion
• Environment plays an important role in Students
personality.
• Personality can be shaped.
• Students posses elements from both extravert
and introverts.
• Students with high grades in L2 are ambitious,
assertive, self confident, self supporting, friendly,
relaxed and sometimes anxious.

24. • Male students with low grades are anxious ,
nervous and afraid of mistakes in L2 classes. They
believe that they are intelligent to learn a
language but they don’t want to.
• Female students with low grades have a lack of
confidence, they care what others think of them,
they are worried, shy , calm and reserved.

25. • Analysis shows that students with low grades and
high grades believe that teacher is the main role in
the class and teacher is who motivates them to
learn a second language.
• Students with low opinion of themselves have a
lack of success. The environment and other people
make these students feel worried, insecure,
anxious and unsure. By comparing other students
with themselves and thinking that other
classmates are better than them, they feel pressure
and anxiety . As a result of this they make slow
progress.

27. • Taken together the results of this study. This
study shows that people personality is shaped by
the environment. The students feel better in L1
classes just because they are not anxious and are
not afraid of mistakes and other opinions.
Students showed that teacher is who makes
them self-confident. A teacher is who creates a
warm environment and make students feel good
in the class.