The influence of introversion in the English language classroom: Improving students’ participation and speaking activities

Abstract

[eng] It has been generally recognized that speaking skills are one of the most challenging and necessary skills in order to acquire a L2. For this reason, students tend to experience many difficulties while practicing language orally such as inhibition, language difficulties, L1 interference and others. Moreover, it is a frequent phenomenon that language learners acquire a language at different paces, even if their learning conditions are the same. This is due to various factors that influence learners when learning an L2, one of them being personality. Many linguists have been investigating the impact of extraversion and introversion on learning and ultimately acquiring a language. Even though it is believed that being sociable, outgoing and talkative are features that stimulate language acquisition, few conclusive results are generated from these studies about language acquisition success. The main objective of this thesis is to draw attention to introverts in the educational field, because it is a trait people often forget and disparage, but in fact it should be considered as valuable as other more outgoing personalities. I will start describing benefits and problems of practising speaking and then, I will mention more concrete theories on different factors that influence oral productions. However, the focus is on the factor of personality, specially introverted personalities. Through a questionnaire and interviews with 30 English language students from the IES S’Arenal High School, the thesis will investigate factors that affect specifically students aged 14-16 in Mallorca. Finally, the paper will proceed to give practical suggestions on how teachers can help EFL introverted learners to enhance their oral skill. Additionally, four speaking activities will be proposed which are adjusted to introverted personalities. With this thesis, teachers will then obtain valuable suggestions on how to cope with introverts and sometimes shy students. The speaking activities proposed are designed to enhance introverts’ speaking production while at the same time make them feel comfortable by speaking in class.