I was surprised to read that personality is difficult to test when it comes to second language acquisition. I would have that, without a doubt, being extroverted would make you more apt to being a better second language learner than someone who is introverted. I feel that being anxious is also a part of your personality, so when reading the chapter by Lightbown, I wondered what they considered personality traits and what they didn't count as part of the personality. When reading later on, I saw that motivation and attitude was not a part of personality, so I was confused on what was actually tested. I feel that the reason they found inconclusive evidence was because they were choosy on what they tested and how those tests were related to second language learning.
I really liked watching the movie on Victor. I felt it was crucial for our class to understand the critical period hypothesis. The part that surprised me the most was that Victor learned to comprehend writing and spelling, but had an inability to produce meaningful conversation or any sort of meaningful messages. I wonder how he felt about communication. I wish the video would have shown more about this. I wondered if he was irritated and wanted to produce speech and communicate or if he was indifferent to the idea of communication to a whole. The documentary lead me to believe that he was a little bit of both, but didn't really go into much detail about it.
I also thought that being out-going would be a personality trait that would make one more apt to SLA. It would mean that you would be more willing to participate in classroom activities and discussions and have less inhibitions.
ReplyDeleteI like this Chapter because I am interested in the different learning styles and personality traits of learners. However, like you said, the tests they performed did not seem to include ALL aspects of personality and style. I think it is a very difficult thing to test because its not always something that can be observed and different situations cause students to act and learn differently. It really is quite confusing!
I also would have said that an extroverted person would make a better second language learner. However, I teach at the ELI and I have found that perhaps being introverted and extroverted is a context-based characteristic for some people. I teach a girl who was initially VERY introverted (so it seemed) but also extremely MOTIVATED to learn English. Her motivation was really more important than her personality. She is more comfortable now than she was when she first came because she can speak the language better, but through it all she has been very motivated and one of the best second language learners I have ever met. I think that motivation is absolutely critical, and more important than an introverted or extroverted personality.
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