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A CORRELATIONAL STUDY: PERSONALITY TYPES and FOREIGN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION in UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS Frank Capellan Southeastern University - Lakeland

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Southeastern University FireScholars College of Education Fall 2017 A CORRELATIONAL STUDY: PERSONALITY TYPES AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION IN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS Frank Capellan Southeastern University - Lakeland Follow this and additional works at: https://firescholars.seu.edu/coe Part of the Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Educational Psychology Commons, First and Second Language Acquisition Commons, and the Higher Education Commons Recommended Citation Capellan, Frank, "A CORRELATIONAL STUDY: PERSONALITY TYPES AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION IN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS" (2017). College of Education. 11. https://firescholars.seu.edu/coe/11 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by FireScholars. It has been accepted for inclusion in College of Education by an authorized administrator of FireScholars. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A CORRELATIONAL STUDY: PERSONALITY TYPES AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION IN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS By FRANK CAPELLAN A doctoral dissertation submitted to the College of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction Southeastern University October, 2017 DEDICATION For Otilia, with everlasting love iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Over the course of my doctoral journey, I have received support and encouragement from a great number of people. I cannot fully express in words my gratitude and indebtedness to all of you for encouraging me on this long, and exhausted journey. I am deeply grateful for my dissertation committee, Dr. Joyce Tardáguila Harth, Dr. Jim Anderson, and Dr. Patricia Coronado Domenge for their incredible guidance, encouragement, and accountability throughout my research, and writing. Your counsel throughout the study process exemplified the spirit of the learning journey. I am a better scholar because of it. Thank you to Professor Jason Old for his willingness to help collect data. Also, I would like to thank Kiwanis Burr, and Conner McDonough for their assistance in editing the discussion chapter of the study. I would also like to give special thanks to my academic advisor, Dr. Patty LeBlanc, for her incredible assistance and academic guidance throughout this journey. Thank you to my fellow doctoral students for your support, feedback, and friendship. iv ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between personality types and second language acquisition. The study addressed a problem that is inadequately investigated in foreign language acquisition research; specifically, personality traits as predictors of language learning in college students studying Spanish as a foreign language. The researcher conducted one sample t-tests to assess statistically significant differences between mean personality type score and the test value, as well as, a multiple linear regression analysis. A convenient sample of college students (n=52) completed the Neris Personality Type Indicator at the beginning of the course, and took several examinations throughout the semester. Personality traits were correlated with examination grades. The results of the analysis indicated that personality types were not related to second language acquisition. The results of the multiple linear regression analysis were not significant, F (5,46) = 0.39, p = .85, R2 = .04, indicating that the model consisting of the personality types contributed to 4% of the variance in test grade. Because the model was not statistically significant, the researcher did not evaluate the individual predictors. Keywords: college Spanish; personality type; second language acquisition; adult learners. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication………………………………………………………………………………...iii Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………….......iv Abstract……………………………………………………………………………….......v Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………....vi List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………......viii Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................09 Background ............................................................................................................11 Statement of the Problem ......................................................................................12 Significance of the study ………………………………………………………...13 Overview of the Methodology ……………………………………………….….15 Purpose Statement ..................................................................................................18 Research Questions ................................................................................................19 Research Hypotheses .............................................................................................19 Limitations and Delimitations ................................................................................20 Definitions ..............................................................................................................21 II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ..................................................................................23 Language Learning Anxiety ..................................................................................25 Experience with the First Language ......................................................................33 Sensitive Period in Language Acquisition .............................................................40 First Language Acquisition ....................................................................................42 Second Language Acquisition ...............................................................................43 Language Transfer .................................................................................................45 Student Attitude Towards Learning a Foreign Language ......................................49 Language Acquisition Theories .............................................................................53 Personality Type Theory ........................................................................................56 Personality Traits Theory .......................................................................................67 Personality and Language Achievement ................................................................71 Summary ................................................................................................................75 vi III. METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................75 General Perspective ...............................................................................................75 Research Context ...................................................................................................78 Research Subjects ..................................................................................................78 Instruments Used in Data Collection .....................................................................80 Procedures ..............................................................................................................84 Data Analysis .........................................................................................................87 Summary of the Methodology ...............................................................................89 IV. RESULTS ..............................................................................................................90 Descriptive Statistics ..............................................................................................90 Findings from the Data Analysis ...........................................................................92 Summary ................................................................................................................94 V. DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................96 Findings and Discussion ........................................................................................97 Implications ..........................................................................................................101 Limitations ...........................................................................................................102 Recommendations for Future Research ...............................................................103 Summary ..............................................................................................................105 REFERENCES ..........................................................................................................108 APPENDICES ...........................................................................................................141 Appendix A IRB Approval Form ............................................................................................142 B Voluntary Consent Form .....................................................................................150 C Neris Personality Type Indicator ........................................................................151 D Neris Personality Typescripts .............................................................................159 E Liker Scale Survey ..............................................................................................160 vii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1.................................................................................................................................59
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