COMPARING THE PERFORMANCE OF EXTROVERT AND INTROVERT INTERMEDIATE FEMALE EFL LEARNERS ON LISTENING AND READING TASKS

The present study focused on the difference between English as a foreign language (EFL) introvert and extrovert learners regarding their reading and listening abilities. Instruments for this study included Preliminary English Test (PET), Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI), test of listening tasks (6 kinds of listening tasks, 80 items), test of reading tasks (8 kinds of reading tasks, 60 items). The study was conducted on 150 intermediate female EFL learners at Soodeh Language School and Kish Institute who participated and answered a PET test. The 108 homogeneous participants who scored one standard deviation below and above the estimated mean responded to EPI and based on the result of this questionnaire, they were divided into two groups of extroverts and introverts. Then both groups took the same test of listening and reading tasks and their results were compared. Finally, to observe whether or not there were any significant differences between the two groups in terms of performing reading and listening tasks, an independent t-test and a Mann-Whitney U test were run as the assumptions for a MANOVA were violated. The results indicated that introverts perform significantly better in listening tasks than extroverts. But in reading section there was no significant difference between the two groups of students.