The relationship of extraversion and openness with English speaking ability among tenth-grade EFL students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24036/jelt.v15i2.93Keywords:
extraversion, openness to experience, speaking ability, EFL, big five personalityAbstract
Speaking ability is a key skill in EFL learning, and its development is influenced not only by linguistic factors but also by individual personality traits. This study aimed to examine the relationship between extraversion and openness to experience with English speaking ability among tenth-grade EFL students at SMAN 2 Pariaman. A quantitative correlational design was employed, involving 187 tenth-grade students selected through total sampling in the academic year 2025/2026. Data were collected using the Big Five Inventory (BFI-44) questionnaire to measure students' extraversion and openness to experience. Students' English speaking scores were obtained from the English teacher's assessment records covering grammar, vocabulary, fluency, pronunciation, and comprehension. Data were analyzed using the Spearman Rank correlation test in SPSS, as the normality test indicated that not all variables were normally distributed. The results showed that the majority of students fell into the moderate category for both extraversion (81.82%) and openness to experience (71.66%), while most students demonstrated very good speaking ability (80.75%). The correlation analysis revealed that there was no significant relationship between extraversion and speaking ability (r = 0.066, p = 0.373 > 0.05). In contrast, a significant positive relationship was found between openness to experience and speaking ability (r = 0.271, p = 0.000 < 0.05), though the strength was classified as weak. These findings suggest that openness to experience is a more relevant personality trait in predicting EFL speaking performance at the senior high school level than extraversion.
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