(Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics) Volume 8, No. 2, August 2022 Page. 87-95 p-ISSN: 2356-2048 e-ISSN: 2356-203x 87 THE CORRELATION BETWEEN PERSONALITY AND ENGLISH PROFICIENCY Sri Yuliani1*, Muhammad Novikar Aziz 2 1, 2 University of Muhammadiyah Palembang Correspondence email: Nyimasyuliani71@gmail.com Abstract The objective of this study was “to find out whether or not there is a significant correlation between personality and English proficiency of the eighth-semester students of the English Education Study Program Muhammadiyah University of Palembang”. The data were analyzed by Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient. The value of the correlation between students’ personality and English proficiency (r-obtained = 0.519) was higher than the r-table (0.325) which was significant at 0.005 level (2-tailed). Since the value of r-obtained was higher than r- table, Ho was rejected and Ha was accepted. It means that there was a significant correlation between students’ personalities and English proficiency. Keywords: Correlation, Personality, English Proficiency INTRODUCTION Learning is a process that is both cognitive and social. It is cognitive because it requires paying attention, seeing, thinking, analyzing, interpreting, and finally providing meaning to see occurrences. As we know, there many factors that influence the second language learning process. According to Ellis (2003) cited in Soleimani, Jafarigohar and Ramezani (2013) state that general and personal factors have social, cognitive, and affective aspects. Because people are often assessed based on their personality, it is recognized as a very prominent category of individual differences. Personality is the sum of total behavioral and mental characteristics that are distinctive of an individual (Colamn, 2009). Personality influences the way an individual learns. The students who have extrovert personalities and students who have introvert personalities have different styles and automatically will influence their learning achievement. Students who have extrovert personality tends to focus on the outer world of people, and things, and are energized by interaction with others. They prefer to figure out things while they are talking (Briggs, 2009). They work best in the The Correlation … 88 classroom that allows time for discussion, and talking with a group. Meanwhile, introvert students learn best through quiet, mental reflection. Their attention will naturally flow inward to their thought, idea, and impression. They tend to enjoy reading, lectures, and written over oral work. One of the main tools of measurement to determine students’ proficiency in using the English language in the academic level is TOEFL. In relation to language proficiency, it can be claimed the TOEFL influence the level of language proficiency. The scores obtained by the students on English proficiency test represent the level of their ability in mastering English as it is used in written and spoken activities. Concerning personality types and English proficiency, researcher’s observation to the eighth-semester students of English Education at Muhammadiyah University of Palembang that there were some students had extrovert personalities got high scores on TOEFL, others had introvert personalities got low scores, and vice versa. The objective of this study was to find out: is there any significant correlation between Personality and English Proficiency of the Eight Semester students of the English Education Study Program Muhammadiyah University of Palembang. There were some studies related to this research. The first study is entitled “The Correlation between Extrovert and Introvert Personality of the First Semester Students of English Education Study Program of Sriwijaya University and their Proficiency” written by Pereudi (2012). The objective of the study was to find out the correlation between personality extrovert and introverts and their English proficiency. He found that after combining the relation between all students’ extrovert and introvert personality and their English proficiency was no significant correlation. Another study entitled “Personality in English Language Proficiency and Achievement” was researched by Zahibi (2011). He found out that there was a significant correlation between learners’ English language and extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. However, neuroticism did not correlate significantly with English proficiency negatively. The last study was conducted by Ghazi, Shahzad, and Ullah (2013). The obj of this study was to find the correlation between each of personality and all academic achievement. They found out conscientiousness, and agreeableness were Sri Yuliani... 89 high in secondary, it can be concluded that there are some similarities and differences between previous related studies and the researcher’s study. The similarities is correlation study. Meanwhile, the differences are correlated variables, result, population and sample. Extroversion Extroversion is extent to which a person has a deep-seated need to receive ego enchancement, self-esteem, and a sense of wholeness from other people as opposed to receiving that affirmation within oneself, Brown (2000, p.155). In the role of personality in second language acquisition, Zhang (2008) also proposed that extrovert means a person more interested in what is happening around him than in his own thoughts and emotions. An extrovert experiences the world more through contact with others and shared experience that through self examination or study. Zafar and Meenakshi (2011) stated “extroverts are sociable, like parties, have many friends and need excitement in everything they do. they are sensation-seekers and are lively and active. Extroverts are easily distracted from studying, partly as a result of their gregariousness and partly because of their weak ability to concentrate for long periods.” (p.34). Extroverts are motivated from without and their attention is directed outward. They are people who appear relaxed, confident, and have trouble understanding life until they have lived it. When they are feeling bad, low in energy, or stressed, they are likely to look outside themselves for relief. They get energized from the outside world, and they look for meaning outside of th Introversion Every body was born with unique characteristics. Someone may consider shy or introvert. According to Zafar and Meenakshi (2011),” introverts are quiet, prefer reading rather than meeting people and talking to others, have few but close friends and usually avoid excitement.” (p.34). Introverts are motivated from within and they are oriented towards the inner realm of ideas, imagery, and reflection. They get their energy from within rather than from the outside world. An introvert values quiet time alone for thinking. Introverts believe that they cannot live life until they have understood it. They are seen as reserved, quiet, shy, aloof, and distant. When an introvert is tired, stressed or feels bad, he is likely to withdraw to a quiet place and engage in reflective activity that only involves herself/himself. Introverts look to the inner world for energy and meaning. Introverts believe that they cannot live life The Correlation … 90 until they have understood it. They are seen as reserved, quiet, shy, aloof, and distant. When an introvert is tired, stressed or feels bad, he is likely to withdraw to a quiet place and engage in reflective activity that only involves herself/himself. Introverts look to the inner world for energy and meaning. English proficiency One of the most important aspects of university education for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students is a high level of proficiency in English to help them progress through their education. Proficiency can be defined as “the ability of students to use the English language to make and communicate meaning in spoken and written contexts while completing their university studies” (DEEWR, 2009, cited in Ghenghesh ,2015, p.91) Therefore, an EFL student must be able to read, write, listen and speak effectively. Moreover, English prepares students for meaningful instruction and academic performance in academic subjects taught using the English language. Kiany (2012) defines language proficiency as the language ability or ability in language use. Proficiency goals include general competence, mastery of four skills, or mastery of specific language behaviours. TOEFL as Measurement of Language Proficiency A typical example of standardized proficiency test is the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) produced by educational testing service, Brown (2000). According to Mckeon (2008), ”TOEFL has become the major standard of measuring proficiency in English for non native English speaker throughout the world. Furthermore, according to Sharpe (2004,p 69), “TOEFL testing are into three categories, those are: 1). Listening comprehension- measure the ability to understand English including short and long conversation and short talks, 2). Structure and written expression-measure the ability to recognize standard written English, 3). Vocabulary and reading comprehension –measure the ability to read and understand short passage at the university level. The test requires students to demonstrate that they have the English skills that needed to be successful for studying in university. It also emphasizes integrated skills and provide better information about students’ ability to communicate in an academic setting and their readiness for academic coursework. Sri Yuliani... 91 RESEARCH METHOD In conducting this study, correlational research was used. According to Creswell (2012), A correlation is a statistical test to determine the tendency or pattern for two (or more) variables or two sets of data to vary consistently. In this study, there were two variables related each other. The x variables were personality and the y variable was English proficiency. The students’ personality was identified by using readymade questionnaire and the students’ English proficiency were identified by using the result TOEFL test. The researcher found the correlation among variables though SPSS. The influence between variables were calculated through SPSS by regression analysis. Finally, the researcher used Pearson Product moment Correlation Coefficient to find out the correlation between Students’ personality and their English proficiency. Furthermore, the population of this study was all of the eighth semester students of English Education Study Program FKIP Muhammadiyah University of Palembang. The total population is 65 students from two classes. The researcher took the sample by using total sampling because the population is less than 100. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS The result of the TOEFL test showed that, there were 5 students (8,2%) who were in the extremely limited user level ( 5 introvert students), 7 students (11.5%) who were in limited user level (2 extrovert students and 5 introvert students), 19 students (31.1%) who were in adequate user level (4 extrovert students and 15 introvert students), 19 students (31.1%) who were in modest user level (8 extrovert students and 11 introvert students), 10 students (16.5%) who were competent user level (6 extrovert students and 4 introvert students), and 1 extrovert students who was in highy proficient user level. Pearson Product-moment Correlation Analysis The Correlation between Extrovert Personality and English Proficiency Statistical analysis was applied to know whether or not there was correlation between student’s personality and students’ English proficiency. The reseacher started to find out the correlation between Extrovert personality and English Proficiency. The result of the analysis is shown in the following table. The Correlation … 92 Table 1: The Correlation between Extrovert Personality and English Proficiency Extrovert_Personality English_Proficiency_for_Extrovert Extrovert_Personality Pearson Correlation 1 .872** Sig. (2-tailed) .000 N 21 21 English_Proficiency_for_Extro vert Pearson Correlation .872** 1 Sig. (2-tailed) .000 N 21 21 **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). Based on the statistic of the correlation of extrovert personality toward English proficiency table above, the result showed that extrovert personality had a positive correlation with English proficiency score (r = 0.872) in two tailed testing at 0.01 of significant level of 21 samples (r-table = 0.549). Since the value of r-obtained was higher than r-table, it meant that there was a significant correlation of extrovert personality and English proficiency. The Correlation between Introvert Personality and English Proficiency The reseacher also tried to find out correlation of introvert personality and English proficiency. The result of analysis is shown in the following table. Table 2: The Correlation between Introvert Personality and English Proficiency Introvert_Person ality English_Proficiency_for_Introvert Introvert_Personality Pearson Correlation 1 .364* Sig. (2-tailed) .001 N 40 40 English_Proficiency_for_Intr overt Pearson Correlation .364* 1 Sig. (2-tailed) .001 N 40 40 *. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). From the statistic of the correlation of introvert personality and English proficiency above, the result showed that introvert personality also had a weak correlation with English proficiency score (r-obtained = 0.364) in two tailed testing at 0.05 of significant level of 40 samples. Pearson Correlation Coefficient was from 0 (no correlation) to 1 (perfect correlation). The correlation coefficient 0.5 shows that there was a strong enough correlation Sri Yuliani... 93 between variable X and variable Y. It can be seen from the table above, it was found that the obtained correlation coefficient was 0.364. This correlation coefficient was less than 0.5. It means that the correlation between introvert personality and students’ English proficiency was weak correlation. The Correlation between Personality and English Proficiency Finally, the researcher analyzed the correlation between students’ personality and English proficiency. The result of statistic analysis can be seen in the following table. Table 3: The Correlation between Personality and English Proficiency Personality_Questionaire English_Proficiency_TOE FL_Score Personality_Questionaire Pearson Correlation 1 .519** Sig. (2-tailed) .000 N 61 61 English_Proficiency_TOEFL_Score Pearson Correlation .519** 1 Sig. (2-tailed) .000 N 61 61 **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). Based on the statistic of The Correlation between Personality and English Proficiency, it was found that the obtained coefficient (r-obtained) was 0.519 in two tailed testing at 0.01 of significant level of 61 samples (r-table = 0.325). It was concluded that there was a positive correlation between students’ personality and English proficiency. It was related to Kiany cited in Sharp (2008), there are two detected a positive relationship with extrovert and language proficiency, and other point to evidence that extrovert students learn foreign language better because of their willingness to interact with others and because of their reduced inhibitions. It can be concluded that extrovert and introvert learners has their own differences in the process of perceiving and understanding information in learning process. CONCLUSION Based on the finding of correlation between students’ personality and English Proficiency, it was found that there was a positive correlation between students’ personality and English proficiency. Since the obtained coefficient (r-obtained) was 0.519 in two The Correlation … 94 tailed testing at 0.01 of significant level of 61 samples (r-table = 0.325). It meant that there was a significant correlation between students’ personality and their English proficiency. The ree concluded that there was a significant correlation between extrovert personality and English proficiency. On the contrary, there was a weak correlation between introvert personality and English proficiency of the eighth semester students of English Education Study Program Muhammadiyah University of Palembang. Although, the extrovert students dominated the high score in English proficiency (TOEFL Score) and most of the introvert students got low scores in English proficiency. 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