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Anxiety, neuroticism and extraversion among EFL learners

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DOI: 10.29302/jolie.2021.14.1.8

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 JoLIE 14:1/2021
doi: https://doi.org/10.29302/jolie.2021.14.1.8

ANXIETY, NEUROTICISM AND EXTRAVERSION AMONGST

EFL LEARNERS

Jasna Saračević
International Burch University, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Vildana Dubravac
International Burch University, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Amna Brdarević-Čeljo
International Burch University, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Senad Bećirović
International Burch University, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

The current study examined anxiety, neuroticism and extraversion amongst Bosnian high
school and university students who were studying English as a foreign language (EFL). By
employing the Public Speaking Class Anxiety Scale and the Big Five Inventory (BFI) test,
the authors showed that this group of students was characterised by a relatively high level of
extraversion and a medium level of neuroticism and anxiety about public speaking in class.
The study further investigated the variation in both personality traits and anxiety based on
gender, the level of education and out-of-school exposure to English as the target language.
The first two factors had an insignificant effect on personality traits and anxiety, whereas
out-of-school exposure to English proved to be significant in all contexts. Finally, the
multiple regression analysis suggested that anxiety, extraversion and neuroticism were not
significant predictors of students’ average EFL grades, while extraversion was a significantly
positive predictor and anxiety was a significantly negative predictor of the students’ self-
reported EFL knowledge. The study contributes to the further individualisation of formal
language teaching and learning, as well as to the promotion of the development of
independent life-long learners.

Keywords: Anxiety; Extraversion; Neuroticism; Age; Gender; Out-of-school exposure;

EFL.

1 Introduction

Acquiring foreign-language proficiency, as one of the basic competencies in the

modern era, has been investigated from different perspectives, with the impact of
various individual differences being one of them (Dörnyei, 2005). Extraversion and
144 Jasna SARAČEVIĆ, Vildana DUBRAVAC, Amna BRDAREVIĆ-ČELJO, & Senad BEĆIROVIĆ

neuroticism, as the most extensively investigated personality traits in the twentieth

century (De Raad, 2000), and anxiety as one of the most frequently recorded
psychological phenomena (Ormel & Wohlfarth, 1991), are particularly relevant
factors in this regard. Thus, the relationship between these traits and eventual
language-learning outcomes should be investigated to provide guidelines on how to
approach different learners, while the variability in these constructs should be
investigated further to assist learners and teachers to improve the language-learning
process.
Extraversion and neuroticism have been recognised as being significant and
relatively stable characteristics influencing individual behaviour. These two
dimensions have been included in different models of personality, such as in Eysenck
and Eysenck’s (1975) model, as well as in the Big Five model (Costa & McCrae,
1992), which is the model that is used in the current study. Extraversion entails
positive emotions enthusiasm and supremacy, while neuroticism is identified as a
tendency towards anxiety, emotional vulnerability and self-consciousness. Thus,
persons who achieve a high score on the scale of extraversion enjoy teamwork and
are prone to learning and interacting with others, whereas low scorers tend to be
quiet and less willing to be involved in the social world. Similarly, high scorers on
the scale of neuroticism are more likely to experience negative emotions such as
anger, depression and anxiety. A neurotic person is overly emotional, reacts too
strongly to all types of stimuli and experiences difficulty focusing after an
emotionally arousing experience. By contrast, low scorers are less susceptible to
negative feelings, and are calm and emotionally stable. As can be seen, this trait is
particularly related to one’s emotions, and is thus often correlated with similar
constructs such as anxiety (Dewaele, 2002; Hettema et al., 2004; Şimşek & Dörnyei
2017). On the other hand, anxiety and neuroticism are often reported to be negatively
correlated with extraversion (Dewaele, 2013; Loo, 1979).
In general, anxiety is a personal feeling of worry, apprehension,
nervousness, stress or tension, and is associated with the stimulation of the
autonomic nervous system (Spielberger, 1983). Language anxiety is one of the
central emotional constructs that usually hinders the process of learning a foreign
language (Arnold & Brown, 1999). In a way, it is a reaction to what some students
perceive as a threat to their sense of security or their self-confidence (Hamzić &
Bećirović, 2021). When expected to use a foreign language that they have not
mastered completely, students begin to feel nervous, uncomfortable and insecure;
they are unwilling to take risks and avoid being actively involved in learning
activities (Brown, 2007). Due to these characteristics, anxiety is usually correlated
negatively with learning success (Aida, 1994; Dewaele, 2007a; Horwitz, 2001; Lu
& Liu, 2011; Mihaljević Djigunović, 2002; Saito & Samimy, 1996). Thus, creating
optimal learning conditions, which are effective for lowering students’ anxiety
levels, should be explored to maximise the effectiveness of the learning process. As
anxiety is believed to be a dynamic trait (Ghorbandordinejad & Ahmadabad, 2016),
much can be done to help students to decrease the level of EFL anxiety and to create
a stimulating environment for learners with various individual characteristics.
 Anxiety, neuroticism and extraversion among EFL learners 145

This study will present further insights into anxiety about public speaking in
class and its relationship with successful EFL learning in the context of Bosnia and
Herzegovina. It will focus on both officially allocated EFL grades and on students’
self-reported English competence, since there are some indications that there is a
stronger connection between language anxiety and one’s self-predicted language
proficiency than with one’s real language achievements (Cheng, 2002; Onwuegbuzie
et al,. 1999; Sultan, 2012). Furthermore, the study aims to explore the association
between anxiety and the personality traits of extraversion and neuroticism, as well
as the variation in anxiety and these two personality traits based on age, gender and
out-of-school exposure to English as the target language.

2. Literature Review

Personality traits have attracted the interest of various scholars, including applied
linguists (e.g., Dörnyei, 2009; Ellis, 2008; MacIntyre & Charos, 1996; Moyer, 2007).
Although we would expect extraversion to be related to successful language
learning, research findings tend to be conflicting. While some have provided
evidence supporting a strongly positive relationship between extraversion and
language-learning outcomes (Ellis, 2008; Kiany, 1998; Zafar et al., 2017), others
have found such a relationship between introversion and language success (e.g.,
Carrel et al., 1996; Wakamoto, 2007), or have even reported an insignificant
influence of extraversion on language-learning outcomes (e.g., Wilson & Lynn,
1990). While the findings related to the association between neuroticism and
learning success are also contradictory, such studies are much scarcer. Ridgell and
Lounsbury (2004) pointed out the insignificant role of neuroticism in students’
achievements, whereas Chamoro-Premuzic and Furham, (2003), as well as Petrides
et al. (2005), emphasised a negative association between neuroticism and academic
achievement. Nonetheless, neuroticism is not usually associated positively with
learning achievement, while such a connection between extraversion and EFL
achievement has been established. However, due to the inconclusive nature of the
previous findings, it has been emphasised that further studies are needed (Ellis,
2008), particularly those taking the impact of different mediating variables into
account (Dörnyei, 2005). Thus, this study will explore whether students’ age, gender
and out-of-school exposure are significant factors in this regard.
More talkative and more nurturing females (Hyde & Linn, 1988; Fagot &
Hagan, 1985) would be expected to score higher on the scale of extraversion.
However, this is not usually supported by empirical evidence (Rubistein, 2005),
which might be attributed to females being at an advantage in some aspects of
extraversion and males in others. For example, males tend to assume more
aggressive roles in different aspects of life (Fagot & Hagan, 1985), whereas females
are more susceptible to avoidance (Eagly & Steffan, 1986). On the other hand,
females tend to be more depressed (Carson et al., 1998) and more anxious
146 Jasna SARAČEVIĆ, Vildana DUBRAVAC, Amna BRDAREVIĆ-ČELJO, & Senad BEĆIROVIĆ

(Ahmetović et al., 2020; Bećirović, 2020; Dubravac, 2020; Feingold, 1994) than
males, which might contribute to their higher scores on the subscale of neuroticism
(Rubistein, 2005).
Although personality traits are considered to be somewhat fixed, evidence
shows that, while they are characterised by relative continuity, they are still
systematically modified based on one’s life experiences (Trzesniewski et al., 2003).
With regard to extraversion, research has either pointed to a lack of change in the
level of extraversion over time (Robins et al., 2001), a slight decrease (Lamb et al.,
2002; McCrae et al., 1999), or to a slight increase in early adulthood (Haan et al.,
1986). By contrast, the majority of studies point to a decrease in neuroticism
correlated with age, particularly during late adolescence and early adulthood
(McGue et al., 1993; Roberts et al., 2001; Robins et al., 2001). Since the participants
in the present study were high school and university students, we will specifically
analyse this critical period in the development of personality.
This study also aimed to analyse whether the same factors were associated
with learners’ anxiety levels. In terms of age, Dewaele et al. (2008) claimed that
communication apprehension and second language anxiety were associated with
students' age. In fact, the study by Dewaele (2007) proved that age might be a
moderating variable in language anxiety, and showed that older learners experienced
higher levels of second language anxiety. In terms of gender, although some studies
have found an insignificant impact of gender on anxiety levels (e.g., Dewaele,
2007b; Matsuda & Gobel, 2004; Woodrow, 2006), a number of researchers have
found a correlation between gender and language anxiety (e.g., Kitano, 2001; Öztürk
& Gürbüz, 2014; Park & French, 2013), with female students expressing higher
levels of anxiety; they had predominantly more anxious attitudes than did male
students, and feared social interactions when learning English in class.
The third variable investigated in this study was out-of-school exposure. To
the best of our knowledge, no study has yet examined its relationship with
extraversion, neuroticism and anxiety; however, we believe that learning in such a
relaxed environment, which does not present a direct threat to one's self-esteem,
undoubtedly leads to an increase in extraversion levels and a decrease in anxiety and
neuroticism. Consequently, greater exposure is likely to lead to better language
knowledge and higher self-confidence, which might result in lower anxiety levels
and lower scores on the scale of neuroticism. It has been pointed out that people
living in Bosnia and Herzegovina have considerable opportunities for informal
exposure to English (Dubravac & Skopljak, 2020; Laličić & Dubravac, 2021; Ribo
& Dubravac, 2021; Kovačević et al., 2018), but the effect on anxiety levels and
personality traits has not been explored thus far.

3 Methodology

3.1 Research questions

 Anxiety, neuroticism and extraversion among EFL learners 147

The current study aimed to answer the following research questions:

- Is there a significant influence of gender, level of education and out-of-
school exposure on students' extraversion, neuroticism and anxiety?
- Are extraversion, neuroticism and anxiety significant predictors of the
participants' EFL achievements and their self-reported English knowledge?

3.2 Instruments

The instrument used to measure speaking anxiety in foreign-language classrooms

was the Public Speaking Class Anxiety Scale (PSCAS) by Yaikhong and Usaha
(2012); it consists of seventeen items, each of which is answered on a five-point
Likert scale ranging from 5 ‘Strongly Agree’ to 1 ‘Strongly Disagree’. The second
instrument in the research was a survey, the integral part of which was the BFI test
developed by Goldberg (1993), which was used to examine the students’ personality
traits and to describe personality differences. The instrument consists of forty-four
items: Eight statements are related to extraversion and neuroticism, nine to
agreeableness and conscientiousness, and ten to openness. However, in the current
study we focused only on the subscales of extraversion and neuroticism (sixteen
items in total). Moreover, the students answered a series of questions that were
included in a background questionnaire and were related to their gender, the extent
of out-of-school exposure to English (never, rarely, sometimes, often or every day),
their average English grade (ranging from 1 to 5), and their self-reported English
proficiency level (very poor, poor, average or good excellent).

3.3. Participants

The present study included 175 participants (83 high school students and 92
university students); 50.9% of the participants were male and 49.1% were female. In
terms of out-of-school exposure, it was noticeable that most of the students were
exposed to English occasionally. Only 20 of them (11.4%) were deprived of such
exposure, while 12 (6.9%) were exposed to English on a daily basis. Another
important variable in the context of this study was the students' achievements as
reflected in the average grade obtained in the English-language course during the
previous academic year and their self-reported English proficiency. Since our
participants included both high school and university students, we needed to adjust
the grading scales. In high schools, students are graded on a scale from 1 to 5, with
1 being the lowest (a failing grade) and 5 being the highest. By contrast, there are
five pass grades at the university level, ranging from 6 to 10. Thus, the university
grade 5 was coded as 1, 6 as 2, 7 as 3, 8 as 9, and 9 and 10 as 5. As can be seen in
Table 1, there were no failing grades. In fact, even students with an average grade of
2 (N = 12) were quite rare. The percentages of those with the average grades of 3, 4
and 5 were comparable. A similar situation was encountered when their self-reported
English proficiency was explored. Only six of them stated that their knowledge of
148 Jasna SARAČEVIĆ, Vildana DUBRAVAC, Amna BRDAREVIĆ-ČELJO, & Senad BEĆIROVIĆ

English was not satisfactory; that is, they chose 1 as an answer, while 17 participants
chose 2. The greatest number of participants reported the highest proficiency level;
in other words, they opted for answer 5. For more details about the participants, see
Table 1.

Table 1. Descriptive statistics for the participants

N Percentage
level of education
high school 83 47.4
university 92 52.6
gender
male 89 50.9
female 86 49.1
out of school exposure to
English
never 20 11.4
rarely 51 29.1
sometimes 47 26.9
often 45 25.7
every day 12 6.9
EFL GPA
2 12 6.9
3 53 30.3
4 68 38.9
5 42 24.0
self-reported English
knowledge
1 6 3.4
2 17 9.7
3 46 26.3
4 63 36.0
5 43 24.4

3.4 Data collection and analysis

The data collected from 175 students who were learning English as a foreign
language were investigated quantitatively; the participants were selected randomly
from different schools and years of study in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The age of the
students ranged from 15 (freshmen high school students) to 35 (senior university
students), and they remained anonymous throughout the study.
The data were entered into SPSS, which was used for the statistical analyses.
The descriptive statistics were calculated first. A three-way ANOVA was then
performed to reveal the influence of three factors, namely gender, level of education
and out-of-school exposure on anxiety, extraversion and neuroticism. A multiple
regression was used to determine whether the three variables, namely extraversion,
neuroticism and anxiety, significantly predicted the participants’ EFL achievements
judged according to the average grades obtained in the English-language course
 Anxiety, neuroticism and extraversion among EFL learners 149

during the previous academic year and their self-reported level of knowledge of the
English language.

4 Results

4.1 Preliminary analyses

Table 2 displays the descriptive data for the scales of extraversion, neuroticism and
anxiety. The highest mean was achieved for extraversion (M = 3.68), and the lowest
for anxiety (M = 2.85). The correlation coefficients for all the scales were significant.
However, while the correlation between neuroticism and anxiety was significant and
positive (r = .427, p < .001), the correlation between extraversion and neuroticism (r
= -.646, p < .001), and between extraversion and anxiety (r = -.384, p < .001), were
significant but negative. The Cronbach alpha values indicate that all three of the
scales were internally consistent.

Table 2. Descriptive data for the scales of extraversion, neuroticism and anxiety
N M SD Extraversion Neuroticism Anxiety 
Extraversion 175 3.68 .89 1 -.646** -.384** .885
Neuroticism 175 2.96 .66 -.646** 1 .427** .673
Anxiety 175 2.85 .53 -.384** .427** 1 .728

4. 1 The influence of gender, level of education and out-of-school exposure on

students' extraversion, neuroticism and anxiety

A three-way ANOVA was performed to examine the influence of gender, the level
of education and out-of-school exposure to English on the levels of extraversion,
neuroticism and anxiety (Table 3). The results revealed that gender and the level of
education were not significant factors in any of the three variables. Nevertheless,
some slight differences were still noted. Thus, while male students appeared to be
slightly more extraverted and anxious, female students scored higher on the scale of
neuroticism. Moreover, the students attending high school had slightly higher levels
of neuroticism, while university students achieved higher scores on the scales of
extraversion and anxiety.
While the previous two factors did not influence students’ extraversion,
neuroticism and anxiety significantly, out-of-school exposure proved to be
significant in terms of extraversion (p = .011, η2 = .080), neuroticism (p = .036. η2 =
.064) and anxiety (p = .000, η2 = .225). It appeared that the greater the out-of-school
exposure to English is, the more extraverted and less neurotic and anxious the
participants are.
150 Jasna SARAČEVIĆ, Vildana DUBRAVAC, Amna BRDAREVIĆ-ČELJO, & Senad BEĆIROVIĆ
 Anxiety, neuroticism and extraversion among EFL learners 151

Table 3. Neuroticism, extraversion and anxiety based on gender, level of education and out of school exposure

Variables Gender p Level of education p Out of school exposure p η2

M F High University Never Rarely Some- Often Every
school times day
Extraversion 3.65 3.62 .880 3.63 3.64 .989 3.04 3.67 3.65 3.98 3.84 .011 .080
Neuroticism 2.95 3.01 .380 2.99 2.93 .639 3.34 3.06 2.91 2.86 2.63 .036 .064
Anxiety 2.82 2.81 .909 2.80 2.84 .634 3.16 3.05 2.95 2.53 2.40 .000 .225
152 Jasna SARAČEVIĆ, Vildana DUBRAVAC, Amna BRDAREVIĆ-ČELJO, & Senad BEĆIROVIĆ

4.2 Neuroticism, extraversion and anxiety as predictors of the students’ EFL

achievement and their self-reported level of EFL knowledge

Descriptive statistics for the scales of extraversion, neuroticism and anxiety based
on the students’ average EFL grades in the previous year and their self-reported EFL
knowledge are presented in Table 4. When the EFL grades are taken into account, it
can be seen that the students with the highest grades tended to be the most extraverted
(M = 3.84), the least anxious (M = 2.60), and scored the lowest mean on the scale of
neuroticism (M = 2.71). The same results were obtained when their self-reported
English-language proficiency was analysed.

Table 4. Descriptive statistics for the scales of extraversion, neuroticism and anxiety
based on the average English grade and self-reported English knowledge
Last year's average EFL Self-reported English knowledge
grade
2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Extravers. 3.36 3.29 3.71 3.84 2.46 3.31 3.57 3.94 3.78
Neurotic. 3.34 3.04 3.05 2.71 3.86 2.88 3.06 2.97 2.79
Anxiety 2.86 2.91 3.02 2.60 3.19 3.13 2.84 2.73 2.59

A multiple regression was performed to investigate whether extraversion,

neuroticism and anxiety were significant predictors of the students’ self-reported
EFL knowledge. A significant regression equation (F (3,171) = 9.701, p = .000, with
an R2 of .145 was found. Thus, it appeared that extraversion (p < .05), as well as
anxiety (p < .001), significantly predicted the students’ self-reported EFL
knowledge, which was not the case for neuroticism (p > .05). However, while
extraversion was a positive predictor (β = .188, p = .047), anxiety was shown to be
a negative predictor of the participants’ self-reported English-language proficiency
(β = -.622, p = .000).

Table 5. Multiple regression for the self-reported level of EFL knowledge

B ß t p
Extraversion .221 .188 2.003 .047
Neuroticism .114 .071 .743 .458
Anxiety -.622 -.311 -3.924 .000

However, when the EFL grades assigned by EFL instructors were taken into
consideration, these variables did not appear as significant predictors, with all the p
values exceeding .05.

Table 6. Multiple regression for the EFL average grade

B ß t p
Extraversion .151 .153 1.544 .124
Neuroticism .016 .012 .118 .906
Anxiety -.201 -.120 -1.433 .154
 Anxiety, neuroticism and extraversion among EFL learners 153

5 Discussion

The present study aimed to measure Bosnian and Herzegovinian (B&H) high school
and university students’ levels of extraversion, neuroticism and anxiety about public
speaking in class, and to systematically explore whether these were affected by
gender, education level and out-of-school exposure to English. The research also
aimed to determine whether anxiety, extraversion and neuroticism were significant
predictors of the participants’ EFL achievements and their self-reported English-
language knowledge. The B&H participants were relatively highly extraverted and
had medium levels of neuroticism and anxiety about public speaking in class. The
correlation analysis revealed that extraversion, neuroticism and anxiety were
mutually significantly correlated, and that an increase in extraversion led to a
decrease in anxiety and neuroticism, while an increase in neuroticism made the
participants more anxious when speaking publicly in class. This is in line with
previous findings that also proved that there was a positive relationship between
anxiety and neuroticism (Dewaele, 2002; Hettema et al., 2004; Şimşek & Dörnyei,
2017) and a negative relationship between foreign-language class anxiety and
extraversion, as shown by Loo (1979) and (partially) by Dewaele (2013), who
confirmed such a correlation for one group of his participants.
The current study’s findings also revealed that the participants’ gender and
education levels did not have significant impacts on their extraversion, neuroticism
or anxiety, with male and female participants achieving almost identical scores on
all three subscales. Previous findings concerning gender differences in personality
traits, extraversion, and neuroticism in particular, have been somewhat inconsistent,
with male participants tending to score lower for neuroticism and certain aspects of
extraversion (Chapman et al., 2007; Costa et al., 2001; De Bolle et al., 2015;
Donnellan & Lucas, 2008; Weisberg et al., 2011). Such results do not match the
current study’s results, which revealed almost the same levels of neuroticism and
extraversion amongst males and females, although the former was slightly more
characteristic of females and the latter of males.
Gender differences in anxiety when speaking publicly in class were also
insignificant, as both female and male participants were equally anxious when
speaking a foreign language, which is in line with Dewaele (2007b), Matsuda and
Gobel (2004), Woodrow (2006) and others, but also in sharp contrast to some studies
that revealed higher levels of anxiety when speaking publicly in class amongst
females than amongst males (Behnke & Sawyer, 2001; Kitano, 2001; Park & French,
2013). Rather interestingly, Mac Giolla and Kajanius (2019) claimed that gender
differences in personality traits were greater in more gender-equal countries, as an
increase in gender equality leads to more obvious personality traits and prompts
females and males to assume their traditional gender roles. In Bosnia and
Herzegovina, complete gender equality has not still been attained (Latić &
Brdarević-Čeljo, 2018), which was further verified by the 2021 Global Gender Gap
154 Jasna SARAČEVIĆ, Vildana DUBRAVAC, Amna BRDAREVIĆ-ČELJO, & Senad BEĆIROVIĆ

Index (World Economic Forum, 2021), as it measured 0.713 on the scale from 0.00
‘imparity’ to 1.00 ‘parity’. Thus, the findings of the current study appear to
corroborate these earlier findings (Costa et al., 2001; Mac Giolla & Kajanius, 2018),
as they point towards a lack of greater gender differences in personality traits in
Bosnia and Herzegovina and to a slightly higher score in extraversion for males,
which are factors that these authors considered to indicate incomplete gender parity.
Similarly to gender, the education level was not a significant factor impacting on
personality traits, as both high school and university students scored almost equally
on all the trait subscales. Even though general research has shown that changes in
the levels of personality traits occur with age, with different aspects indicating
somewhat different age trends (Soto et al., 2011), the current study’s results do not
confirm such findings. A more diverse sample with a greater age range might have
produced slightly different results.
In contrast to gender and the education level, the participants’ informal
exposure to English had a significant impact on their levels of extraversion,
neuroticism and anxiety; the findings indicated that prolonged out-of-school
exposure to English led to greater extraversion and lower levels of neuroticism and
anxiety about public speaking in class. Informal exposure to English mainly
improved the learners’ speaking skills and proficiency. Thus, they become more
confident, more self-conscious and less anxious when speaking a foreign language
during class. Since speaking English fluently is seen as a sign of social prestige in
Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bećirović et al., 2017; Bećirović et al., 2018; Bećirović et
al., 2021; Delić et al., 2018; Dubravac, 2016; Dubravac et al., 2018; Dubravac &
Skopljak, 2020; Kovačević et al., 2018; Skopljak & Dubravac, 2019), learners feel
enthusiastic and accomplished when using it, which contributes to an increase in
their levels of extraversion. Such claims were further substantiated by an in-depth
analysis of the levels of extraversion, neuroticism and anxiety about public speaking
in class amongst the participants with different grades in the English language and
differently rated English-language knowledge. In other words, the findings revealed
that the participants with the highest GPAs and the highest self-reported English-
language knowledge were the most extraverted and the least neurotic and anxious in
foreign-language classes. This appeared to indicate that greater proficiency in the
English language, which can be achieved via formal and informal exposure to
English, can increase extraversion and decrease neuroticism and anxiety about
speaking in class amongst EFL learners.
However, as shown by the multiple regression analysis, two personality
traits predicted students’ self-reported English-language knowledge, while none of
them predicted the GPAs that they obtained in the English-language course. Thus,
extraversion is a significant positive predictor and anxiety is a significant negative
predictor of students’ self-reported English-language knowledge, which indicates
that, when participants become more extraverted, their English-language knowledge
increases and, when they become more anxious, they experience a decrease in their
English-language knowledge. As extraversion entails positive emotions and
enthusiasm, and extraverts enjoy teamwork and interactive learning, which are the
 Anxiety, neuroticism and extraversion among EFL learners 155

basic components of a successful learning process, the role of extraversion in

attaining higher levels of English-language knowledge is undeniable, and has been
confirmed in numerous studies (Ellis, 2008; Kiany, 1998; Zafar et al., 2017).
Nonetheless, the current study’s findings also diverged from those in other studies
that revealed insignificant differences between extraversion and language-learning
outcomes (e.g., Wilson & Lynn, 1990), and have even linked language success to
introversion (e.g., Carrel et al., 1996; Wakamoto, 2007).
In terms of anxiety about public speaking in class, the current study’s
findings agree fully with some previous findings that pinpointed the anxiety factor
as a significant and negative predictor of language achievement (Zheng & Cheng,
2018), thus hindering the language-learning process (Alrabai, 2015; Arnold &
Brown, 1999) and being correlated negatively with learning success (Aida, 1994;
Dewaele, 2007a; Horwitz, 2001; Lu & Liu, 2011; Mihaljević Djigunović, 2002;
Saito & Samimy, 1996). Rather interestingly, both extraversion and anxiety about
public speaking in class were closely related to the participants’ self-reported English
knowledge, but not to their actual language achievements as indicated by their
average yearly grades obtained in the English-language class. This discrepancy has
also been confirmed in some previous studies (Cheng, 2002; Onwuegbuzie et al.,
2000; Sultan, 2012), and indicates that actual achievements tend to be dependent on
certain other factors (Mašić et al, 2020; Bećirović & Akbarov, 2015).
The current study is limited in some aspects; however, these limitations can
serve as guidelines for further research. Firstly, the sample was limited in terms of
its size and age diversity, which might bring the generalisability of the result into
question. Thus, a larger and more diverse sample, particularly in terms of age, could
provide more generalisable results. Secondly, the data related to the students’
English-language proficiency and the average grades obtained in the English-
language course were self-reported. Future research should aim to measure English-
language proficiency via proficiency tests to arrive at conclusions about the actual
proficiency levels and their correlation with personality traits and anxiety.
Personality traits are considered to be powerful modifying factors in the
learning process in general (Dörnyei, 2005), and are claimed to ‘shape the way
people respond to their learning environment’ (Dörnyei, 2005, p. 30). Thus, when
devising the structure of an English-language course, language teachers should pay
close attention to students’ personality traits and should strive to modify the levels
of their personality traits appropriately to ensure that learners can achieve greater
success in their learning. In general, teachers should promote individualisation to
assist all students to achieve their maximum potential. In addition to formal language
learning, regular informal exposure should be encouraged because it might decrease
anxiety and neuroticism and increase extraversion. Therefore, students should often
be involved in projects and homework assignments that entail out-of-school
exposure to English. Familiarising students with this type of language learning will
contribute to the development of independent, life-long language learners, who are
not limited to particular educational institutions, but are able to gain knowledge from
all the available sources.
156 Jasna SARAČEVIĆ, Vildana DUBRAVAC, Amna BRDAREVIĆ-ČELJO, & Senad BEĆIROVIĆ

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How to cite this article: Saračević, J., Dubravac, V. Brdarević-Čeljo, A. &

Bećirović, S. (2021). Anxiety, neuroticism and extraversion among EFL
learners. Journal of Linguistic and Intercultural Education – JoLIE, 14(1),
143-162. doi: https://doi.org/10.29302/jolie.2021.14.1.8

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