Dedi Sanjaya, Ahmad Azman Mokhtar, Sumarsih
Personality is one of the factors which affect a students' writing achievement/proficiency (Erton, 2010; Ellis, 2008), therefore we aim to explore the role of personality (extroversion/introversion) on the essay writing achievement of Indonesian EFL learners. Accordingly, 80 students were selected based on the Myers-Brigs Type Indicator (MBTI) Personality Test in the English Education Study Program, at the Universitas Negeri Medan, Indonesia. The study compared 40 extroverts and 40 introverts in their writing performance on a composition test. Then, the collected data were analyzed by using an independent sample t-test. It was found that there was a significant difference between extroverts and introverts in their essay writing achievement. In addition, the personality of an extrovert or an introvert had no impact on their organization, discourse or vocabulary, but there were significant differences in terms of content, syntax and mechanics in their essay writing. Moreover, both extrovert and introvert EFL learners actually have an equal opportunity to be proficient in their writing skill, but extrovert learners must give more attention to content, syntax and mechanics. © 2018 Asian E F L Journal Press. All rights reserved.
College of Arts and Sciences, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia; School of Education, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia; Faculty of Liberal Arts, Universitas Negeri Medan, Indonesia
