Investigating the Relationship between Personality Type and Writing Performance of Iranian EFL Learners

Abstract

The present study was an attempt to investigate the relationship between personality type, measured by MBTI questionnaire and writing performance in three different genres: argumentative, descriptive and narrative. A Total number of 60 high–intermediate participants from both genders took part in this study at Pooya Jamae Institute in Tabriz. The Aims of this study were to explore the relationship between personality type and different genres of writing: argumentative, descriptive and narrative. Some Parts of the data were collected by MBTI questionnaire to determine the participants’ personality type. Another part of the data which was the participants’ writing performance was gathered by three different writings administered twice each. The collected data went through proper statistical tests and the results of statistical analysis revealed that there was a statistically significant relationship between personality type and argumentative writing performance. Also significant relationship was shown between personality type and descriptive writing performance. But there wasn’t any statistically significant relationship between personality type and narrative writing. Finally the data analysis indicated that gender is not a significant factor in writing performance.

Keywords: personality, individual differences, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), second language acquisition.