THE CORRELATION OF PERSONALITY AND ANXIETY WITH THE RESULT OF ENGLISH LEARNING

Abstract

This article looks into the two factors in individual learners, i.e, personality and anxiety and how the two factors take part in determining the success of language learning. The focuses are in examining how students with different personality traits deal with their anxious feeling in learning a foreign language; and how their personality and anxiety relate with their achievement in learning different language skill. The research was done by administering a personality test and questionnaire to 30 respondents who are all students of English Department, Diponegoro University. Students’ results in learning English skills; reading, speaking, listening, and writing skills were also examined from the grade they earn from their classroom teachers. The data then were examined descriptively and their correlation was also measured by using Pearson’s product moment coefficient. The product moment measurement showed significant coefficients of the correlation of anxiety with most of the achievement in English skills; only in speaking skill, the correlation showed insignificant correlation. The coefficients show that students’ anxiety influences their achievement in learning skills in English. The research also reveals that the extrovert and introvert learners have their own way to adapt with their anxiety. Part of the reasons was because they have their own tendency in using the strategies for learning the foreign language, and also because their personality traits affected their degree of anxiety naturally.