Exploring the role of personality traits in second language speech perception

Abstract

It is well established that some individual factors (i.e., age, amount of input, motivation, etc.) play a considerable role in second language (L2) speech perceptual learning (Akahane-Yamada, 1995; Flege et al., 1997; Flege & Liu, 2001; inter alia). However, other factors, like personality type, have received less attention. This study therefore investigates the role of personality in L2 speech perception by examining how factors assessed in the Big 5 Inventory (Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Neuroticism, and Openness; John et al., 1991) and the Autism Spectrum Quotient (social skill, attention-switching, attention to detail, communication, and imagination; Baron-Cohen et al., 2001) affect French nasal vowel identification by intermediate/advanced American learners of French (n = 32). Preliminary results (n = 25) analyzed with a mixed effects binomial logistic regression revealed that learners with higher scores in Extroversion and Neuroticism were significantly more likely to select the correct nasal vowel. The analysis also demonstrated that L2 learners who were more careful, attentive, and diligent (represented by high scores in Conscientiousness and/or Attention to Detail) were significantly less target-like in their perception. In addition to presenting results from the full data set, this presentation will also discuss implications for L2 learning and L2 speech perception more broadly.