Personality Factors to the Success of Foreign Language Learning.doc

Personality Factors to the Success of Foreign Language LearningContent1. Definition of Personality 12. Two Theories about Language Learning 13. The Typical Relationship between Personality and English Learning in Peoples Mind .23.1 Extroverted Personality Style 23.2 Introverted Personality Style.2 4. Facts.2 5. Different Sexes in Learning English 3 6. Functions of Different Personality Factors during The English Learning 7.Methods of Learning English Well .4 7.1. Dont Fear Failure .4 7.2Goals, Attitude, Belief in Self Make Success 4 7.3 Courage .57.4 Learning Habits .67.5 Take Charge of Your Day 67.6 Practice 79Personality Factors to the Success of Foreign Language Learning 【Abstract】The article argues about the importance of personality factors in language learning. They influence our English level greatly. The aim of the text is trying to explore the relationship between personality factors and success of foreign language learning. The text is consisted of three main parts: the definition, functions of personality traits. Sexes and English. Methods about learn English well. Rich examples are cited in order to make the whole article much more vivid and make people know much more about their relationship.【摘要】本文旨在讲述性格在语言学习中的重要性和双方之间的关系，突出了它们对英语水平的影响是相当大的。语言运用中为了使读者更易懂、更能接受，本文采用了大量的例子来给读者以更直观的印象。本文共分为个部分，第一部分介绍了性格的定义、作用，第二部分讲男女性格差异对英语的影响，第三部分分析了学好英语的方法。【Key words】definition of personality language learning extroversion and introversion methods about learn English well【关键词】性格的定义 语言学习 外向与内向 学习英语的方法As the world develops rapidly and our country enter into WTO, being the international language, foreign language especially English plays a more and more important role in peoples life and learning. Many people think that English is one of three skills which workers have to master in the 21st Century. Everyone hopes to learn it well eagerly. Now we are still receiving education, English becomes an indispensable subject. But because of its own characteristics, a great deal of people believe that extroversive persons are more suitable to learn it, but in fact there are many introversive ones who are top English learners. Also, the extraordinary English learners in class most are girls. Does English have anything to do with personality factors? Does sex influence students English marks? What functions do the characteristics have during studying English? Which kind of personality traits is good to learn English well? Is there a “success personality”-some winning combination of traits that leads almost inevitably to achievement? If so, exactly what is that secret success formula, and can anyone cultivate it? In the following paragraphs, I will present my views on personality factors to the success of foreign language learning. 1. Definition of personalityPersonality development is the development of the organized pattern of behaviors and attitudes that makes a person distinctive. Personality development occurs by the ongoing interaction of temperament, character and environment. Individuals who achieve greatness in some intellectual endeavor usually do so through force of personality as much as through sheer smartness. In the past, narrow definitions of intelligence usually excluded personality factors. Today, scientists studying persons who have demonstrated outstanding intellectual accomplishment have found they differ from ordinary people in several personality traits. In addition to curiosity, persistence and capacity for self-criticismqualities that Eintein had highly creative people also show an unusual openness, independence, imaginativeness and playfulness.2. Two theories about language learningThe behaviorist theory of language learning was initiated by behavioral psychologist Skinner, who applied Watson and Raynors theory of conditioning of the way humans acquire language (Harmer, 1983).The key point of the theory of conditioning is that “you can train an animal to do anything of you follow a certain procedure which has three major stages, stimulus, response, and reinforcement” (Harmer, 1983, 30).Based on the theory of conditioning, Skinner suggested language is also a form of behavior. It can be learned the same way as an animal is trained to respond to stimuli. This theory of learning is referred to as behaviorism, which was adopted for some time by the language teaching profession, particularly in America. One influential result is the audio-lingual method.The term cognitivism is often used loosely to describe methods in which students are asked to think rather than simply repeat. It seems to be largely the result of Noam Chomskys reaction to Skinners behaviorist theory, which led to the revival of structural linguistics. The key point of Chomskys theory id reflected in his most famous question: if all language is a learned behavior, how can a child produce a sentence that has never been said by others before?According to Chomsky, language is not a form of behavior, it is an intricate rule-based system and a large part of language acquisition is the learning of this system. There are a finite number of grammatical rules in the system and with knowledge of these rules am infinite of sentences can be produced. A language learner acquires language competence, which enables him to produce language. 3. The typical relationship between personality factors and English learning in peoples mind3.1. Extroverted Personality StyleExtroverted Personality Style (EPS) means that your preferred role in life is “life of the party.” You actively seek out other people, and are at your best in social situations where you can meet new people and bring other people together. People who know you are drawn to the way you are able to always seem interested in other people (and you genuinely are interested). In that way, you are probably the ultimate“people person”.Most people think that extroverted learners are much easier to succeed than introverted ones. They are confident, sonsy, vivacious and good at communicating. They are bold and always indicate a strong, welcoming personality. Vibrant, with an upbeat attitude, they have a bright, inviting demeanor. Energetic and fun-loving, theyre a real friend-magnet. Their easy charm and unassuming manners make them the sort of person people want to meet and get to know better. Well-rounded and fun to be around, they enjoy helping others. During the studies, they never afraid of making mistakes and liking exploring. They participate topics actively and can express their ideas clearly. When faced with frustrations, they never give up but stick to it.3.2. Introverted Personality StyleIntroverted Personality Style (IPS) means that your predominant inclination is your own inner thoughts, feelings, and motivations. People who know you may think of you as a deep person in whom“still waters run deep.”While you probably tend to stay away from situations that require you to talk with people you have never met, you can do it when you want to (although it is always a draining kind of experience). People who know you may say that you are sometimes difficult to get to know, but the people who get close to you discover you can talk for endless hours about your rich inner world. People believe that introverted ones do hard on English. Because they couldnt convey their opinions and do bad in communicating.Introverted ones are prone to being shy. They hardly eye-contact with others in front her. They always lack of self-confidence. They are afraid of failing and worried about being laughed by others. Accordingly, they seldom want to have a try. And even they try once, theyll lose patience, never stick to it or start it again after a failure. So, its unusual to see and say them fail often. 4. Facts Most times, people simply associate introverts with being shy and extroverts with being loud. These descriptions are not entirely correct because those two qualities are only part of what determines whether someone is an introvert or an extrovert. For example, typically, to an extrovert, the outside world represents both excitement and opportunity. Extroverts often think and perform better in front of others. Also, because an extroverts energy is often directed outwards, extroverts like being around people most of the time. Introverts, on the other hand, usually direct their energy inwards and often need alone time to replenish their energy stores.When it comes to communication, introverts will tend to formulate their thoughts before they speak up. Extroverts will often think and talk at the same time, saying whatever comes into their heads. This more immediate approach makes extroverts spontaneous, but it can also get them into hot water. Socially, introverts prefer more intimate settings where they have the chance to get to know fewer people on a deeper basis. Extroverts typically feel that in social situations, the more the merrier. As mentioned abovenot every introvert or extrovert will display every trait tied to this dimension. In fact, people are apt to display a mix of traits.5. Different sexes in learning English English learning is a very complicated course, which involves a lot of factors, among which the learners own factor is the most direct and main factor. In English learning, we should not turn a blind eye to the non-intellectual factors of the learners, i.e. the differences caused by the different genders in learning psychology, learning ability and so on. There are many differences in learning between boys and girls. We should put forward some relevant countermeasures for eliminating the differences in English learning between boys and girls, in the hope of promoting them to make progress together in English study. Though characteristics most depends on individuals, different people have different personalities. But we still can distinguish the traits of males and females. That is males are going to impulse while females are gentle. Thats because there are different hormone in their bodies.Generally speaking, boys are better in thinking and management, while girls are better in secretarial work and language acquisition. Girls are more like to study with only books, while boys like chatting or communicating.Compared with girls, boys do not have self-control on their studies. They just want to spend more time on playing. Thus, teachers teach boys much harder and give them more pressure in class. Girls are more self-controlled. Girls generally study on their own initiative. Teachers do not often blame girls. After failing in exams, girls are more likely to be encouraged and given confidence by teachers since girls hearts are more fragile than boys.There is a lot of discussion in the United States about differences between boys and girls in school. Lately that discussion has centered on concerns that boys are not doing as well as girls. Boys, for example, receive seventy percent of all failing grades.In April, the Manhattan Institute released its yearly study of graduation rates. The research group used information from 2003. The researchers found that seventy-two percent of girls successfully completed their high school education. That compared to sixty-five percent of boys. It says American boys in most cases are doing better than ever. “But girls have just improves their performance on some measures even faster,” it says. As a result, girls have narrowed or closed differences with boys in some areas and moved farther ahead of them in others.Differences between males and females are a continuing issue of fierce debate. Cultural and economic influences play an important part. But recent findings suggest that another part of the answer lies in differences between the male and female brain. 6. Functions of different personality factors during the English learning In fact, whether the personality factors influence English learning or not can not be concluded apparently. It also depends on students tasks. Extroverted students are better than introverted ones when refers to the Basic interpersonal communicative skills. For they are talkative and are apt to exchanging their outlooks. They frequently chat with others in English. Introverted ones are developing better than extroverted ones when mentions Academic language skills. As they spend much more time on reading comprehension and writing. So they have good marks. I think that personality factors and the success of foreign language learning interact. Supposed you are a extroverted person, usually youll have more chance to learn the language well. Vice versa, if you get success in the language learning, you are about to be more extroverted. If you dont want to talk, hardly can you succeed! 7. Methods of learning English well Everyone seemed to be crazy about learning English nowadays. But how many of us can learn it well, and speak it fluently? Why Chinese students can get a good mark in English exams but can hardly communicate with others in English? As far as Im concerned, the followings are necessary:7.1. Dont fear failureMany career experts tout failure as the castor oil of success. The idea isnt to fling yourself into certain disaster in order to be mystically rewarded with triumph. Rather, its a simple recognition that people who willingly risk failure and learn from loss have the beat chance of succeeding at whatever they try.If you havent crashed, you may be in snooze mode, casting and taking too few risks to be challenging. Oh, youve had minor reverses in school or love, but you havent failed meaningfully. Never fear, says Amitai Etzioni, professor of socioeconomics at George Washington University:“Everyone gets a chance. No one lives a failure-proof life forever.” If the thought of fouling up paralyzes you, here are several helpful suggestions:a. Stop using the “F” word. High achievers, rarely refer to “failure,” a loaded word suggesting a personal dead end. They refer “glitch,” “bollix” or “course correction.”b. Dont take it personally. When things go sour, do you instinctively label yourself a loser? The language you use to describe yourself can become a powerful reality. Repeatedly calling yourself an unemployed salesperson not only labels you as out of worksynonymous with failure in our societyit considers yourself someone “with options”. Those opinions include taking classes to develop new skills or bravely out on another career.c. Be prepared. Help insulate yourself by mapping a catastrophe plan. Ask yourself: What is the worst that can happen? Imagining loss of job or spouse can force you to clearly consider practical alternatives. Do you have enough insurance and cash reserves to carry you through a difficult period? Do you have talents that could bring in an income if you employer handed you a pink slip? Keep in mind that the Chinese ideogram for “crisis” consists of the characters for both “danger” and “opportunity.”d. Learn to fail intelligently. Jack Matson, a University of Houston professor, developed a course his students dubbed “Failure 101.”Matson had his class build ice-cream-stick mock-ups of products no one would buy. “They designed hamster hot tubs and kites to fly in hurricanes,” says Matson.e. Never say die. A poem says like this: Never give up, never lose hope. Always have faith, it allows you to cope. Trying times will pass, as they always do. Just have patience, your dreams will come true. So put on a smile, youll live through your pain. Know it will pass, and strength you will gain. If you carry on, one day something good will happen. Earlys Harrisonburg, construction company went belly up in 1975. Then only 25, Early borrowed on his home rather than declare bankruptcy. He continued to work in construction, trying to master the intricacies of management. In 1982, he “got nervy enough” to borrow more to start his own business again, having built a solid reputation with banks for getting through difficult times. Early expanded his new construction business cautiously. He took college courses in business administration. By 1988, Earlys company made Inc. magazines list of the 500 fastest-growing privately owned companies. Earlys is not complacent. Memories of hard times haunt him. “I cant afford to get arrogant about success,” he says. “So Im always trying to improve my business. ”7.2. Goals, attitude, belief in self make success. A solid goal, a positive attitude and a strong belief would lead anybody who desires success along that path. What do the successful people have that lifts them above the ordinary? How do they achieve the superman feats that elevate them above others? The first common denominator is a solid goal. Successful people know what they want and are willing to do everything necessary to get it. They set big, hairy, audacious goals and believe in them so deeply that they lives naturally begin to gravitate toward those goals. Mohammed Ali decided he wanted to be the greatest athlete ever and told he world he was the greatest even before he won a championship fight. Marion Jones announced that she was going to win five Olympic gold medals at the Sydney Olympics. She only won three gold and two medals. Only three gold and two bronze medals. Second, successful people maintain a positive attitude. They believe in their goals and aspirations despite setbacks.