THE ROLE OF EXTROVERSION IN DEVELOPING SPEAKING SKILL

By Koesoemo Ratih, S.Pd. M.Hum

Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta

THE ROLE OF EXTROVERSION IN DEVELOPING SPEAKING SKILL

By Koesoemo Ratih

Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta

Abstract

                                There are many problems that come out in the effort of acquiring skill of speaking a second and foreign language. Those can come from either the outside of learners or inside of the learners. One of the problems coming from the inside is lacking of extroversion. It is assumed that extroversion is one aspect constructing personality which influences second language learning especially in gaining speaking skill. Extroversion is beneficial for the learners since it provides chance for them to practice speaking. Therefore, there should be efforts that enable the second language learners to take advantages that characterize extroversion. In the teaching and learning process teachers need to lead them to the favor of extroversion.

DAFTAR RIWAYAT HIDUP

I.                     KETERANGAN PRIBADI

II.                   PENDIDIKAN

III.                  KARYA ILMIAH

THE ROLE OF EXTROVERSION IN DEVELOPING SPEAKING SKILL

By Koesoemo Ratih

Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta

Abstract

                                There are many problems that come out in the effort of acquiring skill of speaking a second and foreign language. Those can come from either the outside of learners or inside of the learners. One of the problems coming from the inside is lacking of extroversion. It is assumed that extroversion is one aspect constructing personality which influences second language learning especially in gaining speaking skill. Extroversion is beneficial for the learners since it provides chance for them to practice speaking. Therefore, there should be efforts that enable the second language learners to take advantages that characterize extroversion. In the teaching and learning process teachers need to lead them to the favor of extroversion.

            Key words : extroversion, speaking skill, and language learning and

            teaching.  

1. Introduction

     Human beings are social creatures that need to associate with one another. They communicate with a language to keep their relationship. It is stated by Clark & Clark (1973: 3) that language is the main means of human communication. There are two important forms of communication, namely: verbal and non-verbal communication. Verbal communication means to communicate with words whether oral or written words, while non-verbal means without words.  It is agreed that most of human activities are in the form of verbal communication that uses oral language.

     Speaking is the form of oral language that is inevitably used to communicate ideas and feelings. A lay man likes to judge the success of learning language from the ability to express their ideas orally.  It is the case that the goal of people learning language is to be able to speak it.

     There are many factors that influence people to succeed to learn English, especially to acquire speaking skill.  Among them are motivation of learners, personality, environment, culture, teaching materials and techniques, teachers and curriculum. Personality plays an important role to improve speaking skill. One aspect that constructs personality is extroversion-introversion. As stated by Brown that extroversion determines the success of learning to speak, that is why this paper wants to show the importance of extroversion in learning to speak a foreign language.

2. Extroversion

     Extroversion is one of personality dimensions which can be indicated through behavior. It is commonly contrasted with its antithesis, introversion. Someone who is extrovert tends to be easy going, friendly, impulsive, energetic and sociable. On the contrary, an introvert person looks reserved, reflective, careful, quiet and unsociable. Pervin and John  (1970: 234) say the following“ Hans Eysenck suggests that a basic dimension of personality involves whether people tend to be unsociable, quiet, and passive (introvert) or sociable, outgoing, and active (extrovert)”.

     In addition, He states that the basic difference between extrovert and introvert lays on biological side, that is from reticular activated system on the brain. This system controls the arousal brain membrane. Extrovert people tend to have lower arousal brain membrane. The difference of this arousal causes extrovert compensates finding stimulus from the outer side  (their environment) to increase their arousal brain membrane. On the contrary, the introverts tend to reduce their stimulus or their arousal.

            Only a few people belong to the extreme positions (the most extrovert or the most introvert), but most tend to stay in certain degree ranging from introvert pole to extrovert pole. The difference among people whether they tend to be extrovert or introvert is very slight. It can be seen from the degree of their behavioral characteristics.

            Yul Iskandar (2000: 46) states that what is meant by extroversion is one’s personality with which he enjoys getting together with others, loves meeting people and feels confident in attending social programs. He is not clumsy when talking with others in front of strangers. He is outgoing and sociable. Usually, it is easy for people with this type of personality to adapt to their new environment. Society also support this tendency. Conversely, the society regard negatively with the people having introvert personality.   In general it is assumed that introvert type of people don’t enjoy meeting people, talking with strangers and talking in front of audience. They show their tendency of being shy, unconfident, quiet and reserved.

      In this article, the writer tries to view the term of extroversion from seven indicators that have been applied by Eysenck. Those particulars are activity, sociability, risk-taking, impulsiveness, expressiveness, responsibility, and reflective ness.  

                  Activity is derived from one’s tendency to behave actively and energetically. A person having such type likes to do physical activities, including hard work and exercise. S/he does not feel convenient to stay calm. According to Eysenck,  this kind of person tends to get up early in the morning, does something quickly and has  a lot of interests to do. And it is assumed that a person having high degree of activities tends to have high degree of extroversion.

           Sociability, how people associate with others can become the indicator to judge the degree of extroversion tendency. Extrovert people are usually indicated by their sociability degree which tends to be high. This specification can be seen from one’s tendency in getting along with others, such as; like to find new friends, like to do social functions, like to go to parties, like to meet a lot of people, and generally enjoy in a warm situation.

                  Risk-taking  indicates the degree of extroversion. People with high degree of risk-taking can be proved from their tendency to be brave to take risk and to do anything without considering the risk that will occur. This bravery to take the risk is led to get acknowledgement and honor from their surrounding. Without any notice of worry, they enjoy doing something that is full of risk and danger.

                  Impulsiveness is a spontaneous action that easily changes depending on one’s internal condition. People with this type seem to do everything spontaneously and without any advanced consideration to plan. They tend to be careless and like to decide to do something which is not planned. Their character can not be predicted. The degree of impulsiveness goes together with the extroversion degree.

      The fifth indicator that constructs extroversion is expressiveness. This aspect refers to the tendency to look emotional, such as easy to show sadness, anger, fright, love, hatred, and happiness. People with high degree of expressiveness tend to be sentimental, easy to show empathy and demonstrative. Their degree of expressiveness goes together with their extroversion degree.

       The sixth characteristic of extroversion is called reflective ness. Reflective ness appears in one’s behavior to show new ideas, something abstract, philosophical questions, discussion, speculation, and they tend to be thoughtful and careful. The higher degree of reflective ness people have, the more introvert or the less extrovert they are. This shows negative correlation, it means the high degree of reflective ness shows the low degree of extroversion.

        The last indicator to show extroversion can be seen from one’s degree of responsibility. A person with extrovert type tends to be less thorough, less reliable and unserious. While the one with introvert type shows their seriousness, reliability and promptness. That is why the higher one’s responsibility is, the lower his extroversion will be.

                        From those seven indicators, it is assumed that extroversion is a type of one’s personality that is active, sociable, brave to take risk, impulsive, expressive, less reflective and less responsible.

C.  Speaking skill

                  Many people believe that “speaking skill” is an important aspect to acquire when learning a second or foreign language, and the success of learning the language is measured from the performance of learners to speak the language learned. However most people learning a language have a goal to be able to speak so that they can communicate. Clark & Clark (1977: 3), state that the nature of language is a principle means for communication among human beings. Noticing the process of communication, it is assumed that two main activities occur in it, namely speaking and listening.

     Finocchiaro (1974: 2) also convinces us that all normal human beings are able to speak and no tribe is found without an oral language. From this, it is regarded that an oral language / speaking is a language skill that is absolutely possessed by every normal human being. The ability to speak can be seen from daily activities. As social creatures, people always interact with one another, surely they could not live alone and it is the oral language that is used as an instrument to interact.

                  Bygate (in Nunan,1995:40) says that communicative interaction can be  identified through the existence of participants negotiating a meaning and in a general term their existence is to control interaction by noticing who is saying, to whom the speakers are saying, what is discussed, and when the interaction occurs. Consciously or not people who are speaking experience those particulars. 

     When people speak, they construct ideas in words, express their perceptions, their feelings, and their intentions, so that the interlocutors grasp the meaning of what the speakers mean. Here, the process seems very complicated since the speakers do not merely produce words without any meaning, but they do intentionally to represent their intention. Finicchiaro adds that all languages are a very essential instrument that enables speakers to state their existence and others, ask something, express agreement and refusal. For this reason, oral language or speaking is regarded principle.

                  Joji Miyauchi (2001:5) assumes that speaking is an action to produce  words. This of course still brings a general idea  since not every action to produce words is meaningful. Then, Joji Miyauchi reviews his assumsion by quoting MacDonough (1993:152) and says that in speaking activities there is an intension to speak that is to communicate something in the speaker’s mind. In communicating there is a goal to achieve, such as: to inform something, to solve problems, and to maintain social interaction and friendship. From the explanation above, it can be derived that speaking is actually an action to produce words to express ideas, feelings and intentions for communications.

                  If speaking is an action to communicate, it does not only cover knowledge in the language but also skill to use it. Bygate (1987: 1) says that in order to be able to speak a foreign language, learners need to know certain grammar and vocabulary. In addition , it is necessary to get the learners to actually say something. To do this they must act on knowledge of grammar and vocabulary. By giving learners ‘speaking practice’ and oral exams we recognize that two things involve in using the language, namely knowledge and skill.

                  There are two basic ways in which speaking can be seen as a skill. They are motor-perceptive skills and interaction skills. Motor perceptive skills involve perceiving, recalling, and articulating in the correct order sounds and structures of the language. While interaction skills involve making decisions about communication, such as: what to say, how to say it, and whether to develop it, in accordance with one’s intentions, while maintaining the desired relations with others. (Bygate, 1987:6).      

                  In addition to that, speaking is seen as a skill since practices are applied to acquire it. People willing to be able to speak a foreign language must practice and practice to use the language.  It is impossible for them to be successful to speak only relying on learning the knowledge of the language without any practice of that language.

                  In a language teaching process in which the goal of teaching is to enable learners to communicate, the learners need to be given a lot of chance to practice using the language learned. It is only through  practices that the ability of learners to speak can increase. Offner (2001:2) convinces us that  the only way to acquire English speaking skill is through practices. The learners who want to be skillful at speaking English willy-nilly must  practice to speak using English. For this reason, speaking can be regarded as the ability to express ideas and feelings that can be acquired through practices.

4. The Implication of extroversion in speaking

     Learning English covers complicated process since many variables involve. Those variables might come from either inside or outside the learners and affect the process of learning language. One of the variables coming from inside is personality. Extroversion is a preferred personality as it is assumed that western people regard it as a desirable behavior and ideal, while its antithesis, introversion is undesirable. This  assumption is brought into classroom and “speaking” teachers will value this. It implies that quiet, reserved personalities are treated as problems, and language teachers seek ways of encouraging extroversion.

Susana Teopilus (2000: 66) says that personality has some influence on the success of learning the second language and one thing that constructs personality is extroversion. According to Brown (1980: 110), extroversion is a potential and crucial  factor in learning a second language, especially in developing speaking skill of foreign language.

Research conducted by Ratih (2002) shows that there is a correlation between extroversion degree and speaking achievement. It is shown from its correlation coefficient (r = 0,425) through regression Ÿ =10,450 + 0,427 X. It means that the more extrovert the person is, the better achievement of speaking skill the learners will get. This finding supports the assumption that extroversion plays an important role in developing speaking skill. If it becomes a crucial factor, there should be an effort to develop speaking skill by making learners to tend to have extroverted personality or at least teachers have to provide some possibilities which can enable learners to have similar characteristics as extroverts.

Speaking skill requires some aspects, namely linguistic and non linguistic aspects. The first aspect is the main requirement that the English learners should possess in order to speak it well, while the second functions to support the learners to achieve a success in acquiring speaking skill. Extroversion is a part of nonlinguistic aspect that plays a role to acquire speaking achievement.

In an effort of increasing the students' speaking achievement, teachers of speaking subject are responsible for the students' acquisition. For the sake of this task, they need to be tactful in deciding techniques employed in the teaching and learning process. Teachers' adaptation to the needs of learners should be created. The teachers are invited to be responsive to difficulties faced by the learners in trying to develop their ability to speak English. Dealing with their tasks, teachers of Speaking need to consider their learners' extroversion. 

                        The role of extroversion in developing speaking skill is implied in the process of learning and teaching. There are many teaching components involved. Those components interact one another and finally influence the success of learning. One of the teaching components is teaching techniques. Its existence enables learners to develop the skill they learn as the technique that is applied in classroom can provide some chance for the learners to learn to speak or not. Teachers of speaking need to be aware of internal condition of the learners when they are trying to learn to speak. The technique chosen can support learners and make them brave to speak. Conversely an inappropriate technique can make the learners avoid practicing and learning to speak.

Many English learners find problems to develop their ability to speak because of introversion. To solve the problems, the role of teachers is dispensable. The teachers are expected to be responsive toward their learners' participation in speaking activities. Therefore it is a task for the teachers to detect their students’ involvement whether their students are active to participate or not in the speaking activities. If the teachers find out that learners are not active in classroom because of lacking of motivation, the teachers need to create an atmosphere that can motivate them, such as: games, challenging tasks and prompt actions. If an inactive involvement found out is caused by introversion or it seems that the learners are less sufficient to be extrovert, the teachers need to give an extra attention to guide them to overcome their feeling of fear or shyness, for examples: creating a relax situation in teaching, asking the most talkative ones not to dominate the class, and giving a fair chance to the frightened and shy learners to participate.

It was stated by Brown in advance that extroversion is a potential and very important factor in second or foreign language acquisition, especially in improving speaking skill. This assumption appears in accordance with the conventional assumption in western society that introversion is not a preferred personality, conversely with extrovert personality which is shown to be friendly, sociable and talkative is more preferred and considered ideal. This assumption is brought in a Speaking class where teachers consider problems if their pupils tend to keep silent and not to participate speaking activities. Therefore, teachers always find ways to lead learners to tend to have characters to be like extroverts, so that the learners are willing to speak and motivated to show bravery to speak.

Based on the indicated characteristics of extroversion, several implications of each indicated characteristic will be discussed below.  Firstly, indicator of extrovert person is the tendency of being active. This tendency can be seen in their involvement in the speaking activity. Those who tend to be extrovert will tend to be active to speak and even always try to dominate the class as the internal condition as the extra energy forces the learners to show the activity. This type of character automatically will bring out some advantages, as the learners are always energized to speak and speak. Referring to the assumption that the only way to enable learners to have a speaking skill is through practice, certainly this type of characteristic will provide more chance for the learners to practice speaking.

Secondly, extrovert learners are indicated to be sociable and easy  going. They tend to enjoy meeting people, not to seem clumsy. To be easy to adapt to a new atmosphere characterizes this personality. This of course  provides benefits for the owners to support to gain the skill earlier.

Thirdly, people having extrovert personality tend to be talkative. The talkativeness has become their habit. This personality is very beneficial to develop the ability to speak. This supports learners to  practice speaking and finally can increase their achievement in oral proficiency. 

The forth indicator is risk taking.  Extroverts tend to be brave to take risks. Psychologically learners are afraid to make mistakes when it is the first time to learn to speak. Beginners should be trained in such away so that they are not afraid to make mistakes.  Learners who are brave to take risk are those who are not afraid to make mistakes in producing utterances. Although they make mistakes, they still try hard to practice speaking. It results in positive effect. Learners with this type get benefits from being brave to the risk so that they can develop their skill.

Fifthly, Impulsiveness characterizes someone to behave extrovertly.  Impulsiveness is an action that happens spontaneously, without any advanced consideration from doers. If one’s degree of impulsiveness is low, it is assumed that the learner could not show tactful speaking ability to respond his interlocutor. In conducting communication, he could not be able to respond spontaneously because he needs to think and consider what he wants to say first before deciding to express it. Consequently, it influences the speed of communication. This problem should be limited. Therefore, in speaking activity learners are demanded to have high degree of impulsiveness so that communication can run well. One of suggested ways to solve this problem is providing the time limit spent in group works.  To develop student’s speaking skill, teachers should be aware of the impulsive aspect and expected to lead learners to be have high degree of impulsiveness.

Sixthly, extroversion is identified with the high degree of expressiveness. This factor affects the evaluation toward speaking skill. A learner’s speaking achievement could be less satisfactory because of their plain expression although the one has a good language competence. To get a satisfactory achievement, learners are demanded to show a good expression. And to develop their speaking skill, teachers should train them to have right expressions in uttering words and sentences.

Whether someone tends to be extrovert or not can be seen from their responsibility. According to Eysenck, an extrovert has a low degree of awareness toward his responsibility. Conversely an introvert has a high degree sense of responsibility. Ideally, learning achievement is determined by the responsibility of learners to achieve it. However research proves that a degree of responsibility correlates negatively with extroversion. It means that the more responsible the person is, the less extrovert the person will be. Responsibility here refers to the accurateness, caution, carefulness, and alertness of someone in doing something. The more responsible the person is, the more introvert he will be or the less extrovert will be. Learners with a type of personality of being too cautious, alert, careful and afraid making mistakes will get disadvantages and be hindered by their own personality in developing their speaking skill. It is suggested for beginners to omit their way of being too careful in uttering words and sentences. Teachers need to let them make mistakes first and to avoid prompt notification so that the learners feel confident to express ideas. If teachers always interrupt and show the learners mistakes on the spot, the teachers unconsciously hinder the learners to develop their speaking skill. The implication of this matter in the process of learning and teaching is that teachers of speaking are to create an interesting atmosphere so that the learners feel safe, not afraid to practice speaking the language learned and finally could get a good achievement.

5. Conclusion

In language learning and teaching process, there are many components involved. Those components are teachers, learners, curriculum, methods of teaching, and materials. Learners become one of the components that could not be neglected. However good the quality of the teacher is, it does not give a guarantee that the outcome will be successful.  Focusing on the learners, many problems appear in the effort of acquiring skill of speaking a second and foreign language. Those can come from either the outside of learners or inside of the learners. One of the problems coming from the inside is lacking of extroversion.

Extroversion is a type of one’s personality that is shown from the tendency of being active, sociable, brave to take risk, impulsive, expressive, less reflective and less responsible. Extroversion characterizing one’s personality is very rare to happen in the extreme pole. One’s degree of extroversion ranges variously from the most extrovert to the most introvert.  

Extroversion is an important aspect that influences language acquisition especially in acquiring the skill of speaking.   Extroversion is beneficial for the learners since it provides chance for them to practice speaking. Therefore, there should be efforts that enable the second language learners to take advantages that characterize extroversion. In the teaching and learning process teachers need to lead them to the favor of extroversion.

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