Individual Variables and English Language Performance

There has been a vast body of research in second language acquisition with a focus on the area of individual differences (ID) as one of its most thoroughly studied psychological aspects. According to these studies, second language learning achievement can often be predicted by IDs. For the purpose of this research, the authors decided to focus on the following individual variables: personality, foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) and general English language competence (GELC) measured by a cloze test. This research aims to investigate the relationship between the aforementioned variables across four study programmes, i.e. Business, Information Technology, Electrical Engineering and Medicine. The sample was composed of 150 students from the University of Split. Data were collected by means of questionnaires and a cloze test. Our hypotheses were partly confirmed. The results of the study show that GELC is significantly negatively related to Extraversion and Conscientiousness and positively to Intellect. The findings also reveal that students experiencing lower anxiety levels score higher on Emotional Stability scale. Further, FLCA was found to be the strongest predictor of GELC. With reference to differences in personality dimensions, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability and Intellect, business students tend to have higher anxiety levels and are significantly more conscientious than IT students who, in turn, obtained significantly better results on cloze test. At the same time, business students demonstrate significantly lower Intellect levels in comparison to medical students. In conclusion, several practical classroom implications arise from this research. Teachers should take into consideration students' personality traits and anxiety levels when developing their teaching and assessment methods and providing anxiety-free classroom environment.