Abstract:

The paper aims to find the relationship between personality traits and the productive skills of students during their oral presentation in a foreign language. The research focuses on personality, cognitive and language variables in learners` speech performance. Secondly, the research endeavours to investigate to what extent personality traits influence learners’ performance in foreign language presentation. As a result, the links between cognition and foreign language processes are presented, while raising a differentiated approach to learners which plays a dominant role in selecting teaching methods. The results show a high and positive score of openness to experience towards discourse management and interactive communication in university students. Conscientiousness has also a positive effect on discourse management, and on the fluency of the speech. Extroversion partially affects grammar and vocabulary. A strong relationship was proven between agreeableness and pronunciation. Self-confidence was found to have a strong relationship with the English language, thus having a positive performance in the foreign language.

Extraversion was indicated as a more influential factor in secondary school students. Neuroticism showed no significant relationship in both university students and secondary school students. To develop productive communicative skills teachers must therefore be aware of personality traits that influence learners in acquiring their communicative competence in an effective way.

Keywords:

Personality traits, performance, a foreign language, learners, productive communicative skills, university students, secondary school students, openness.