Abstract:

Writing is a highly individual practice and therefore, it is believed that the individual learner's attitude towards writing and their approach to this ability is to some extent shaped by individual differences. A language classroom usually consists of several of such individuals and thus, the questions arises - what can be done to successfully teach a group of individuals, each of whom approaches the process of writing in their own way. In recent years, the question has been treated with great attention and both educators and researchers have been trying to answer it in the best possible way to foster students’ writing ability. One of the solutions suggested was to focus on learners’ personality styles in order to understand differences in how students process and use knowledge. Many pedagogists use the typology of personality introduced by C.G.Jung and further developed by Isabel Briggs Myers and her daughter Katharine Briggs. The typology distinguishes four different bi-polar dimensions, which represent opposing psychological processes. In terms of focusing one’s energy there are Extroverts and Introverts, Sensing and Intuition types have different ways of perceiving, Thinking and Feeling types make decisions in various ways, and, finally, Judging and Perceiving types approach tasks in the outer world distinctly differently.

The pilot study described in the presentation focuses on the relationship between personality styles and writing ability. The study has been conducted among Polish high school students (aged 14-15) and is in progress, due to finish in January – February 2020. First, students were asked to fill in MBTI (the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) in order to identify their personality types. The procedure that follows involves students writing their pieces on given topics, all compatible with school leaving exam standards. The pieces will then be graded in accordance with official exam grading, including the content, coherence and cohesion, language diversity and language accuracy. The number of words will also be counted.

In the final stage, the individual student’s pieces of writing and their grading will be assessed according to their personality type and conclusions will be drawn. The aim of the study is to see whether there is a relationship between students’ personality types and their writing performance, which in the future might help in designing writing classes and choosing methods and techniques effective for different kinds of students in order to enhance their performance.

Keywords:

Personality type, writing performance, MBTI, individual differences.