Personality, language learning motivation and achievement

Abstract

© 2018, Pedagoska Obzorja d.o.o. All rights reserved. The aim of this paper is to determine the effects of personality traits on motivation for foreign language learning and achievement. The research included 303 university students of the University of Novi Sad and the Preschool Teacher Training College in the town of Vršac. They filled out two questionnaires: IPIP-50 (Goldberg, 2001) and Language Learning Orientations Scale – Intrinsic Motivation, Extrinsic Motivation and Amotivation Subscales (LLOS-IEA). (Noel, Pelletier, Clement & Vallerand, 2000). Correlation analyses show that Emotional Stability is negatively related to extrinsic motivation. Extraversion is significantly related to identified regulation and negatively to amotivation. Openness to experience is significantly correlated with all aspects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience, Emotional Stability, and Agreeableness are significant predictors of success, suggesting that the impact of personality traits on success is more important than that of motivation. The results are interpreted in the context of what pedagogues can do to encourage and foster stu-dents’ motivation and achievement.