Tuesday's Tip for Language Learning #29: Personality Types
Excerpt from Think Yourself into Becoming a Language Learning Super Star
Personality Types
Every
person has a personality unlike any one else. However, there are some
commonalities. Jung (1921/2016) identified four continua that he called
personality types.[1]
These are (1) extroversion-introversion, (2) intuiting-sensing, (3)
thinking-feeling, and (4) rational-irrational.[2] One can also be
situationally one and the other, i.e. neither one end of the continuum or the
other.[3]
Extroversion________________Introversion
Sensing
____________________Intuiting
Thinking ___________________Feeling
Rational
(Judging) ___________________ Irrational (Perceiving)[4]
Extroverts and introverts
Jung
does not use these terms in the way that the lay reader might expect. These
terms do not mean gregarious or shy. Introverts can be gregarious, and
extroverts can be shy. Rather, Jung defines the difference on the basis of
energy and values. Extroverts gain energy when they are with others. Introverts
lose energy when they are with others. Therefore, extroverts tend to be shallow
processors, looking to others to join with in learning new information.
Introverts tend to be deep processors and look only inside themselves in
learning new information. Extroverts’ values can be influenced by others.
Introverts’ values are set within, period.
As
an extrovert, some of your best ways of going about gaining a foreign language
are finding native speakers in your community to help and to get to know.
Working with small groups will be comfortable for you, as will giving
presentations (though the introverted nature of preparing a presentation might
bore you to the point of putting off preparing until the last minute). Chances
are you will be better at expressing yourself orally in class than you will be
on paper. (See if any of the writing strategies in the previous section of this
book can help you with the latter.) In a class of mostly introverts, you might
be perceived as loud, noisy, and perhaps even pushy. Be aware that can be the
case, and “cool it” when you see that you are carrying the verbal activity for
your whole class on our own shoulders.
As
an introvert, some of your best ways of going about gaining a foreign language
are reading and writing—and watching movies, especially if you are an auditory
learner. If you feel a little overwhelmed when assigned to a small group, you
could offer to be the recorder. For project presentations, rehearse, rehearse,
rehearse. Not only will it help get your nerves under control, it will also
very much improve your speaking skills. Although it may feel uncomfortable, you
will have to develop some willingness to speak up in class for two reasons: (1)
you need the speaking practices, and (2) if the class has a lot of extroverts,
you will not look passive, you will look unprepared and, unfairly, incompetent.
extrovert = stronger
speaker skills
introverts = stronger
reading and listening skills
Intuitives and sensers
Intuition
and sensing differ in many important ways. This difference can be a strong bone
of contention when working in groups—either on the job or in the classroom.
Intuitives
are focused on possibilities, the future, and dreams. Facts and statistics bore
them, and they usually will respond that statistics can be manipulated to show
whatever the manipulator wants. They tend to prefer to learn inductively. If
you are an intuitive, inductive learner, there is a fair chance that your
textbook may be impeding your progress, as well as the structure of the course.
Typically, textbooks are deductive tools. They teach the rules and then give
opportunities to practice applying them. It is the practicing that causes the
learning—for deductive learners. For intuitive learners, being able to figure
out the rules on their own from lots of examples sets up the condition for
learning. Learning is usually of the ah-hah/binding type once the rule is
realized. Practice does not hut; it keeps it in memory. However, once bound, it
is usually in memory, anyway. If you are an intuitive, inductive learner, you
may need to take upon yourself setting up those conditions for
learning/binding. One way to do that is to find a lot of authentic materials on
the topic or that might contain the rule—the Internet can help with that. So,
if you know your class will be starting to study past tense(s), the find a
bunch of articles on history. Throw out those that are way beyond your level.
Read as many of the others as you can within the time you have—before the past
tense is introduced in your class and before you read your textbook. Once you
think you have figured out what the past tense looks like, confirm by looking
at your textbook or when the rules for formation and use are presented in the
classroom.[5] (If you got it a bit
wrong, your brain will usually make an automatic adjustment.)
Sensers
are the polar opposite of the intuitives. Well, more accurately, strong sensers
are the polar opposite of the strong intuitives. As you approach midpoint on
the continuum, you are comfortable with traits from either pole. That said,
sensers are focused on actualities, the present, and reality. Facts and
statistics are meaningful to them, and they usually will them to bolster, or
even, form their opinions. They tend to prefer to learn deductively. Textbooks
were written for them. Traditional classroom instruction was meant for them.
Present a rule, explain it, practice it, use it. That is generally how they
learn and remember. If you are a senser, chances the regular classroom
assignments. How to do that? Work with a mentor or native speaker who can help
you understand and practice the structure, words, and grammar of the text. Or,
find a textbook that explains the same concepts in a way that better matches
your need for deduction. Unlike the intuitives, it will probably not be helpful
to try to do any of this in advance. Just be prepared, once some linguistic
phenomenon comes up in class that you do not understand to turn to whatever
resources you have already identified.
intuitive = find answers
yourself before class
deductive = let others
guide you to the answers during or after class
Thinkers and feelers
Thinkers
and feelers differ considerably in their basic values. This difference colors
how they react to each other, other cultures, and the universe.
Thinkers
put principle over people and choose justice over mercy. They are, by nature,
logical. They tend to be book learners. The kinds of learning that will likely
work best for you are reading books, getting your learning from books
(authentic ones, written for native speakers, if you are an intuitive learner),
and argumentation. Debates and competitions in the classroom will be helpful
for you; if these are not on the menu for your course, then find other
opportunities for these things, perhaps through language clubs, or how about
putting together a debate club in your target language and pull in some other
thinkers in your class. Equally important, if you are a thinker, you should be
aware of some your likely expectations that might not be met in a course where
the teacher is not a thinker. For example, your teacher might praise you in
ways you think are overkill—and not even wait to take a loot at how good your
work is before gushing over your effort. The teacher means well; don’t do what
most thinkers do and become annoyed because you think the teacher is being
condescending. More annoyingly, your teacher may want to know more about you
than you want to share—realize that this is the nature of her personality; she
cares.
Feelers
put people over principle and choose mercy over justice. They are, by nature,
compassionate. They tend to be book learners. The kinds of learning that will
likely work best for you are interacting with people. If your course is all
bookwork and reading (or, at least, seems so to you), join a language club,
find native speakers in your community with whom you can develop a friendship
or whom you can help in some way. Meet with other feelers in your class to work
on homework, review, or otherwise work together. Equally important, if you are
a feeler, you should be aware of some your likely expectations that might not
be met in a course where the teacher is not a feeler. For example, your teacher
might seem not to notice you—no praise for the effort you are making, maybe not
seeming to call on you as often as others (could be a misperception), and seems
cold to you. Check in with your feeling classmates. It is probably not you;
they, too, probably have the same reaction to the teacher. Get past this sense
of isolation from the teacher by realizing that a Thinking teacher tends to be
more interested in the brains of their students than their personalities and
their personal lives. So, keep in mind: it is not personal (pun intended)!
a collection of books =
a likely thinker
a collection of people =
a likely feeler
Judgers and perceiver
Judgers
and perceivers differ in their need for closure. They also differ in their need
for structure—or desire for freedom. And, they differ in whether or not they
prefer to work on one thing or many things at the same time—though that
correlation does not always hold up.
Judging
is perhaps not the best term because judgers do not judge any more than anyone
else does and are not any more judgmental than other people. They are
judicious, sensible, detail-oriented learners. They put their work ahead of
their play, and they feel at ease once they have closure (after making a purchase,
after finishing homework, after finishing a test, etc.). If you are a judger,
you can help yourself perform better by (1) clarifying your teacher’s
expectations, (2) not overscheduling yourself, (3) tasking a deep breath and
adapt to new expectations and changes in your environment, and (4) not rushing
your work, which includes not turning in your exam as soon as you have
completed it but checking it over several times first.
Perceivers seem spontaneous, flexible, and sometimes fickle to judgers. They like their play, often seem to have excess energy, and seem to always be open to new things, including activities that have been schedule—oh, how they dislike schedules! Unlike judgers, who finish the assignment on the due date, all too often (for their own academic health) perceivers begin their assignments on the due date. Some perceivers have been heard to say, “Deadlines amuse me.”[6] If you are perceiver, here are some things that can help you fare better in your language (or any) course: (1) pay attention to deadlines—you might need to get some training in time-management skills, which would be well worth the effort; (2) when the structured environment is overwhelming, negotiate some flexibility if you can[7]; ()3) keep your goal in front of you to keep you on track—post it on your refrigerator or a mirror if you need to.
work now, play later =
judger
play now, work later =
perceiver
[1]
Socionists (Filatova, 2009) and a mother-daughter team (Briggs-Myers and Myers,
1980) used Jung’s continua to suggest 16 different styles. We will not cover
all these styles here, but more information can be found in many sources,
including The Invisible Foreign Language Classroom (Dabbs & Leaver,
2019) and Achieving Success in Second Language Acquisition (Leaver,
Ehrman, & Shekhtman, 2002).
[2]
Socionists and Jung use these terms, rational and irrational. Briggs-Myers and
Myers (1980) use judging (rational) and perceiving (irrational).
[3]
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (Briggs-Myers & Myers,1980) can determine
your personality type. If you do not already know it, you might find one of the
websites that offers the test for free though the results can be less accurate
than if you pay for the official MBTI.
[4]
Remember, Jung called this continuum by the terms Rational and
Irrational; MBTI uses the terms Judging and Perceiving. The
MBTI terms are used in this section because they are the most commonly known.
[5]
Years ago, I went to Brazil for the first time. I knew Spanish, but not a word
of Portuguese. When I landed in São Paolo, I bought a book for learning Portuguese
fast. It was called Emotional Intelligence and was a translation of Goleman’s
book by that title. Why that book and not a textbook? I had only a few days
before I would be participating in a national education policy meeting which
would be conducted in Portuguese. It worked. I was able to participate in the
big group meeting and in the small group discussions. Sure, I was having to
learn pronunciation on the spot and adjusting as I went along—and others had to
work at times to understand me, but we got the work done. To answer the
question, then, why that book, I offer the following explanations: (1) I could
understand the book contents thanks to the fact that I knew the general content
rather well; (2) I could figure out many of the words because of their
similarity to Spanish words—they share an original language; and (3) the nature
of the book provided all the tenses in a way to figure out which were which:
descriptions were in the present tense,
example stories were in the past tense, and suggestions for application of the
theory were in the future tense. Not all books will serve as well, but raw,
authentic material for intuitive learners can hurtle them past the beginning
levels of study, especially if they have a chance to be learning the language
in a country where it is spoken.
[6] My husband is a perceiver who works as a graphic artist. At one copy shop where he worked, he had a sign on his computer that sad, “Deadlines amuse me.” I wonder how many customers it amused!
[7] I am a judger by day and a perceiver by night (i.e. in the middle of the continuum), and as a student I did get bored quite easily. I once negotiated with an English teacher to set my own writing assignments. Because I enjoyed my own self-assigned work, I ended up doing far more than the course required, delighting my teacher and enlightening me.
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