Personality and development of second language pragmatic competence

This study examined the effect of personality on the development of pragmatic competence among second language (L2) learners of English. Participants were 48 Japanese college students of English in an English-medium university in Japan. They completed a speaking test (k=12) that assessed their ability to produce two speech acts: requests and opinions, in highand low-imposition situations. The measure was given three times over one academic year to track down development. Speech acts were analyzed for appropriateness (rated on a 5-point-scale) and fluency (planning time and speech rate). Participants' personality was measured via Keirsey's (1998) temperament sorter, and its effect on change in appropriateness and fluency was assessed. Results revealed no significant effect of the introvert-extrovert dimension on any aspects of pragmatic change. However, there was a significant effect of the feeling-thinking dimension on appropriateness and planning time.