Comparing the Impact of Divergent and Convergent Tasks on Extrovert and Introvert EFL Learners’ Writing Performance

Abstract

The present study attempted to study the comparative effect of convergent and divergent tasks on introvert and extrovert English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ writing ability. 120 homogeneous EFL learners between 20 to 28 years old (Mage = 24), including 60 extroverts and 60 introverts, were selected as the participants of this study; they were assigned into 4 groups. In order to categorize the participants as introverts and extroverts, the Persian translation of Eysenck and Eysenck’s (1985) Personality Inventory was employed. A number of PET tests by Quintana (2004) were piloted and employed for selecting homogenous individuals and testing participants’ entry and exit writing performances. Running a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that there were not significant differences between the extrovert and introvert participants' means on the posttest of writing (F (1, 116) = 3.67, p =.058, η2 = .031). It was also concluded that the divergent group had a significant but moderately higher mean on the posttest of writing than the convergent group (F (1, 116) = 16.32, p =.000, η2 = .12). The significance of divergent tasks over convergent tasks among introvert and extrovert participants was also confirmed through running 3 independent samples t-tests.