The Role of Extraversion and Its Features, Sociability and Social Interaction, in the Oral Performance of Iranian EFL Learners

Sociability and social interaction are the main attributes of extraversion which cause people to enjoy interacting with others, be more inclined toward social activities, be more adventurous and risk-taking, seek excitement in the company of others rather than in themselves, be more successful in social relationships, and be willing to play more social roles. The current study aimed at investigating the relationship between extraversion, and its attributes, sociability and social interaction, with the oral performance and its components including cohesion and fluency, pronunciation, grammatical accuracy, and lexical resources of Iranian English language learners. To this end, 257 English language learners attended an oral interview and subsequently answered the personality questionnaire of Goldberg (1999). The results of the structural equation modeling analysis indicated that extraversion and willingness to engage in social interactions has indirect significant effects on the oral performance of English language learners. The results of the study are discussed and implications are suggested.