The Effect of Jigsaw Task on Oral Proficiency of Extroverted and Introverted Learners

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the possible effect of jigsaw task on oral proficiency of extroverted and introverted learners. To do so, ۵۰ out of ۹۰ intermediate Iranian female students studying in private language college in Mahmood Abad, Mazandaran Province, Iran were selected. The participants were selected based on the Oxford Placement Test and Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. In addition, the selected participants were divided into two experimental groups. Twenty-five students were assigned to the extrovert group, and twenty-five students were assigned to the introvert group. Both groups received one type of task, which was jigsaw task. The task was based on the conversation and discussion about a topic. The oral pre-test was administered before giving the treatments and oral-post-test was administered after giving the treatments. A paired samples t-test and an independent samples t-test were used to compare the oral proficiency tests of the participants at the end of the treatment. The result of the first research question indicated that applying jigsaw task had significant effects on oral performance of extrovert and introvert EFL learners. In this regard, the first hypothesis was rejected. Moreover, there was statistically significant difference between the performances of the extrovert and the introvert groups in oral proficiency after they were given jigsaw tasks and the extrovert group performed significantly better than the introvert group. In this regard, the second hypothesis of the study was also rejected. The present research provided a number of implications for language teachers and syllabus designers toward using tasks in the classroom contexts.

Keywords:

EFL Learners , Extroverts , Introverts , Jigsaw Tasks , Oral Proficiency