An Investigation Into The Relationship Between Test-takers’ Personality And Their Interactional Competence

This study investigates the effect of test-takers’personality on their display of interactional competence (IC) in CET-SET group oral test. Specifically, the study examines:1) the degree to which extroversion/introversion as measured by Gong Yaoxian’s version of Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ-RSC) affects an individual test-taker’s display of IC; and2) the degree to which the levels of extroversion of the group test-takers are assigned to affect their display of IC.The study included255students who took CET-SET in2010. Test-takers’ personalities were determined by the T value obtained from EPQ-RSC. Their group discussion in CET-SET was video-recorded and transcribed. Their IC sub-scores were compared. The IC features displayed by each test-taker during the discussion were coded and analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively.The results of descriptive statistics and MANOVA showed no significant difference between the IC scores of the individual extroverts and introverts. Additional descriptive statistics indicated the degree of extroversion did not affect the display of the spoken discourse features. Frequency count showed slight differences in the display of socio-cultural competence and strategic competence between the extroverts and introverts. Results of conversation analysis confirmed that active participation in the discussion depended on test-takers’ oral English proficiency rather than their personality.Descriptive statistics and MANOVA analysis also found group members’ personality didn’t significantly affect individual test-taker’s IC scores. Conversation analysis further revealed that the individual test-taker’s performance largely depended on his/her own oral English proficiency. However, frequency counting found no consistent results in the display of socio-cultural competence and strategic competence among different personality groups.On the whole, this study found test-takers’ personality was not the rebuttal to the warrants of CET-SET. However, the shared salient interaction features of all the discussion groups should arouse the test developers’ attention.