ID The Effects of Extraversion/Introversion on the Use of Strategic Competence in Written Referential Communication

This study investigates the relationship between extraversion/introversion personality dimension and the use of strategic competence (SC) in written referential communication by Iranian EFL learners. Referential communication refers to a kind of guided communication in which the referents (or topics) are given to the subjects (here, writers) to convey their meanings to the interactants (here, readers). 50 sophomore English students of Arak University were selected from among 70 ones to participate in this study. Using the Persian restandardized version of the adult EPQ (Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, 1975) the subjects were divided into two groups of extravert and introvert. The homogeneity of the participants was determined by the Michigan test (1997) at the upper-intermediate level of proficiency. Each individual in the groups was given the communicative tasks to communicate in writing with a partner. Then, the performance of the extravert group was analyzed and compared with that of the introvert group in using compensatory strategies (CSs) in terms of type and frequency as identified by a taxonomy. The results revealed that, as far as total performance is concerned, introvert participants used conceptual strategies more than the extravert ones, while extravert participants used a sub-type of interactional strategies i.e. confirmation strategies, and the two sub-types of linguistic strategies *E-mail address