Character traits change upon language switch in Croatian speakers of English

In this paper we tackle the feeling of a personality change users of more than one language reportedly experience when switching between their languages. We set to investigate if Croatian learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) experience a character trait change when switching between Croat...

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Main Authors: Anna Schiavon, Kristina Cergol
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Christian Academic Circle 2024-01-01
Series:Nova Prisutnost
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/465961
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author Anna Schiavon
Kristina Cergol
author_facet Anna Schiavon
Kristina Cergol
author_sort Anna Schiavon
collection DOAJ
description In this paper we tackle the feeling of a personality change users of more than one language reportedly experience when switching between their languages. We set to investigate if Croatian learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) experience a character trait change when switching between Croatian and English; which of the Big Five Inventory (BFI) personality dimensions change the most and which the least in Croatians using English, as well as whether there is a difference in this character trait change between different EFL proficiency groups. A total of 94 Croatian EFL speakers participated in the study. The sample was divided into a more proficient EFL speaker group (C1 level) and a less proficient EFL speaker group (B2 level). Each participant completed an EFL proficiency test and two sets of BFI questionnaires. One BFI set focused on the character traits the participants reported having while using Croatian; the second BFI set focused on the traits they reported having while using English. The results show that the participants experience a personality change when switching between their two languages and that different levels of language proficiency affect certain personality dimensions in EFL learners. In conclusion, we propose that the more proficient speakers may be bicultural and are experiencing cultural frame switching.
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1848-8676
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spelling doaj-art-5baeba7a1c4a4065b055df8df894ecc92024-11-13T15:17:10ZengChristian Academic CircleNova Prisutnost1334-23121848-86762024-01-01XXII362763810.31192/np.22.3.10Character traits change upon language switch in Croatian speakers of EnglishAnna Schiavon0Kristina Cergol1Elementary School Vrbani, Zagreb, CroatiaUniversity of Zagreb, Faculty of Teacher Education, English Teaching Department, Zagreb, CroatiaIn this paper we tackle the feeling of a personality change users of more than one language reportedly experience when switching between their languages. We set to investigate if Croatian learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) experience a character trait change when switching between Croatian and English; which of the Big Five Inventory (BFI) personality dimensions change the most and which the least in Croatians using English, as well as whether there is a difference in this character trait change between different EFL proficiency groups. A total of 94 Croatian EFL speakers participated in the study. The sample was divided into a more proficient EFL speaker group (C1 level) and a less proficient EFL speaker group (B2 level). Each participant completed an EFL proficiency test and two sets of BFI questionnaires. One BFI set focused on the character traits the participants reported having while using Croatian; the second BFI set focused on the traits they reported having while using English. The results show that the participants experience a personality change when switching between their two languages and that different levels of language proficiency affect certain personality dimensions in EFL learners. In conclusion, we propose that the more proficient speakers may be bicultural and are experiencing cultural frame switching.https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/465961Big Five character traitsCroatian L1English L2
spellingShingle Anna Schiavon
Kristina Cergol
Character traits change upon language switch in Croatian speakers of English
Nova Prisutnost
Big Five character traits
Croatian L1
English L2
title Character traits change upon language switch in Croatian speakers of English
title_full Character traits change upon language switch in Croatian speakers of English
title_fullStr Character traits change upon language switch in Croatian speakers of English
title_full_unstemmed Character traits change upon language switch in Croatian speakers of English
title_short Character traits change upon language switch in Croatian speakers of English
title_sort character traits change upon language switch in croatian speakers of english
topic Big Five character traits
Croatian L1
English L2
url https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/465961
work_keys_str_mv AT annaschiavon charactertraitschangeuponlanguageswitchincroatianspeakersofenglish
AT kristinacergol charactertraitschangeuponlanguageswitchincroatianspeakersofenglish