The Impact of Sequential Multilingualism on Self-Perceived Personality Shift: The Case of Master One EFL Students at M’sila University
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Date
2025-07-14
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Publisher
UNIVERSITY OF MOHAMED BOUDIAF- M’SILA
Abstract
ABSTRACT
In the context of bilingualism and simultaneous multilingualism, many studies have
examined the phenomenon of personality shift, but only a few were conducted on
sequential multilinguals, and fewer investigated the impact of social context on the
phenomenon. This study aims to explore whether sequential multilinguals perceive a shift
in their personality traits when using a foreign language and the influence of different
social contexts on these perceptions. The study adopted a mixed-method approach with an
exploratory design in nature, and implemented descriptive method, using an embedded
design questionnaire with both scaled and open-ended questions with an adaptation of the
Big Five Inventory. The participants of the study (n=64) were Master One EFL students at
M’sila University, and their answers were statistically analyzed and thematically coded
concerning the open-ended responses. The findings of the study showed that participants
perceived notable personality shifts in agreeableness and openness when using SL/FL
compared to L1, while other traits, which are neuroticism and extraversion were
moderately affected. Moreover, social contexts were found to play a role in how
personality traits were expressed. This study supports the notion that personality traits are
dynamic and provides insights on sequential multilinguals’ percieved personality shift
when they use SL/FL, and the impact of social contexts of traits manifestation.
Description
Keywords
Keywords: Language Acquisition, Sequential Multilingualism, Multilingual Personality, Language and Identity, Social Context, Personality Shift, The Big Five Personality Model