The enhancement of creativity through foreign language learning: Do personality traits matter?

Abstract

This study investigates how L2 proficiency contributes to creativity in relation to personality among 205 young adolescent English-as-a-foreign-language learners from rural China. Participants completed the Cambridge A2 Key for Schools English Test to assess English proficiency, the Chinese Big Five Personality Inventory to evaluate personality traits, and the Evaluation of Potential Creativity to measure creativity, operationalized as divergent and convergent thinking in verbal and graphic domains. Pearson correlation analyses revealed that L2 proficiency was positively associated with both divergent and convergent thinking across verbal and graphic domains, while Openness to Experience and Extraversion were positively linked to creativity components, albeit partially depending on the domain. Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism showed no significant associations with creativity. Structural equation modeling further demonstrated that L2 proficiency, Openness, and Extraversion directly co-predicted creativity components, excluding convergent thinking in the verbal domain.