HELP ACADEMIC WRITING

SHOWCASE

Volume 1 ~ Issue 2 ~ Fall II 2014

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With the permission of the students of the Fall Term II 2014 at the Hawaii English Language Program, this issue showcases the wonderful writing at three of HELP’s levels. HELP 142W is our Writing Foundations class, where students learn and practice the basics of writing good sentences and paragraphs. HELP 342W is our High-Intermediate Writing Expansion class that dives into a variety of essay types. HELP 442W is the advanced Academic Writing class that tackles the research paper and critical response essays. Please enjoy the students’ accomplishments. Note: For native-English speakers, some of the compositions don’t have “perfect” sentence structure and grammar. As instructors, we prefer not to over-correct our students’ writing and risk losing the writer’s authentic voice. To the writers – Some corrections were made for this publication only when the meaning was unclear.

Table of Contents Ming He, Gil Her, Kota Ishiyama, Shinae Hong, Yusei,Kaneko, Youngmi Lee, Eri Nagahama, Yuriko Nakamura, Keita Shimanaka, Heeseung Shin Food Price Survey ………………………………………………………………………….… 2

Yoseop Ahn. Happiness Is a Problem in Mind…………………………………………….... 4

Marina Iwamoto, Let’s Change Your Mind to a Positive Way ……………………………… 7

Akiko Kawai, The Importance of Continuation .……………………………………………. 8

Natsu Kato, Surfing Decides John’s Future ………………………………………………… 10

Mayu Kawashima, Wise Choice ……………………………………………………………… 12

Chisasko Okada, How People Feel More Stressful with the Growth of Technology ………. 13

Mio Osono, What Should Jane Do? ………………………………………………………… 14

Sung Su Yun, Fancy May Kill or Cure ……………………………………………………… 16

Chinatsu Eto, How Women Can Get Happier……………………………………………….. 18 Mishio Hirao, Emma’s Choice ……………………………………………………………… 19

Soo-min Park, The Stress of Korean Women in Their 20s ………………………………… 22

Tomoko Mori, When a Life Changes ………………………………………………………. 23

Hyunjung Gu, Extroverted and Introverted Students in Classes …………………………… 25

Karen Takada, How Do Extroverts Deal with Introverts ……………………………..…… 36

Moeka Yamada, Why People Are Curious to Know Their Personality …………………… 48

Younghee Lim, The Myths About Extraversion and Introversion ………………………… 56

Janete Hatada, How People Become Introverts: Nature vs. Nurture ……………………… 65

Anna Kakimoto, How Can Japanese Introverted Students Improve Their English Speaking? …………………………………………………………………………. 78

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Course:142W Teacher: Robert Morris

Food Price Survey

by Ming He, Gil Her, Kota Ishiyama, Shinae Hong, Yusei,Kaneko, Youngmi Lee,

Eri Nagahama, Yuriko Nakamura, Keita Shimanaka, Heeseung Shin Our HELP class at UH decided to do a food price survey. We surveyed five Honolulu supermarkets: Don Quijote, Foodland, Times, Safeway, and Food Pantry. Our writing class did the survey in pairs. Youngmi and Shinae went to Food Pantry. Eri and Kota went to Foodland. Yuriko and Ming went to Times. Shin and Gil went to Don Quijote. The last pair, Keita and Yusei, went to Safeway. We surveyed the prices of the ten food items chosen in the following chart. We wanted to find the supermarkets with the best prices. Food Items Don Quijote Safeway Foodland Times Food Pantry Reg. Spam (Hormel) 12 oz

$1.74

$3.53

$3.49

$1.79

$3.19

Corn Flakes (Kellogg's) 18 oz

$6.89

$8.39

$7.29

$5.68

$7.49

Onions (Yellow) per pound

$1.59

$1.79

$1.89

$1.89

$1.89

Chicken per pound

$3.39

$3.79

$2.49

$3.69

$2.69

Fillet Mignon per pound

$19.99

$17.99

$29.99

$27.44

$16.99

Noodles (Nissin) per package

$2.12

$2.39

$0.99

$0.78

$1.99

Orange juice (Tropicana) 59 oz

$5.99

$5.59

$6.69

$4.98

$7.99

Poke per pound

$8.79

$9.49

$11.99

$10.99

$5.49

Ice cream (Hagen Dazs) 14 oz

$2.95

$2.69

$5.79

$4.98

$5.99

Pineapple per pound

$0.79

$0.89

$0.99

$0.89

$0.99

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Conclusions Based on the price of Spam (12 oz), Don Quijote and Times were the cheapest at $1.79. Based on the price of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes (18 oz), Times was the cheapest at $5.68. Based on the price of yellow onions, Don Quijote was the cheapest at $1.59/lb. Based on the price of chicken, Foodland was the cheapest at $2.49/lb. Based on the price of fillet mignon, Food Pantry was the cheapest at $16.99/lb. Based on the price of Nissin noodles, Times was the cheapest at $0.78. Based on the price of orange juice, Times was the cheapest at $4.98. Bas on the price of poke, Food Pantry was the cheapest at #5.49/lb. Comparing this data, one can see that the cheapest market overall is Times. They had the lowest prices on four items. Don Quijote had the next best prices. The other three stores were more expensive.

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Yoseop Ahn HELP 342W(1)

Happiness Is a Problem in Mind

Human life has greatly improved in quality than in the past. People do not need to walk a lot, and no longer need to do the laundry by hand. Even people can talk to someone without seeing one. Thus, humans have been trying for the quality of their lives. If so, how have humans been committed to their happiness? Before speaking about it, please think about happiness. I am sure that standard of happiness is different from each person. There are people who seek money as the cause for happiness, or who find their happiness through commune with people. Of course, also authority and fame as a condition of happiness are often considered. I do not completely disagree with those. However, my opinion is different about happiness from the previous comments. I believe that the causes of true happiness come from the change of thought, rather than coming from the external environment because the happiness which comes from the external will disappear when its causes disappear. True happiness comes from the mind. Therefore, people are committed to finding their own happiness, but things they do for happiness are useless. I believe that there are three important reasons why people become happier as long as there is a change of thought in their mind. The first reason that people can be happier is when people realize that happiness is not “sought” but “discovered”. Many people are struggling to be happier. For those who think that happiness is based on money, to earn a lot of money is for their happiness, and for those who think of health as the basis for happiness, health care is to maintain and improve their happiness. I call this happiness that is based on these conditions such as money, health, authority, and fame, as “sought happiness.” In this case, only when certain conditions are met, people can feel happy. However, human greed has no end, so it is very difficult to always meet certain conditions. That is why if the conditions are not met, people cannot only feel unhappy but also lose courage even. Therefore, people should realize that true happiness is discovered in their life. In fact, many thousands of happy things are in the lives. Now look around your surroundings and think well what you can appreciate. In my case, there are many things that I would like to thank. I have father, mother, sisters, and two puppies. I am not sick. I have a book to read. I am in Hawaii. I have a lot of friends who always believe me. I do not lose my bus card. I meet a lot of good Japanese friends. I have a religion. I have a few foods in my refrigerator. In addition to these, I have a lot of subjects of happiness. I call this happiness that is based on minor appreciations as “discovered happiness.” Even though discovered happiness is regarded as minor, I am sure that these trivial happiness can be a great happiness together. True happiness is not cumbersome but appreciating small things. Therefore, if a little change is in their mind, people will become happier every moment in their life. In addition to appreciating minor things, happiness comes when people cherish the present life. Sometimes the value of happiness is relative. I think that this could be related to jealousy and envy. Some people feel happy by comparing with others. In short, if people have a better part than others, this can be cause of happiness. For example, one of my friends likes to play the guitar. Therefore, sometimes he feels happy because the fact that he can do what others do not makes him feel superior. But it could be unhappiness as long as he feels happy by superiority because better people than him are countless in the world. In fact, people can become happier if they just cherish the present life. Many people are missing the true happiness by spending time to compare themselves with others because the present never comes again. How much do people daily elapse just the last

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moment without knowing? Travel to come back someday, a mother who used to see me off with smile while waving her hand in front of the old home, at that time people might not know preciousness of those days, but back then it ultimately was the last moment. Also, our present looks like coming back, but could be the last moment that we spend together. Therefore, people should cherish the present not to regret the last moment, but to richen happiness and keep happy memories because they do not know how much happy they were at that time, and then they eventually realize that the days were finest hour after a while. Sometimes some people regret not to be good to their parents while they are here. Eventually, in order not to regret the missed moments, people should cherish now. Imagine how crushing it is for them not to feel happy in happy circumstances. A final possible explanation why people become happier as there is a change of thought in their mind is that they can forgive someone. In his book The Compassionate Life, 4th Dalai Lama, the head of the monks of the Gelug school, states that “Mercy is required rather than anger or selfishness or obsession to be happy. In addition, when to sacrifice others for his own happiness, misery and suffering arises” (Dalai Lama, 2005). It is really not easy to forgive someone. Forgiveness is a big challenge for people whose Ego is stronger so they will be much more difficult to forgive someone. Forgiveness means ‘let go of’ in Greek. Failing to control himself in anger against another person makes people stay in the past. As a result, they can not let them go forward. There are many possible factors that make people become happier by changing their thought in mind. Nowadays I am more positive by preparing this essay and then thinking about happiness. Happiness is discovered by myself and the now may be the happiest moment, so I want to live my best life not to regret. "I am happy not because the things I'm doing are happy, but because I think happily about the things I do”, said DJ Jeong (2012). I agree with him. If people desperately try to have something to be happy, eventually they realize that it will not end. Also, it is really important for you to forgive your enemy. Happiness is not far away to find. Just people do not know how to look for it.

References

Dalai Lama. (2005). The compassionate life. Retrieved from http://book.naver.com/bookdb/book_detail.nhn?bid=1988334

Jeong, CW. (2014). Life is a sitcom. Cultwo radio show. Retrieved from http://wizard2.sbs.co.kr/w3/template/tp1_podcast_radio_list_new.jsp? vVodId=V0000328482&vProgId=1000216&vMenuId=1018616&cpage=225

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Marina Iwamoto HELP 342W(1)

Let’s Change Your Mind to a Positive Way

While Tom did his first service leaning at Hale Ola Kino in Hawaii last week, he felt disappointed in himself about his speaking English ability. Also, he cannot decide whether he should go there again or not. How would you deal with Tom’s issue and give suggestion to him? Service learning is a good opportunity to be connected with local people in Hawaii as a positive way. There are a lot of service learnings in HELP, and students are able to get experience by using this program. When people want to be volunteers, they usually have to look for information on the web site or contact a person by phone or message. Nevertheless, students can easily sign up for these service learnings in Sandy’s office anytime. Service learning will be helpful for students to learn not only English but also culture in Hawaii. In recent days, there are a lot of elderly people in Hawaii. “Since statehood, Hawaii’s proportion of elderly to total population has increased three-fold, form roughly 5peercent in 1960 to 15 percent in 2012.” (Hawaii vs. U.S. Elderly Trend, n.d., par. 2). According to Hale Ola Kino’s web site, “we are committed to providing superior nursing and rehabilitative services, in an open and inviting home-like atmosphere, that enhances the quality of life our residents, while instilling peace of mind for their families.” (Our mission, n.d., par.1). As a result, I think that he should keep doing the service leaning because of his future.

One reason that Tom should continue doing this service learning is due to improve communication skill. In this situation, there are both advantages and disadvantages when Tom keeps working at Hale Ola Kino. As first, he is able to improve English and meet a lot of local people in there. Although he had a problem which was lack of proficiency in English, he might have an opportunity to improve English. In this case, Tom has experienced to do service learning there once before, so I am sure that he does not know yet how much fun talking with people by using in English. I can understand his mind in that I am also not a native speaker in English speaking. On the other hand, if he continues to go to Hale Ola Kino, he will not be nervous of talking with resident. In addition, the staff members and resident can remember Tom's face and his name when he works many times at there. For these reasons, these things should be benefits for him. One of the disadvantages, he will feel disappointed in himself again when he does service learning in Hale Ola Kino. Though he really likes the work and the people there, he does not have confidence of speaking English because of language barrier. If he keeps doing this service learning, he would not be more likely to talk with people. Furthermore, Tom might be scared of talking in front of the people. “Volunteers for the elderly come from all over the planet, each with a different motive or reason behind their desire to care for the elderly. Each is just as important as the next, no matter what sector the volunteer work is in.” (Volunteering for the Elderly: The Win-Win Relationship, 2014, par.2). That’s why Tom should need to keep working the service learning at Hale Ola Kino.

One of the problems is that he had difficulty in communicating with residents or lack of proficiency in English. These are huge problems for him, but there are many methods to solve them. First, he can change his service learning activity to others. However, the other people need to work more to fill the vacancy instead of Tom. This way could be pressure for him since the other people have to help resident in Hale Ola Kino and take more time than Tom. A second solution is that he might want to bring his same country’s friends there. When Tom cannot understand what resident say to him, his friends may help to translate English to his native

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language. I consider that this purpose will be a good idea to him. If Tom and friends went to Hale Ola Kino together, language barrier could be decreased and overcome. A last solution is that he should use Google Translate when he communicates with resident. Some people may recognize that using technology with talking is not good. Nevertheless, this method deals with issue easily.

In conclusion, there are three methods of solving Tom’s problem, which are changing to other activities, bringing same country’s friends, and using Google Translate. Changing to the other service learning is taking the easy way out, but it means including of risk for other students in HELP. That’s why I do not recommend this way to Tom. Although he is not able to communicate with people in English smoothly, he may need more confidence to speak English with not only resident but also local people. However, I understand how difficult it is to talk with people by using English. In this case, I would like to suggest bringing same country’s friends or using Google ranslating to him. If he uses these methods at Hale Ola Kino, he will not feel disappointed in himself again. Therefore, he should continue the service leaning by using these ways.

References Hawaii vs. U.S. Elderly Trend. (n.d.) Elderly in Hawaii demographic. Revised from http://www.healthtrends.org/demo_elderly_pop.aspx Our mission. (n.d.) Hale Ola Kino The Health of Center at One Kalakaua. Revised from

http://www.haleolakino.com/ Volunteering for the Elderly: The Win-Win Relationship. (2014, January, 13). Elder Helpers. Revised from

http://elderhelpers.org/blog/volunteering-for-the-elderly-the-win-win-relationship/ Akiko Kawai HELP 342W(1)

The Importance of Continuation

Do you have an experience of struggle about the communication in foreign language? It sometimes makes people irritated and discourages them about learning English. Tom is a HELP student who has signed up for the volunteer activity at Hale Ola Kino. Hale Ola Kino is a nursing facility which treats the elder people who need care through their life. Tom’s work is to communicate with the residents by using English. His job needs the skill of the communication in English, but he feels that he does not have enough skill to help the residents of Hale Ola Kino. He really likes the work and the people there, but he struggles to communicate with people by using English. Therefore, he is worried about whether he continues to do this volunteer activity or he changes to another volunteer activity which does not require English. However, I believe that he should continue this volunteer work. This experience may give him the confidence and improvement of learning English.

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One reason that Tom should keep the same volunteer activity is that he can obtain the confidence after overcoming this difficult situation. Certainly, if he changes the volunteer activity, he can feel relaxed and does not suffer from the communication in English anymore because other volunteer activities do not require English skill. However, if he chooses other volunteer activities, it means that he loses the chance to get confidence by himself. Russell (2012) said that continuation is the best way to enhance self-confidence by building a knowledge base (par.12). For example, the first time to ride a bicycle is a very hard experience for many people, but they can become to ride it very easily once they understand the skill through repeated practices. I think that Tom’s case is similar to this case. Once he obtains the English communication skill through the difficult experience, he may be able to believe his ability of English. Not only the continuation of the volunteer activity gives Tom the skill of English, but it also gives him the positive influence to his life. According to Altman (2013), people can feel happy through the volunteer activities for especially elders, and this feeling is related to the self-confidence (par.5). He should not miss such a precious experience because there are the above benefits in the volunteer activity at Hale Ola Kino.

Another reason that Tom should keep the same volunteer activity is that he should use the limited time to learn English effectively. I think that it is a problem to lose confidence and become disappointed by himself when Tom participates in the volunteer activity. However, the purpose of the service learning is to learn English through the experience of the volunteer activity and the communication with local people. Therefore, he should think the method to maximize the effect of learning English through the volunteer activity. I guess that his struggle is from the fact that he cannot communicate with the residents and he cannot feel the improvement of his English. According to Gibson (2014), the most effective method of learning English is the communication with native speakers and especially it is very effective to obtain the skill of speaking and listening English (par.8). I think that he is fortunate because he is in a good situation for his learning English. To reduce his stress, I want to recommend one solution. It is to listen to the feedback about his improvement of English from the staff of Hale Ola Kino. If he can know his improvement every time when he goes to Hale Ola Kino, I think that he can keep his motivation to learn English. If he can obtain the cooperation of the staff, he can make his volunteer activity more efficient as learning English.

In conclusion, continuing the volunteer activity at Hale Ola Kino is the best way of learning English through the service leaning for Tom. It is very easy to choose other volunteer activities which do not require the skill of English, but it is a waste of time because his volunteer activity may become just labor if he chooses the easier one. The time that he studies at HELP is limited. Therefore, he needs to use his time valuably for his learning English. People often face difficult situations and they tend to take the easy way out. However, he should choose the way that he continues the same volunteer activity because continuing the same volunteer activity is the best way to obtain the confidence and the improvement of his English skill through the service learning. I believe that he will feel proud of himself through the volunteer activity at Hale Ola Kino in the future.

References

Altman, R. (2013, May 6). The Benefits of Volunteering. HUFF POST IMPACT. Retrieve from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rita-altman-rn/the-benefits-of-volunteer_b_3377383.html

Gibson, N. (2014, April 16). How to Improve English Communication: 8 Simple Tactics. Udemy

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Blog. Retrieve from https://www.udemy.com/blog/how-to-improve-english-communication/ Russell, J. (2012, July 15). Career Coach: Continual Learning: why it’s more important than ever before. The

Washington Post. Retrieve from http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/career-coach-continual-learning-why- its-more-important-than-ever-before/2012/07/13/gJQABo8tmW_story.html

Natsu Kato HELP 342W(1)

Surfing Decides John’s Future

What do you imagine when you hear the word, “morality”? John is a HELP student at University of Hawaii and he likes surfing. He often goes surfing but he has some duties that are Service-Learning, a kind of volunteer work, and the duty is to help the homeless. One day, there is a hurricane warning so he needs to work there harder than usual. However, there are also the waves that he really wants to challenge and he thinks that if he misses this chance, he never gets those types of waves again. At that moment, there is a dilemma that he does not know what he should choose. Still, there is no doubt that going surfing would be a terrible mistake that may change his future.

At first, there is an undesirable effect of his going surfing. Naturally, doing what he wants to do is more enjoyable than working, so if he chooses to go surfing, there is considerable fun for him. Also, he can experience rare waves that may never occur again. That is why he wants to go surfing. However, he is a student of studying abroad. He is required to be engaged in studying because of the conditions of student VISA. According to a HELP’s handout (Iwamura, n.d.), if he does not go to work at Service-Learning like River of Life, he cannot satisfy the conditions of student VISA. It means that he cannot receive enough grades of studying abroad. No matter how hard he has learned other things so far, because of surfing, there would be no certificate that shows his engagement in studying. According to an article (Bizuziro, n.d.), in Japan, a person who has blank period is disadvantageous at job hunting interview. If John could not bring back his grade because of surfing, he could not prove the experience of studying abroad. It means that if he takes a job interview, the interviewer thinks that he has blank period that he is not engaged in anything. To avoid this result, he should think again why he is in Hawaii.

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In addition to the effect, there is a reason that I think going surfing would be a terrible mistake that affect his future. To put going surfing before helping the homeless would deserve to be immorality. Of course, as I mentioned, it is a valuable time for him to go surfing in such rare waves. However, if he does so, there is a possibility that he would feel guilty after surfing. He might receive the news that some homeless got hurt because of this hurricane. He would think that if he worked to help the homeless, they would be safe. At least, he would not need to feel guilty because there is a fact that he helped the homeless. Even though he enjoys surfing at that time, the feeling of regret to his own selfishness outweighs that of joy. According to an article (Nemoto, n.d.), once a person gets the feeling of guilty, he cannot get happiness. Also, he cannot allow himself to be happy. He would only live with a heavy burden and suffers from the burden. He would feel like making up for the mistake. That is called “compensatory behavior.” Since compensatory behavior is not what he wants to do, he starts to feel pain for the behavior itself. It would deprive him of his please or joy from his life as if it were virus that hurt his body. Thanks to only surfing, such terrible future, feeling guilty forever and no joy in his life, would come to him.

In conclusion, the risks of going surfing outweigh the benefits. He would lose his grade, feel guilty for the future, and be against morality. I think that morality is the most important thing that humans must not lose. However, actually ideas on moral depend on the environment that a person have lived so far, and are made differently from each other. That is why misunderstanding might happen. Therefore, sometimes people have difficulties with living in our society. Even if the fact is unchangeable, by thinking about morality when we take actions, we could avoid the conflict between ourselves and also in my minds.

References

Bizutaro. (n.d.). Is blank period advantageous? The site to succeed job change!~Use the job change agent~. Retrieved from http://www.career-rise.info/ng/blank-period.html Iwamura, S. (n.d.). 4. How many hours of service and agencies are required? SERVICE-LEARNING PROGRAM INTRODUCTION. Nemoto, H. (n.d.). Lecture.4 Phycology of guilty 1~What’s guilty?~. Counseling Service ~useful lecture of phycology by counselor!~. Retrieved from http://www.counselingservice.jp/lecture/lec4.html

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Mayu Kawashima HELP 342W(1)

Wise Choice

What is your definition of a word ‘selfish’? John is an exchange student at HELP. He is really enjoying Hawaiian life. On Fridays and Saturdays, he prefers to surf all day. There is a hurricane directed to Oahu. The hurricane should hit on Friday night. At this time, the North Shore waves are predicted to be high and perfect to surf. At the same time, River of Life, an organization where John has been volunteering for 3-4 weeks as one of his service learning project, is asking for more volunteers to help set up additional shelter for homeless. However, John will return to his country soon and may never get a chance to surf those types of waves again. I strongly think he should not miss this chance to surf. It does not mean he is selfish. He can handle this dilemma in a wiser way.

One reason that John should go surfing instead of volunteering is that regret is stronger than guilt. If he decides to go volunteering, he can avoid feeling guilty caused by going surfing and he might also feel a sense of achievement. On the other hand, if he decides to go surfing, he could be blamed and feel guilty or regret for his choice. However, after he comes back to his country, he must regret missing a great chance to surf ever after. Jackson Brown, Jr. (1991), an American author best known for his inspiration book, says that, “Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the ones you did.” (num. 19). Judging from this quote, John might get much stronger regret if he does not go surfing. One article has proved this logic psychologically (Chemnote, 2013). People tend to beautify their memories. Basically, when people regret what they have not done, they are imagining a happy end. For example, ‘What would happen if I did?’ They cannot stop this imagination. Therefore, the regret for what they have not done will get bigger and bigger. Contrarily, when people regret what they have done, they are just focusing on what has happened. For example, ‘Why I did such a thing?’ However, as time passes, they start beautifying and editing the memory like ‘That failure makes what I am now.’ Thus, John should go surfing to avoid bigger regret.

Another reason is there are some possible solutions for this problem. First, he can ask his friends to go volunteering on his behalf. If he explains his situation that he will return soon and really wants to go surfing, friends will understand and accept his request. Second, he can do both of them if he tries to deal with the time for them. He can go volunteering after surfing. Usually, volunteer organizations let people gather at exact time. However, before and after people gather, members of the organizations work for the activity. If he contacts them to tell that he might be late but really wants to work for it, the organization could suggest other chances to work at other times or days. In addition, it could be even possible to go volunteering punctually. According to an article (Surfer, 2010), the best time to surf is morning time. Early in the morning, waves are clean and stable. After sunrise, a range of temperature between the land and the see occurs because the sun warms the land. This range of temperature makes the wind blow onshore, which makes it difficult to catch waves. If he goes to beach before a dawn, he can enjoy surfing in a perfect time of great day; furthermore, after that, he can go volunteering.

To sum up, he should not give up going surfing. He can handle this problem. Even though some people might regard him as selfish, I think he is not selfish. As I mentioned, he can do even both of them. If he misses

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the chance to surf in the perfect day and goes back to his country, he must regret. Unfortunately, it will be too late. It is not easy to surf with great waves in Asia. His regret could be bigger and bigger. If he feels guilty and is blamed for going surfing as a selfish person, it might be a bad memory. However, thanks to the brain, the bad memory might be beautified. There are only advantages in the long run.

References

Chemnote. (2013, Aug. 8). Which is the bigger regret of what have done or what have not done? [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://matome.naver.jp/odai/2137553076281901401

Jackson, B. (1991). 21 suggestions for success. Retrieved from http://web.utk.edu/~jgoverly/21suggestions.html Surfer. (2010, Aug. 22). Why it is better to surf in the morning [Web log comment]. Retrieved from

http://d.hatena.ne.jp/surfers/20100822/1282432047

Chisako Okada HELP 342W(1)

How People Feel More Stressful with the Growth of Technology

Today, people feel more stressful than before the arrival of the inventions. Surprisingly, the life expectancy may be shortened by getting some stress. “The chronic stress like the kind we experience in high stress occupations actually erodes and damages critical parts of our DNA over time. This damage and erosion can increase our odds of living a shorter life span” (Norek, D 2012). There are three important effects of people feeling more stressful and die earlier than before the development of the technology.

One of the important causes about stress is for having some problems with relationship. These days, the relationship between people tends to be complicated. For instance, people get some stress at their workplace and school and with their family. Thanks to the development of technology, students are exposed to not only bullying at school, but also cyber bullying on the websites. Especially, for students who go to school tend to get more serious stress with the cyber bullying which is because of the growth of the technology. According to Patchin, J’s research (2011), “Over the last decade, he has surveyed nearly 15,000 middle and high school students in ten different studies from over 97 different schools throughout the United States.” Moreover, the rate of the victimization increases from 2.3% to 72%, from 2002 through 2013.

Not only having some stress with relationship, but they may also feel stressful because they do not have enough time to sleep. If they don’t have enough sleep, it is easy to make some mistakes at workplace and school in the next morning. After making mistakes, they may feel more stressful because of their regrets. Some people

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might fall into a doze during their works, and after they wake up, they also feel regretful. Additionally, for me, sleepless makes me late for class. When I was late for class, I felt regretful so much, because I was very sorry for everyone such as my family who pay expensive tuition for me, teachers who are always so much kind to me, and my friends who always cheer up for me in Japan. Moreover, the reason why they tend to have more stressful with sleepless is that it is related with the spread of inventions such as smartphones and computers. BBC NEWSBEAT (2014) said that more than nine out of 10 young people expose themselves to the blue light from smartphones and tablets, before they go to bed, causing problems with sleepless.

The final reason is that they may also feel more stressful about commuting which has been more developed with the growth of technology than before. Because there are more ways to commute, not only people can drive their cars, but also they should transfer to different trains and buses. Before the inventions, if they wanted to commute far away from their house, they moved to near the right place. However, today, people tend to commute even though they live far away from their workplace and school, because it is cheaper than moving to house. In my case, I used to commute from my house to my university in Japan, and it took more than five hours each day. I felt really stressful because much longer commuting made me suffer from lower-back pain, felt sick, and developed anemia with some jam-packed trains. Moreover, it was a waste of time and energy, because I really wanted to use time for practicing lacrosse, training, and focusing on my major in the university. Besides, I spent less meaningful time in some crowded trains, and too much longer commuting which was occurred by the development of the technology which is especially for the advances in the transportations. To sum up, there are many possible reasons with recent technology that may cause people to feel more stressful than before the evolution of the technology. People should realize how technology makes their life expectancy shorter, otherwise, they may die earlier with stress. For those reasons, people should more care about having enough sleep, building much better relationship, spending less commuting to feel less stressful, and spending much more comfortable life with convenience of technology.

References

Norek, D. (2012, August 8). Research proves stress really does shorten your life span by damaging DNA. Natural News. Retrieved from http://www.naturalnews.com/036730_stress_DNA_damage_life_span.html#ixzz3KZ6EFbID

Patchin, J. Professor of Criminal Justice, Department of Political Science University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (2011, June 15). Cyberbullying Facts. Cyberbullying Prevention and Response: Expert Perspectives. Retrieved from http://cyberbullying.us/facts/

Smartphone light may make most young people lose sleep, BBC NEWSBEAT, (2014, April 4) Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/26886133

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Mio Osono HELP 342W(1)

What Should Jane Do?

Jane has always been a hard worker in school. She goes to school on time every day, and she actively joins many service learning programs. One day, all service learning requirements are cancelled because of budget costs. Before this cancellation, she has already planned to volunteer for the following two Saturdays at Aloha Harvest. Aloha Harvest is “a non-profit organization that rescues quality, donated food and delivers it “free of charge” to social service agencies feeding the hungry in Hawai‘i” (“About Us”, n.d., par.1). She will probably assemble and organize newsletters and favors, or label supplies and help with shredding. Because she could be free to use her two Saturdays now and she will return to her home country soon, she decides to go sightseeing with her friends and study for the TOEFL exam. However, due to the fact that the need of food is rising over the holidays and an amount of donations is increasing, Aloha Harvest asks Jane to help for four hours each of the following Saturdays. What would the best choice be for her with this situation? Does she have to go to volunteer as she has signed up? Is it acceptable that she puts what she wants to do before volunteering? There is no doubt that Jane does not have to go to Aloha Harvest. The advantages of not volunteering clearly overcome the disadvantages. The main reason that Jane does not have to go volunteering at Aloha Harvest is that, if she goes to Aloha Harvest, she cannot use her two Saturdays freely. One of the most mentionable drawbacks of doing volunteer is that she spends her last free Saturdays in Hawai’i volunteering, which she can do even in her home country. The hunger concerned with Aloha Harvest exists worldwide. According to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2012), there are an estimated 870 million people suffering from malnutrition in the world during 2010-2012. It is clear that all of those people do not live in Hawai’i. It means that Jane’s country also has a similar social problem of the hungry people. If she joins Aloha Harvest, she could not go sightseeing with her friends and study for the TOEFL exam, which she cannot experience in her home country. On the other hand, the opponents might say that Jane can use the rest of the days after she finishes volunteer. There is some truth in what they say. Nevertheless, if she wants to go to North Shore where it takes approximately an hour and a half by car from Waikiki, she will not have enough time to enjoy sightseeing. Since it is expected that Jane could be caught in a heavy traffic jam, especially on Saturdays, she should leave her home for North Shore as early as possible. Therefore, she definitely needs whole free days to enjoy the rest of her life in Hawaii by doing whatever she really wants to do. In addition, there are other options Jane could take that probably benefit to both her and Aloha Harvest. The original problem is that she has to choose whether she should volunteer or not because Aloha Harvest suddenly needs people to help its work. Despite the fact that all service learning requirements are once cancelled, it would be absurd to ask Jane to come to volunteer. This is not her responsibility. If Aloha Harvest really needs her help, it has to allow her to request when she would like to work for hungry people. It means working hours should be flexible, but helping for four hours each of the Saturdays is actually required in Jane’s case. However, for example, when she has a plan that needs a whole day, she can work for only one day. She does not have to volunteer for two Saturdays as she has signed up. It is also possible for her to volunteer on weekdays, or to work for a shorter time than a demanded time. Another solution is that Jane can look for someone else who

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helps Aloha Harvest instead of her. The tasks, like assembling newsletters, or labelling supplies, might not be difficult, so everyone can do those works. Thus, a volunteer does not have to be Jane. To summarize, it is absolutely the best choice for Jane not to go to volunteer at Aloha Harvest. Since it is not her responsibility to fill the vacancy for volunteer, she can put what she wants to do in the rest of her life in Hawai’i ahead of volunteering. It might be a tough choice for her because of her honest personality. Moreover, there is another way she can help hungry people. The supermarkets, such as Safeways, Times and Don Quijotes, support the program conducted by Hawaii Foodbank. In those supermarkets, there are bright green coupons at the check cashers. People just take one of them and put it in their grocery basket. When they pay the bill, a little amount of money is added to your payment for the hunger (Chad, 2014, par. 24). Because it is simple and easy, Jane will be willing to donate to hungry people even if she does not volunteer. Although she does not help Aloha Harvest, when people working in Aloha Harvest know that Jane still thinks about its need to help starving people, they will be impressed by her sincerity. Jane could take a great memory of having a good relationship with Aloha Harvest and sightseeing in Hawai’i to her home country.

References

“About Us”. (n.d.) In Aloha Harvest, Retrieved December 7, 2014 from http://www.alohaharvest.org/aboutus.html

Chad, P. (2014). Hunger: It’s Not Going Away. Midweek, Retrieved from http://www.midweek.com/home/midweek-cover-story/hawaii-foodbank-check-out-hunger/

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2012). Undernourishment around the world in 2012. In The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2012. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/docrep/016/i3027e/i3027e02.pdf

Sung Su Yun HELP 341W(1)

Fancy May Kill or Cure

Nowadays entertaining celebrities’ ages are getting younger. Also before their debut, they need training period, so actual beginning age is much younger especially young group singers. It separates them from normal society because they pour their whole life time to be entertaining celebrities, they can’t do anything in normal social life. Some people say children have more potential than adults and they learn and adopt everything quickly. Also they are young, so if they fail in that world, they can attempt again easily in other ways. However, I think drawbacks outweigh benefits because of the following reasons.

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It is a real mistake to become a famous entertaining celebrity at an early age. The first reason that debut on TV at an early age will bring drawback is that they are too young to make a contract with others. One of Korean actresses ‘So Yul Shin’, she made her debut when she was 19 years. She was an inexpert in that world, and her agency did actual fraud to her twice. As a result, she was trapped by law suits, so she couldn’t show up on TV (Shin So Yul with fraud, 2013). Although she was almost an adult, she was still naive to live in that special world.

Additionally, the reason why I disagree about an early age debut is it can be a cause of unhealthy mentality because youth is the formation of personality. Sung Eun Kim who was famous for ‘Midal’(The character’s name), she was only 7 years old. She got an incredible popularity and everyone called her ‘Midal’ instead of ‘Sung Eun’. She was too young to understand that situation. As a result, she got a depression and it led her to try hung herself and felt urge of stabbing people (Kim Sung Eun, 2010). Even though many other child actors grow up, they still struggle to get out of their child image. Because of strong impression of the image, it is hard to get out of it. It makes them stressful and limits their images. One of the famous actors Macaulay Culkin also felt that kind of feeling, and he said that when Michel Jackson and he were 8 years old, they hadn’t had any chance of being a 8 years old, so they were going to stay 8 years old forever. It means he has been missing his normal childhood, and it could not be filled forever (Home alone, 2013, par.5). Furthermore, he had unimaginable stress coming from lots of property and family, so while he was growing up, he made many troubles such as drugs, broken relationship with women. It is also because of the unhealthy mentality.

The final reason that I disagree with the debut of early age is that getting wealth at an early age can bring family split. Macaulay Culkin made his debut when he was 4, and he got incredible popularity and wealth when he was 10. His parents didn’t give him time to relax or rest, and a few years later, there was a conflict between his parents because of the property (“Home Alone”, 2013, par.4). He earned lots of money, so his parents managed his income and there was a different suggestion between his parents. It led to divorce and there were some troubles about custody dispute and property division. One of Korean kids actors “Suk Hyun Wang” is a similar case to Macaulay. He also catched up by one movie which was ‘Scandal’ and he earned lots of money. It brought conflict between his parents in the same way as Macaulay’s parents. His father did law suit to his agency, and the reason is Suk Hyun’s mother contracted with the agency without Suk Hyun’s father’s agreement. It shows there were some troubles between Suk Hyun’s parents (Suk Hyun Wang parents Divorce, 2011, par.2).

Because of those reasons, I disagree with the debut of an early age. Every person’s life is not the same. Nevertheless, there is an order of life that is step by step. However, in that special world, never says step by step. Children, without exception, have to adapt to that world at once. This brings lots of drawbacks to the children. Of course, children and youths have lots of potential of their abilities, but as much as that, adults have to take care about children and youths’ freedom and their healthy mentality. Adults also help them to pick the right choice of their future. Even though not all kids can get popularity, they pour their whole life time to become celebrities and it brings about big life problems like above examples. We have to remind that ‘Fancy’ may be temptational but also it could kill ourselves

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References

Home Alone, too early successed boy. (2013). In Special lotto, Retrieved September 20, 2014, from http://speciallotto.tistory.com/entry Kim Sung Eun, urge of stab. (2010). In cafe naver, Retrieved September 20, 2014, from

Cafe.naver.com/jafaea/5810 Sin So Yul, actual fraud. (2013). In Donga sports, Retrieved September 20, 2014, from

http://sports.donga.com/3/all/20130122/52484574/1 Suk Hyun Wang Parents divorce. (2011). In Adone8438, Retrieved October 5, 2014, from

http://adone8438.blog.me/130119586493 Chinatsu Eto HELP 342W(2)

How Women Can Get Happier

If people are happy, they will be motivated and their performance at school or at work will increase. In order to be happy, they need to release stress. The ways they handle stress differ from person to person. For example, the way men get happier and the way women do are totally different. This essay will suggest how women can become happier by exploring causes of happiness specifically for women. There are two possible ways that I think women can become happier in daily life when they feel stress.

One cause for women to become happier is talking with other female friends about work, friends, or loved ones. We find some women chit-chatting on the streets or gathering at cafes and talking. For women, speaking is a very powerful action. Why can’t men be the ones who listen to women and support them? The answer is in their DNA. Shelley E. Taylor of The Tending Instinct discovered that the female need for connection with other women is biological, meaning that their DNA chooses female friends rather than males when they want to talk so that they can sympathize and give advice. Research co-author Lynn Smith-Lovin, a sociologist at Duke University, says that with female communities women can have chances to engage in the society, to learn how others think, and to share the importance of laughing and warm hugs. New research shows that people who spend more time talking with others are happier (Dembling, 2010). Women can become happier by sharing their causes of stress, anxiety and sadness because other women empathize and give love to the one who is suffering.

The other way for women to release stress is by eating sweets such as chocolate or a piece of cake. Sweets can give women both positive and negative effects so it is important to have a balanced diet. An appropriate amount of sweets is good for women’s mental health and body, but excessive intake of sweets will cause them to gain weight, which can lead to another stress. Dr. Ulrich-Lai, a researcher from the University of Cincinnati (UC) found that sweets containing sugar have medical functions for psychological and physical stress. If people eat sweets, the “stress axis”, a part of brain, is activated and a hormone called “glucocorticoid” is generated.

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The hormone encourages them to recover from stress (2005). In addition to Dr. Ulrich-Lai, Ford (n.d.) asserted that men like snacks such as potato chips and pretzels rather than sweets and some studies have proved that loving sweets is a girl thing. Both men and women tend to choose food rich in calories, but especially women have “an innate preference” for sweets because of their hormone’s effects, meaning that they instinctively need sugar for maintaining their health (para.4). It is natural impulse for women to prefer sweets, which have more calories than snacks, but they help reduce stress.

These are two of the most efficient ways for women to become happier. Women might say that they talk and eat sweets just because they like them. However, these actions are useful ways that were scientifically proven to reduce stress and help women become happier. If women are happy, they will be smiley and energetic, so they will be more attractive to people. Women should form groups and talk about their issues with eating sweets not only for their happiness but for their connections to societies or their health. Being connected to societies and staying healthy can encourage women to take part in social activities, and their participation will help build societies which male and female participate evenly. Therefore, it is important for women to reduce stress and become happier.

References

Dembling, S. (March 15, 2010).Chit-chat, Happiness,and You.Psychology Today. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-introverts-corner/201003/chit-chat-happiness-and-you

Ford, A. (n.d.).Why Do Women Love Sweets? The Truth About Your Sugar Cravings.dc divinecaroline. Retrieved from http://www.divinecaroline.com/self/wellness/why-do-women-love-sweets-truth-about-

your-sugar-cravings Houpert,D. (n.d.). The Girlfriend Instinct - The Value of Female Friendships. aboutnews.

Retrieved from http://womensissues.about.com/od/communityconnection/a/Girlfriends.htm University of Cincinnati. (November 28,2005).Sweet Snacks Could Be Best Medicine For Stress.ScienceDaily.

Retrieved from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/11/051128011306.htm

Mishio Hirao HELP 342W(2)

Emma’s Choice

Did you know that the need of helping hungry people has been increasing in Hawaii recently? More and more people are fed by organizations which offer foods to hungry people. What would you do if you’re in this situation then? Emma is an international student who is nearing the end of her time in Hawaii. She was going to

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do service learning at Aloha Harvest for the following two Saturdays, however, she doesn’t need to do it anymore since her school canceled all service learning requirements. Now she can choose either to do service learning or to enjoy her free time. Although she can choose not to do service learning, Aloha Harvest will definitely need her help due to the rising need for food over the holidays and increasing amount of donations. In my opinion, even though Emma is no longer obligated to volunteer at Aloha Harvest, there is no doubt that doing service learning at the agency is the best decision for Emma.

First, Emma should help the work of Aloha Harvest since they must be lack of hands because of increasing number of hungry people. Hunger is a serious problem in Hawaii. According to Hunger in America (2014), more than 123,000 households were fed by Hawaii Food Bank this year. It includes 287,000 people, which is one in five people living in Hawaii. Four years ago, the number of people fed by the Food Bank was only 183,500. As a result, there must be many works to deal with this issue. Dick Grimm, CEO of Hawaii Food Bank, argues that we have to realize that there are more hungry people who are not counted in the number (2014). There must be more hungry people seeking for help. Aloha Harvest is “a non-profit organization that rescues quality excess donated food and delivers it free of charge to social service agencies feeding the hungry and homeless in Hawaii” (2013). It helps more than 73,000 hungry people get food each month. It has played an active part in Hawaii for 15 years. More than 875 donors have donated food to Aloha Harvest. Donors such as restaurants, caterers, government facilities, hotels, food distributors, businesses and others are currently active (2009). However, the agency is made up of few workers, so they will probably be lacking helpers. If Emma could work with them, it’ll be very helpful for the agency.

Next, Emma should do service learning for the following two Saturdays because she was expected to do it. In this case, the cause of the problem is the cancel of service learning requirements. Therefore, if her school didn’t cancel the service learning requirements, she would definitely did service learning. It was already on her schedule, so she hasn’t made other plans for next two Saturdays yet. If she really wants to make time to have fun, one solution would be to make a specific plan for the rest of her stay in Hawaii. She should list where to go, and what to do. Moreover, the works take only four hours each, and it’s only on Saturdays, so there are tons of times to have fun. She can have fun after school and the rest of the weekends. If she could make a specific plan, going back to her country soon cannot be a reason for not doing service learning.

Furthermore, working at Aloha Harvest must have positive effects to not only workers and the hungry but also Emma herself. The purpose of service learning is to improve students’ study which they learned in classroom by doing it with agencies that fit to students’ study and help the community (Ferris State University, n.d.). Emma can use English and try her skills which she acquired in classes by doing service learning. Doing service learning in Aloha Harvest was a very nice experience for me because I could know what the workplace is like, and could have self-confident helping the workers. Therefore, I think working at Aloha Harvest would be advantageous to her. Moreover, if Emma chose to do service learning, it will be very helpful for workers since they can carry on doing other works. I did very simple works at Aloha Harvest. It’s a waste of time for workers to do those simple works such as folding envelope. It will also be a benefit of the hunger because if Emma does simple jobs, workers can work more for the hunger. Jobs of Aloha Harvest will make rapid progress thanks to Emma. On the other hand, if she didn’t show up for her next shift, only Emma has a benefit, although she will feel sorry for Aloha Harvest not helping them. To sum up, I believe that Emma should fulfill her remaining two shifts at Aloha Harvest for next two Saturdays. Hunger problem is so serious problem in Hawaii, and there must be more help dealing with the issue

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that helping the agency will be very nice decision. However, Emma may worry about losing her free time by doing service learning. Even if Emma did service learning, she can still have enough fun in the rest of her stay by making a specific plan. In addition, her purpose of coming to Hawaii is to improve her English skill, so doing service learning can be advantageous both to Emma and Aloha Harvest. For these reasons, doing service learning is the best choice for Emma. I hope she can have a great time and experiences in the rest of her stay.

References

Aloha Harvest. (2009) Retrieved from: http://www.alohaharvest.org/aboutus.html Hawaii News Now. (2013,11,7) Community Care Connection: Aloha Harvest. Retrieved from:

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/23648296/community-care-aloha-harvest Pata, C. (2014,11,11) Hunger: It’s Not Going Away. Mid Week. Retrieved from :

http://www.midweek.com/home/midweek-cover-story/hawaii-foodbank-check-out-hunger/ Tanaka, C. (2014,8,22) Hunger in Hawaii a growing problem. Hawaii News Now. Retrieved from:

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/26342791/hunger-in-hawaii-a-growing-problem Ferris State University. (n.d.) Purpose of Academic Service Learning. Retrieved from:

http://www.ferris.edu/asl/ Soo-min Park HELP 342W(2)

The Stress of Korean Women in their 20s

Modern people are so stressed out these days. Recently, women in their 20s are especially stressed because of many causes. According to the article “The Health of 20s is More Bad than from 60s to 70s” (2014), the rate of women who have amenorrhea has increased in Korea. It is because of so much stress in the various fields. Amenorrhea is the absence of a monthly menstrual period. That women have amenorrhea means that their health is not good right now. The rate of practice for health living of women in their 20s is the lowest on all of the ages. They belong to the age group that is the most stressed out but they don’t do health care well. Women in their 20s should control the stress for their health. There are three causes for why female twenty-somethings get stressed and women should be able to understand what these are.

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First, women in their 20s get stressed by searching for jobs. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said that looking for jobs is the highest rate in one of the factors of stress. The percentage is 22.2% (2012). In Korea, it is more difficult for women to get jobs than men. Most corporations believe that women cannot concentrate on working in that they might get married and have children, so many corporations are reluctant to take the women into employment. Especially, the women who work in IT companies have to quit the jobs sooner than any other woman who works in other fields. In addition, according to the article “Who’s taking care of the children” (n.d.), there is a ‘glass ceiling’ in business. The attitudes and traditions in a society that prevent women from rising to the top jobs are called ‘glass ceiling’. There are few women who fight to have power in the top jobs so it tends to be difficult to solve the problem that employers are reluctant to hire women.

In addition, the women in their 20s get stressed by their appearance. Appearance is important not only for trying to impress the opposite gender but also to get hired and earn money. The portal site for employment ‘Saram-in,' which carried out a survey with 273 people who work as a human resource manager and 84 percent of respondents (230 people) said that women's appearance influences the grade of their evaluation. Furthermore, 57 percent of 230 people said that the employers have given additional job interviewees because of the good appearances though workers were less competent. That is, most enterprises think job applicants’ appearance is important. They require job applicants to attach their photos on the resume. There are some cases where people who have undesirable looks are dropped at the interviews. That is why the number of people who want to do plastic surgery to get jobs is increasing. According to the article by Dong-A Ilbo (2011), one of the portal sites carried out a survey with 302 university students and 27 percent of all respondents said that they are considering doing plastic surgery for employment. The majority of respondents said that the reason they decided to do plastic surgery was that they had been dropped at the job interview because of their bad appearance. Women would be less stressed if their personality and experience were more important for getting a job than their looks.

Lastly, women in their 20s get stressed by the expense of marriage. In Korea, it is common to exchange wedding presents. According to Min (2013) the average expense of wedding presents is about five thousand dollars and the average cost of wedding is about fifty-five thousand dollars. Of course, I think the culture of exchanging wedding presents is in a state of decline especially in the cases that I have seen. However, it does still remain. Therefore, getting married later has become the trend because people have to earn lots of money for their marriage. Because of this stress, I think people are not that keen to do the grand wedding ceremony. Therefore, I think that ceremonies for show should disappear from Korean culture so that women can customize their wedding to their standards and have less stress.

In conclusion, by understanding the causes, women should manage their own stress by themselves. They should get rid of the stress for their health. In their workplace, women should try to break the 'glass ceiling'. I think that to keep trying to break the 'glass ceiling' is wiser than to settle for the present. The higher the possibility is, the more increased the number of women who work as high officers is. In addition, women who think that their appearance is not good have to keep smiling. I think that a confident and bright impression is the most important factor for job interviewers. That is, keeping smiling is more significant than meeting the general requirements of the beauty such as big eyes, a high nose and a small face. Finally, wedding presents or ceremonies for show are no longer parts of Korean culture. These need to disappear so women have to customize their wedding to their standards. After all, women should try to change their mind continuously to get

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rid of their stress. Having a positive mind to find the solution is better than having a negative mind that can make people increase the stress.

References

The health of 20s is more bad than from 60s to 70s. (2014), Joongang Ilbo (a daily report). Retrieved at

www.joongang.joins.com Most corporations said the appearance influences on employment. (2011)Dong-A Ilbo (a daily report).

Retrieved at http://www.news.donga.com/ Min,S.I.(2013) Wedding is ‘march of the sigh’, Herald Economy. Retrieved at http://www.news.heraldcop.com/ The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012) Women in 20s don’t practice for health living.

Retrieved at http://www.cdc.go.kr/ Knezevix, M. (n.d.) Who’s Taking Care of the Children?

Mosaic 1. Tomoko Mori HELP 342W(2)

When a Life Changes

When I was in high school, I could not avoid thinking like I was shut in school and just studying

for my entrance examination. I dreamed that my life in university would be much more enjoyable and active, which is completely true. I strongly believe many university students may find that their lives change dramatically after graduation from high school and enrollment in university. High school students and university students are totally different when it comes to their freedom, level of independence and their chances to broaden their world.

Before graduating from high school, students’ lives are limited and it could be said that they do not have enough free time. First, their class schedule is fixed, so they are forced to stay in school from early in the morning to evening on weekdays. In addition, some students have class on Saturdays, so in fact their only day off is Sunday. In my case, because I usually went to after-school lessons to supplement schoolwork every day until nine or ten p.m. even if it was Sunday, I literally had no time to go out with my family and friends. On the other hand, university students can make their class schedule by themselves. They can choose any class and any time that they want to take it. They probably have a lot of time to use for themselves such as hanging out with their friends or doing a part time job to stay active in their campus lives.

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It is safe to say that generally high school students live with their family, so they do not have to worry about living by themselves. However, this may mean that they strongly depend on their parents. They cannot live without their parents’ help and support mentally and financially. In my case, because of my parents’ support, I could concentrate on my studies both in and out of the school. In contrast, some university students who were far from their school may decide to leave their hometown and live alone, which means they must be independent from their family. They have to control and take care of themselves without parents’ daily support. It's good to learn how to be a responsible adult by living far away from family and starting new in an unfamiliar city.

Furthermore, the size of campus and the number of students of high school and university is definitely different. High school students have a fixed class and classmates who are always in the same class. The number of students is relatively small enough for a student in the school to recognize all of the students’ names and faces. It is easy to say that, on the other hand, universities have much more students, who are from diverse backgrounds. I strongly believe that I could not have met my university friends if I had not entered the university. Because I met them, I could know about the world beyond where I lived. University is the place where students can broaden their chances to meet new people who have different opinions or viewpoints from theirs.

To sum up, the lives of students greatly change after entering university. High school students have a very limited life, like prisoners, whereas university students have much more freedom and can live like humans. Overall, university life is better than that of high school in that students can have more freedom and can be more responsible adults who can understand different perspectives of others. Therefore, graduation from high school and enrollment in university should be the biggest event for students to turn into a grown-up person.

Extroverted and Introverted Students in a Class 1

Extroverted and Introverted Students in Classes

Hyunjung Gu

University of Hawai‘i at Manoa

Final Essay Assignment

HELP 442W

Fall 2, 2014

Extroverted and Introverted Students in a Class 2

Introduction

There is a famous quote by Brad Henry that states “A good teacher can inspire hope,

ignite the imagination, and install a love of learning”. This quote highlights that teachers have a

huge impact on not just the subject, but the student as well. Without a good teacher, the students

will not be motivated and have passion to learn. If a good teacher educates the students, the

teacher will have a significant impact and might able to change students’ lives positively. If there

are many good teachers in this world, the world might flip upside down, to the point that there

are no such things as “uneducated students.” Then, the question that always comes up is, what

characteristics do teachers need in order to be able to be considered a good teacher? Some people

say that the best teachers who students desire are teachers who can communicate with students

and understand them well. This paper begins by discussing that understanding students’

personalities is important. Then, this paper examines definitions of extroverted and introverted

students. Also, this paper discusses characteristics of extroverted and Introverted students. And

this paper looks into a survey about extroverted and introverted students for learning.

The Importance of Understanding Students’ Personalities

First, many students want to be understood and loved by their teacher. Carnegie (1936)

stated that most humans wanted to be recognized by a certain person or need attention in order to

feel important and increase their ego. To be able to approach their feelings correctly, teachers

have to understand and get to know students’ personalities first. If they started to get comfortable

with each other, students would tend to feel more comfortable with the teachers, and that

increases the level of interest in that subject as well. Also when there is a problem with those

students, the teacher will be able to approach the students more comfortably since the students

Extroverted and Introverted Students in a Class 3

and teacher have a strong relationship. Also, grasping students’ personalities helps teachers teach

students more effectively. Therefore, teachers have to react differently depending on student’s

personalities. This will benefits both the teachers and students. When teachers consider students’

personalities and adjust on his or her teaching style, the effect of education that students receive

will be increased. Knowing personality does not gurantee a strong relationship. However, it is

impossible to tell all people’s personalities. Despite this, many people might divide personalities

into extroverts and introverts.

Definitions of Extroverts and Introverts

There is a famous personality experiment made by Myers and Briggs (1962). The

Myers-Briggs experiment is related to human personality and behavior. By taking this survey,

people can know what their personality is. In this survey test, there are 4 dichotomies, and

according to this test, people could be classified by these four categories Extroverts or Introvert,

Sensing or Intuition, Thinking or Feeling and Judging or Perceiving.

Myers and Briggs give an explanation about differences between extroverts and

introverts. Many people enjoy their time when they hang out with their friends. But extroverts

and introverts feel differently in different contexts. If you are an extrovert, you must get energy

from your friend, which means extroverts are very lively and talkative when they meet new

people or are surrounded by people. On the other hand, unlike extroverts, introverts tend to feel

exhausted when they spend their time with friends. They might think that they have limited

energy to spend with other people, so they are reluctant to spend their energy with other people.

In addition to that, according to Myers and Briggs, extroverts feel that they always need attention

from other people in order to increase their confidence level and courage. Also, they tend to

Extroverted and Introverted Students in a Class 4

usually think out loud. However, introverts frequently think only through their mind not

speaking out loud. And they prefer to observe other people rather than to contact others. They do

not like to look at other people’s eyes because they can feel very insecure about themselves.

A Survey about Extroverts and Introverts Tendency for Learning

Six students who are studying in Hawai’i English Language Program conducted a survey

of twelve individual about their personality. A personality test was made by the group, with the

combination of questions that help the group to understand the students’ personality better. They

drew from the work of Myers and Briggs (1962) to make the survey. Myers and Briggs have four

dichotomies, there are Extroversion-Introversion, Sensing-Intuition, Thinking-Feeling and

Judging-Perceiving. Six questions were created for each dichotomy. Twenty four questions were

made in order to survey people’s personality type. After creating all questions for the survey, an

experiment was tried out how the test would run and looked for some mistakes. They tried the

survey themselves in order to understand the survey questions better and change the format of

the survey as well. Also the questions that were edited helped for future clarification. The results

were checked and compared to the previous test. Also, interview questions were made by the

students. The focus of the survey was about how to handle extroverted students and introverted

students in a class. The interviewer was trying to look for students who belonged to those group

categories in order to understand them better with more efficiency. The survey contained seven

questions.

∙ 1.) Do you prefer to learn in groups or alone? Why?

∙ 2.) Do you like to observe others before trying it when a teacher give a new assignment?

or Do you usually jump in the assignment?

Extroverted and Introverted Students in a Class 5

∙ 3.) What teaching style do you like?

∙ 4.) How long can you concentrate on studying?

∙ 5.) Do you prefer to preview or to review?

∙ 6.) What is your most effective study style?

∙ 7.) When do you feel motivated in academic?

The surveyors expected that they could get good information from the twelve volunteer

individuals. They thought that they might have specific behavioral patterns according to their

personalities. The surveyors decided to explore their patterns and analyze them. According to the

results of the survey, there is a slight difference between extroverted students and introverted

students. First, most extroverted students prefer to learn in groups. Since they like interacting

with other people, they want to learn in groups. Unlike them, introverted students tend to like

learning alone. Some participants said that when they are alone, they could concentrate on

studying more. Extroverted people like a group discussion class more than other teaching styles.

Introverted students are more likely to take lecture classes. In a lecture class, introverted students

can communicate with a teacher and they don’t need to talk with other people. When they were

asked “What is your most effective studying style?”, some extroverted students said that

discussing or studying with their friends is their most effective studying style. To the same

question, all introverted students answered that their most effective studying style is studying

alone in a peaceful place. Interestingly, most students are motivated by external motives like

rewards such as good grades or money. Furthermore, extroverted students, when they compete

with their friend, they can be motivated more because they think that relationship is essential to

them and their own ranks among people is important.

Extroverted and Introverted Students in a Class 6

It was expected the result that introverted students tend to observe others before trying

when a teacher gives a new assignment, and extroverted students like jumping in the assignment.

This was proven false. Students’ behaviors before starting assignment varies depending on the

their interest on the assignment. Also, the same researcher assumed that introverted students can

concentrate on studying more than extroverted students. But personalities don’t affect time to

spend studying. Some extroverted students can concentrate longer than introverted students. And

through this research, it was discovered that most students prefer reviewing to previewing.

Extrovert Traits in Class

It is possible to imagine a normal classroom with all kinds of students in the class. There

are some active students and some quiet students, it is a very normal situation of a stereotypical

class. Some students tend to enjoy talking with a lot of friends. Other students might be the

opposite, they want to be alone or talk with only a few people that might have the same interests

as them. The formers are extroverted students and the later are introverted students.

Myers and Briggs stated that extroverted students like group activities. They prefer to

discuss some subjects with their classmates rather than learning on their own. Also, they tend to

enjoy talking and working with a group. Extroverted students are very active and popular among

their group of friends, since they are more easy going and like to get attention from other people.

Since they are very active, extroverts want to be more involved in physical activities such as

outdoor activity or field trip. Most extroverted students want to get to know all their classmates

and have a conversation with them. For example, there was an extroverted student in a class in a

middle school. He was always active and a very talkative person. He liked being with his friends

and tended to be very well known among the friends in the class. Furthermore, he couldn’t stand

Extroverted and Introverted Students in a Class 7

that when he was alone in a class. So, when he left class, he used to go out to find his friends

everyday after school or even on the weekend. This is an example of what extroverted students

really like. They feel that they are lively when they interact with other people. Extroverted

students want to have attention and be recognized by other people. When a teacher asks a

question in the class, extroverted students tend to raise their hands more often than the

introverted students do. They want to share and show their knowledge and thinking to their

classmates and teachers as well.

Greenstreet (2013) said that extroverted people usually think during speaking after they

jump in the conversation. They tend to think their thought as they talk, but they never clearly

think before they talk. One of the examples is when you imagine that an extroverted person is in

a politics class. A teacher will give the class an assignment to debate a topic of whether gay

parenting should be allowed or not. An extroverted student will be able to think for a short time

and lead the conversation or jump into it. When she speaks her opinion, she might clarify what

she wants to tell as she speaks. Also, she will talk with all group members before making a

debate, because extroverted people love interacting with new people and also they like to

observe people’s opinions.

Especially, it is easy to see this situation during breaks, extroverted students spend

their time with their friends. They don’t want to be alone. Whenever they get free time, they go

to meet their friends because they want to interact people and get energy from them.

Introverts traits in a class

Unlike extroverted students, introverted students tend to enjoy reading, lectures, and

written over oral work. They prefer to work independently to extroverted students. They tend to

Extroverted and Introverted Students in a Class 8

have time when they work with internal processing. According to Western Nevada College,

introverts might have a problem when a teacher proceeds a class quickly because they need time

for mental processing. Also, introverted students prefer listening to other people’s talking. So,

for introverted students, they might not be comfortable in discussion groups because a discussion

class forces them to speak up.

According to Greenstreet (2013), introverted students take their own time to relax or

think deeply away from groups. Some introverted students say that after their class, their energy

was burned out because they think that concentrating to a teacher takes their energy. So, after the

class, they tend to take their own time to refresh themselves.

In addition, introverted students might seem timid when the group discussion start. But,

they may become active after they know all group members. For example, there was an

introverted student. When a group discussion started, he didn’t say anything because he was shy.

So, he just listened to other group member’s saying. As time went by, he became familiar with

his group member. Then, he became comfortable to express his opinion.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Extroverted Students and Introverted Students

As they are pulled into social life, extroverts may find it difficult to settle down, read, or

concentrate on homework. They sometimes find listening difficult and need to talk to work out

their ideas. Extroverted students like hanging out with their friends. Sometimes although they

have an assignment that they should do, they want to spend their time with their friends. So, this

tendency makes them less concentrate on their studying. For example, Tom is an extroverted

student. He wants to get good grade in a class. But it is somewhat difficult for him because when

he has his own time, he tends to go out with his friends instead of studying by himself.

Extroverted and Introverted Students in a Class 9

Introverted students are the difficult group of students or personality type to deal with, since the

introverted students tend to be very quiet, and not as sociable as the extroverted students. For

example, introverted students usually don’t raise their hands when teachers ask some questions

to students. Even though they know correct answers of the questions, they don’t give answers to

teachers because they don’t like taking attention from other students. They don’t want to stand

out among their classmates. But on the other hand, the benefits of introverted students, are that

even though the students are quiet and do not interact much, they tend to do better at school.

They have better concentration skills than the extroverts do. Also, Cain stated that introverted

students think more deeply than extroverted students. Introverted students are careful not to

make mistakes. In contrast, it is important that extroverted students tend to be more talkative and

have more interaction with people. They can have a lot of chance to get other students thoughts.

Extroverted students activate the class. Also, extroverted students know how to get along with

many friends. They may know how to influence their friends. So, they can be a good leader.

Conclusion

This paper has discussed characteristics of extroverted students and introverted students.

And this paper has explored a survey about extroverts and introverts tendency for learning. It

focused on only extroverted and introverted students. However, as many people know, it is hard

to categorize people personalities into only extroverts and introverts. It is impossible to divide all

personalities. Although dividing students’ personalities into extroverts and introverts is not

perfect, it can be helpful to teachers. As teachers know their students’ personalities more better,

teachers and students can communicate very well. When their students have a problem in a class,

Extroverted and Introverted Students in a Class 10

teachers can reflect their personalities and help them. Furthermore, if teachers want to develop

students learning skill, understanding their personalities might be useful to them.

References

Briggs, J. (1996). Reflections on Being an Introvert in the Classroom. Retrieved from

http://pages.uoregon.edu/munno/Learning/Introvert.html

Brightman, H. (n.d.). GSU Master Teacher Program: On Learning Styles. Retreived from

http://www2.gsu.edu/~dschjb/wwwmbti.html

Cain, S. (2012). Quiet. New York, NY: Broadway Books

Carnegie, D. (1936). How to win friends and influence people. New York, NY: Simon and

Schuster.

Greenstreet, K. (2013). How to facilitate Introverts and Extroverts in your group or class.

Passion for business. Retrieved from

http://www.passionforbusiness.com/blog/facilitate-introverts-and-extroverts/

Brad henry quotes. (2014). Brainy quote. Retrieved from

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/b/bradhenry167806.html

Kendra, C. (n.d.). Jungian Learning Styles. Educational Psychology. Retreived from

http://psychology.about.com/od/educationalpsychology/ss/jung-styles.htm

Kise, J.and Russell, B. (n.d). The Importance of Personality Preferences in the classroom.

Articles on MBTI ® applications: Personality Type Applications in Education. Retreived from

http://www.personalitypathways.com/MBTI_articles4b.html

Extroverted and Introverted Students in a Class 11

Lee, B. (2014). How your personality type can help you win at studying. Magoosh SAT Blog.

Retrieved from

http://magoosh.com/sat/2014/how-your-personality-type-can-help-you-win-at-studying/

Nightingale, M. The Unforgiving Cycle: An Extrovert's Learning Experience. Retrieved from

http://pages.uoregon.edu/munno/Learning/Extravert.html

Personality types and learning. (2014). Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Retreived from

http://www.wnc.edu/mbti/personality_types_and_learning.php

Thompson, S. (2012). Introvert? Extrovert? Tips for a Balanced Classroom.

Canadianteachermagazine. Retrieved from

http://www.canadianteachermagazine.com/archives/ctm_teaching_ideas/janfeb2012-intro

vert-extrovert.shtml

Type and learning. (2014). Type Use for Everyday Life. Retreived from

http://www.myersbriggs.org/type-use-for-everyday-life/type-and-learning/

Wilson, C. (2013). A primer for mixing introverts and extroverts in the classroom. Teach

thought. Retrieved from

http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/a-primer-for-mixing-introverts-and-extroverts-in-t

he-classroom/

How do Extroverts deal with Introverts 1

How Do Extroverts Deal with Introverts

Karen Takada

University of Hawai‘i at Manoa

Final Essay Assignment

HELP 442W

Fall 2, 2014

Introduction

How do Extroverts deal with Introverts 2

There are two types of people that human beings have. One is extroverts, and another is

introverts. People have a predisposition in favor of extroverted person especially in western

culture these days. However, it is hard to define which has better personality because both have

advantages and disadvantages. It can be said extroverts tend to have a social ability which means

they can adapt social more than introverts. Extroverts can lead introverts at any situations, so

they should understand more about introverts. This paper discusses why extroverts can be a

extroverts leader for introverts, and how can they deal with introverts efficiently. This paper

reports the results of an investigation about how extroverts and introverts communicate with

each other to maintain their relationships, and which one of them feels more comfortable with

out-going and quiet people. The discussion begins by examing why extroverts face difficulties

when they cope with introverts.

Why It is Difficult for Introverts to Cope with People

Introverts are people who prefer being alone to gathering with people. According to

Cherry (n. d.), they tend to be deep thinkers which means that they think by themselves before

they start to talk. Extroverts have a tendency to absorb knowledge by talking and communicating

with people. Even if they make a mistake during what they said, they don’t have a responsibility

for making mistakes. On the other hand, introverts tend to try their best when they begin to talk

because they are afraid of making errors. Before they start to speak, they prefer to get reliable

information to observe by themselves, and understand with a concept in detail. Also, while

extroverts get energy from meeting and gathering people, introverts choose to be alone. For

example, if introverts are invited a party, even though they came to the party because they

intended to enjoy the party before they had decided to come, once while they are attending the

How do Extroverts deal with Introverts 3

party, they suddenly feel fear, which causes them to go home as soon as possible. Their feelings

of staying and enjoying with people doesn’t last for a long time. It is said that it is difficult for

introverted people to cope with extroverts, but it is not necessarily true that they don’t like to

communicate with people. According to Sword (2002), although extroverts tend to get energy

from people, and predominantly get involved in the outer world of people and things, introverts

can be said they behave completely opposite because they are more likely to show their interests

to the inner world, which is focused on concepts and ideas.

Advantage of Extroverts

In general, extroverts are known as people who are friendly, and outgoing. According to

MeD India (n.d.), extroverts tend to be socialized which means that they like to go outside and

do outdoor activities . Even if they feel tired physically, they are fine mentally because they

prefer to be surrounded by people at any time. For instance, they go hiking in their free time, and

after hiking, they felt exhausted and sleepy. However, once they are asked by their friends to

come to the party, even if they feel tired, they would be glad to go to the party because they don’t

use their energy by meeting people. Rather, they can get energy by involving themselves in

social or personal activities. According to Bainbridge (2014), extroverts are good at being

leaders for both small and big groups. Also, they are more likely to focus on here and now, so

these individuals can confront any situations from external world. It might be considered that

extroverts are able to connect and make a good relation with introverts.

Stereotypes of Culture between Western and Asia

How do Extroverts deal with Introverts 4

Cain (2013) illustrated that there is a cultural bias towards extroverts in Western. Cain

(2013) “In the West, we subscribe to the Extrovert Ideal, while in Asia (at least before the

Westernization of the past several decades), silence is golden” (p. 190). Most Asian people might

think that Americans are all extroverts. However, it is only a stereotype because not all the

Americans are outspoken and bold. It is hard to divide people into two types such as introverts

and extroverts. It might be possible to say that culture is related to make personality. Cain

(2013), mentioned that there is an Asian American community in the city of Cupertino in

California, and this city is against the “extrovert ideal” of mainstream America and consider their

differences. She also says that American would be colored dark gray because McCrae (2004)

stated that it depends on feature of personality nature and its shadings of dark and light

grays-dark for extroversion, light for introversion-reveal a picture that both Asian and European

are introverts. It could be said that people have tendencies for each country. For example, there

is a man named Toru Hashimoto who is a mayor in Osaka, Japan. He always insists his opinions

in public. Some citizens of Japan feel that he is honest, so he can affect Japan on good way, but

the others think that he is outspoken (Ryall, 2013). Japan seems like it still has a stereotype to

keep their emotions in their mind and quiet because if they speak loud it would be regarded as

rude or impolite, so people try to be introverts in order to be accepted by society. Cain (2013)

said that Westerns are more likely to reward individual freedom, self-expression, and personal

destiny. On the other hand, it is more important for Asians to be quite, careful, and inhibited. It is

hard to change stereotypes because it is still remaining in both Western and Asia. Even though

Asians are introverted, it is necessary for Westerns to respect cultures, and deal with Asia.

How do Extroverts can Understand Introverts’ Personalities

How do Extroverts deal with Introverts 5

Both extroverts and introverts have many opportunities to meet each other. People might

have a friend who is an introverted person. Also, an extroverted person has experienced and

faced the situations which had made them confused because they didn’t know how to deal with

introverts. For example, if an extroverted man has a friend who is an introverted woman, and

when he got an opportunity to introduce her to his other friends who are all extroverts, most of

his friends would say that she is not affable, sociable, and friendly. Introverts might make a

grumpy face in front of people even if they meet them for the first time. However, it is not true

that they feel bored, uncomfortable, or dislike to meet new people. Moreover, according to

Schmidt and Buss (2010) , introverts can be shy, but shyness isn’t related to introverts’ traits.

Also, it is mentioned that while sociability correspond with eager and motivation to be with

people, shyness is shown as attitudes because shy people tend to hide their emotions and feel

uncomfortable with others. Although it might be possible to say that introverts are shy, it is

difficult to say that they are shy. They just don’t like spending for a long time with new people,

because they prefer spending time with people who are more familiar with them (Rauch, 2003).

Most of introverts are quiet and it is hard to know immediately what they are thinking in their

mind. What all extroverts need to know about introverts is how do they tend to behave.

How do Extroverts Deal with Introverts at Work

Most people are more likely to set a high valuation on extroverts because extroverts seem

to take an active part more than introverts in modern world especially in the workplace. It might

be said extroverts can be more productive, and they can work efficiently than introverts, but it is

not always true. Cain (2013) insisted that it is not necessarily true that extroverts are effective for

How do Extroverts deal with Introverts 6

any workplaces because even if introverts work at the environment where they never stand out, it

is possible for them to be motivated and show their ability at work. It doesn’t mean that

extroverted people should always show their leadership, and try their best to pay attentions to

introverts all the time. However, it might be more helpful for introverts if extroverts understand

what kind of working style introverts have. Cain (2013) stated that it is clear that there are many

historical people such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Gandhi who had carried transformative

power. Those people are said to be quiet and soft-spoken, or rarely express their opinions in

public. Even though those people must be introverts, they succeeded. According to Microsoft

(2014), at work, extroverts tend to be go-getters who prefer working with a group, or speaking in

public without hesitating. On the other hand, introverts are more likely to work alone, so they

don’t participate in meetings actively. It might be considered that extroverts work more

efficiently, but introverts also have valuable skills. Introverts tend to be reserved in social

situations such as meetings, so it is important for extroverts to understand and manage them.

According to Microsoft (2014), introverts tend to be deep thinkers, listeners at the workplace, so

extroverts need to know about a few points when they want to manage introverts. Firstly, even

though extroverts tend to work quickly because they can adapt to environments easily, introverts

tend to require their own time to come up with ideas and changes. Secondly, for example, when

extroverts participate the meeting, they can express their opinions even if there are many people.

Meanwhile, introverts tend to be listeners, and they don’t think on the spot. Also, according to

Crask (2014) , it is mentioned that both extroverts and introverts have a different style of work.

For example, if extroverts are asked to do a lot of work by their boss, they don’t care to work

hard with taking risks because they prefer to challenge new things, while introverts tend to do

How do Extroverts deal with Introverts 7

their work perfectly. Moreover, they are more likely to feel comfort when they get more

sustained concentration. Finally, it can be said that if both introverts and extroverts are given a

work environment which can work privately, it would be more helpful for each people.

Moreover, if they work together, extroverts should consider introverted people more than

extroverted. Extroverts always have to take the initiative for introverted people.

How to handle introverts in relationships

According to Cooper (2013), there are some ways to deal with introverts better. Most of

people might consider that it is more difficult to deal with introverts than extroverts. Introverts

seem to be cross, or grumpy because of their facial expressions or behaviors, but there are

reasons why they act like that, so extroverts should know why they act like that. Firstly,

introverts need their privacy to be respected and time to think by themselves because they tend to

value their own privacy. Secondly, extroverts are outgoing, so they hardly care about what the

other people think about them. On the other hand, introverts are afraid of being embarrassed in

public. Thirdly, it is important for them to observe first when they are in a new situation. For

example, if an extroverted woman think that her introvert friend has few friends, it is strange for

an extrovert to not to have many friends, but an introvert is fine even if they don’t have a lot

friends, so extroverts don’t need to try to change their introvert friends’ personalities into

extroverts. According to Sanders (n.d.), people who aren’t introverts might think it is better to go

out and experience a new environment, but it doesn’t work for introverts most of the time. It is

necessary that extroverts shouldn’t push introverts to make friends. Extroverts should

understand that it is different for each introvert and extrovert.

Methods

How do Extroverts deal with Introverts 8

Drawing from Myers-Briggs 4 dichotomies test, and there are 4 dichotomies of

Myers-Briggs type. Myers-Briggs created a personality test to describe people behaviors clearly.

It is hard to know the meaning of those 4 dichotomies. Firstly, they explain about extroversion

and introversion which can show whether people tend to be socialized, which means out going or

not. It could be explained that extroversion is friendly, outgoing, and enjoying being with people.

On the other hand, introvert is completely opposite because it is known that introversion is quiet,

thinking internally which means introvert needs spending time to think by themselves and being

alone. Secondly, there are sensing and intuition which can show how people prefer to get

information. Sensing could be the label which means focusing on the reality rather thinking

about the future, describing things in a specific, and literal way instead of describing things in

figurative, poetic ways. Intuition prefers imaginating the possibilities of how things could be, and

thinking about the big picture to notice the facts. Thirdly, thinking and feeling are able to explain

what tendency people have when they make decisions. It might be hard to recognize what

thinking and feeling are. It could be explained that thinking tends to make decisions logically and

impersonally. Thinking also could be described as reasonable. Thinking tends to value justice

and fairness. However, people who have feeling make decisions on personal values and how

people actions affect others. Also, feeling could be described as warm and empathetic who prefer

to value harmony, forgiveness. Finally, there are judging and perceiving which can describe how

people prefer live their out of the world. There are judging and perceiving. Judging have

preference to having matters settled, so it tends to organize and think that rules and deadlines are

important. Also, judging have preference for getting information in details which can tell people

How do Extroverts deal with Introverts 9

step-by-step instructions. However, perceiving could be explained that it doesn’t care to make

the plans which is organized because perceiving can see rules and deadlines as flexible.

For each pair of letters determine people what types they have. Firstly, researchers

including me made 6 questions for each dichotomies. Then, researchers took the personality test

which we made for testing ourselves. Secondly, we checked against a previous test which we

made for researching personality. Thirdly, we edited questions for better clarity. Finally, we

checked results with another test which has completely finished editing. After we made

personality test, we made interview questions.

We interviewed 12 people who all have different personalities. We gave interviews to 7

Japanese female, 1 Japanese male, 1 Korean female, 1 American male, and 1 Hong Kong person.

We each created 3 questions related to various essay topics. For this essay, we asked how they

maintain friendship with people who are extroverted and introverted, which do they feel more

comfortable to be with; out-going type of person or a quiet person, and they are introverted. We

asked how do they behave to out-going people or if they are extroverted, and we asked how do

they deal with shy or quiet people.

Results and Discussion

It can be said that it is necessary to maintain a good relationship between extroverts and

introverts. According to the results, the extroverts that we interviewed try to make an effort when

they maintain friendship with introverts. It seems introverts are more likely to be passive when

they are talked to by others. Also, both extroverts and introverts type of people tend to respect

each other. Both terms of characteristics tend to be with same types of people rather than

different. For example, although extroverts prefer being with out-going people because they can

How do Extroverts deal with Introverts 10

do foolish things that they cannot enjoy with introverts. Introverts prefer being with quiet people

because they are used to quiet, so they could feel more relax. They can feel comfortable when

they are with same types of people.

Conclusion

This paper discussed that how extroverts deal with introverts. In general, people might

think extroverts have more advantages than introverts. It is hard to say introverts are antisocial,

so they are usually misunderstood by people who are extroverts. It is obvious that introverts also

like to cope with people as extroverts do. They can save their energy rather than spending time

with people. However, extroverts don’t need to push them too much to socialize. It might be hard

for introverts to deal with introverts, but at least, extroverts can play an important role to lead

introverts.

References

Bainbridge, C (2014). Extrovert. about health. Retrieved from

http://giftedkids.about.com/od/glossary/g/extrovert.htm

Cain, S. (2012). Quiet. New York, NY: Broadway Books

Cooper, B. (2013). Are you an introvert or an extrovert? What it means for your career. Fast

company. Retrieved fromhttp://www.fastcompany.com/3016031/le

Crask, E. (2014). Outies vs. Innies: Extroverts and Introverts at Work. Pan. Retrieved from

http://www.panpowered.com/outies-vs-innies-extroverts-and-introverts-at-work/

How do Extroverts deal with Introverts 11

Microsoft. (2014). Embracing Difference: How to Manage Introverts and Extroverts, Microsoft

for work. Retrieved from

http://blogs.microsoft.com/work/2014/08/01/embracing-difference-how-to-manage-introv

erts-and-extroverts/

Rauch, J. (2003). Caring for your introvert. Atlantic Monthly. Retrieved from

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2003/03/caring-for-your-introvert/2696/#

Robert, M (2004). The Journal of Research in Personality: Human Nature and Culture. A Trait

Perspective. 38, 3-14.

Rubin, K., & Coplain, R. (2010), The Development of Shyness and Social Withdrawal.New

York,NY: The Guilford Press

Sword, L. & Gifted and Creative Services Australia. (2002). The Gifted Introvert. High ability.

Retrieved from http://talentdevelop.com/articles/GiftIntrov.html

Sanders, P. (n.d.). How to make friends if you’re an introvert. Lifehack. Retrieved from

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/how-to-make-friends-introvert.html

Bhandari, D (2010). Introvert and Extrovert, Med of India. Retrieved from

http://www.medindia.net/patients/lifestyleandwellness/personality-types-introvert-and-ex

trovert.html

How do Extroverts deal with Introverts 12

Ryall, J. (2013). Outspoken Toru Hashimoto may have to quit as Japan Restoration Party leader. Asia. Retrieved from

http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1251532/outspoken-toru-hashimoto-may-have-q

uit-japan-restoration-party-leader

Why People Are Curious to Know Their Personality

1

Why People Are Curious to Know Their Personality

Moeka Yamada

University of Hawai‘i at Manoa

Essay Assignment

HELP 442W

Fall 2, 2014

Why People Are Curious to Know Their Personality

2

Introduction

People have different personalities. Recently, some people discover their personality by

taking personality test. For example, Myers-Briggs. There are two terms that are used by Carl G

Jung who explained the different attitudes that use to directly to their energy. The two terms are

called ‘Extraversion’ and ‘Introversion’. The term Extraversion is used for people who tend to

go-out and talkative. On the other hand, Introversion is used for people who tend to be more

quiet than extroverted people. Personality and identity is now importance of people, because it

describes about it selve. This paper discussed personality and traits, curiosity of knowing one’s

personality, the timing when people realize whether they are extroversion or introversion, and

flexibility of personality. Then, it will report the result of investigation, when do people realize

whether they are extrovert or introvert.

Personality and Traits

According to Cain (2012), introverted people are quieter than extraverted people.

However it does not mean that they are shy. The shyness is not necessary relating to the

personality whether people is categorised in two terms like extraversion and introversion. The

two terms are more likely to be about where people get their energy and motivation from. The

energy of extroverts is outward and it is tend to be towards people and things. Most extroverts

tend to get their motivations from other people, and their attitude is often confident. They tend

to act first and think later. On the other hand, the energy of introverts is inward. The attitude of

Why People Are Curious to Know Their Personality

3

introversion is reserved and questioning, also they tend to think before they act. People have

different personality and traits that sometimes specify people in categories. According to

Hilling, there are misunderstandings between extroverts and introverts. One stereotype of

extroversion is when extroverts are not with people, they often need people around them to

maintain their interest. However, some extroverted people think that introverts as being

antisocial, because they can be as friendly in the way as an extrovert. Socializing for introverts

will usually involve people who know about them well and involve conversation in small

groups. They often involve the opportunity available for them to be listener rather than

participating in conversation like extroverts does.

Curiosity of Knowing About Personality

Personality tests are not new, however the personality test have recently skyrocketed in

popularity on the Internet (Thorson, 2014). Recently, it is likely to see people are taking

personality test online for their enjoyment and entertainment. Also, it is very popular and

Facebook news feeds often have someone who has posted new results from one of these tests.

Online personality tests have expanded beyond the traditional format of telling us certain traits

that most people possess. According to Thorson (2014), there are three reasons why people are

motivated to take personality test these days. One of them is that it helps people to identify

themselves. It is likely to see that the adolescents and young adult are hungry for finding out

their identity (Yamada, 2014). People tend to look for clues from others and consistent.

Personality tests might give us some information that people can feel that it is useful or thinks

more accurate than knowledge obtained through introspection. The results of personality tests

Why People Are Curious to Know Their Personality

4

do not contain deep or insightful meaning. However, it gains people’s attention very well and

also makes them think about their personality. It is because that the process of gaining

information is enjoyment for some people. It means it might help people justify their behavior.

When people think of their own behavior, it is less than ideal and it may ease conscience to

think about the actions.

Flexibility of Personality

According to Zupanick and Dombeck, because of the personality test people may have a

better understanding of “personality.” By knowing the personality, we can know disorders,

which is a mental health problem. A person with a healthy personality could be someone who

can conduct him or herself in the world effectively, with a just a little effort. Cain (2014), used

the example of rubber band theory to explain flexibility of personality. Rubber band theory is

the theory that people can stretch personalities. However, it only goes up to a point where

people realize the limitation of the stretch. The example of rubber band theory could be very

applicable to both introversion and extroversion. However there could be more possibility that

introversion could agree to the theory, because the theory is telling people that they can be free

to be themselves while being successful in a variety of situations. For example, some

introverted students might feel anxious when they have to do presentation or public speaking,

however if an introverted student knows that he or she has a flexible personality like rubber

band, people can stretch themselves to perform better even in anxiety causing situations.

Myers­Briggs The Personality Test

Why People Are Curious to Know Their Personality

5

The Myers-Briggs is the personality test that identifies your characteristics through four

dichotomies. The creators of Myers-Briggs are Isabel Briggs Myers and Katharine Cook Briggs

who were interested in the Carl Jung’s theory about human behavior. There are four pairs of

dichotomies that distinguish major personality types. Each dichotomy has two types which are

symbolized as E,-I, S-N, T-F, and J-P. The first dichotomy contains E and I. E stands for

“Extroversion” which means out-going and active. It could be used for people who enjoy being

the center of attention. I stands for “Introversion” which refers opposite meaning of

extroversion, so it means quiet and people who tend to be alone, and would rather observe than

be center of the attention. Also, they tend to think things through inside of themselves. The

second dichotomy contains S and N. S is stands for “Sensing” which means to people who tend

to focus on the reality and attention to concentrate on the facts. Also, they are likely to describe

things specifically and literal way. N stands for “Intuition” which means people who tend to

notice the big picture and see how everything connects and who describes things in figurative

way. The third dichotomy contains T and F. T stands for “Thinking” which means that the

people make decision in an impersonal way and using logical reasons and they enjoy finding the

flaws in an argument. On the other hand, F stand for “Feeling” which means that the people

who like to please others and point out the best in people and they could be described as warm,

and empathetic. The last dichotomy includes J and P. J stands for “Judging” which refers to

people who prefer to have matters settled and they tend to move on step by step. On the other

side, P stand for “Perceiving” which means to people who tend to prefer to leave their opinions

open and open-minded and also, they tend to follow the rules.

Methods

Why People Are Curious to Know Their Personality

6

Based on the four dichotomies from the Myers-Briggs, six-students from Academic

English class made six questions for each dichotomy and we tested ourselves. The test result

came out similar to the result of Myers-Briggs. After we took test, we edited questions for better

clarity. After we made personality test, we made interview questions to get some information

from the outside of the classroom. Each student made three to six interview questions that

accurate the topic of final essay and we interviewed to twelve people. We interviewed people by

asking whether they would like to help with the research and making appointment.

Interviewees were either students or adults.

Result and Discussion

《When do people realize whether they are extrovert or introvert 》

The stereotype of introvert and extrovert are basically whether the personality of people

is out-going type or quiet type. According to the result of the interview that we did, it seems like

people realized whether they are extrovert or introvert based on individual differences. Based on

individual differences, some people had specific episodes that made them change from introvert

to extrovert and the opposite change happened too. One interesting answer was from a lady who

was thinking that she was extroverted person and her friend also told her that she is

extroversion, however the result of personality test showed that she is introversion. I, myself

experienced similar situation. I was told that I am extrovert and the test result was also

extroversion, however after reading a description of introversion, there were some connections.

According to the research, some people realized that whether they are extroversion or

introversion when they are in childhood or adolescence. Referring to my personal experience, I

Why People Are Curious to Know Their Personality

7

feel like I had my turning point of my life after I experienced three years of study abroad all by

myself. I was definitely an introverted kid when I first realized myself tending to be alone when

other kids are outside and playing around. However, after experienced the time by myself in

different environment, culture and language, I felt that I sometimes need to stretch out to be out

going type of person like extraversion tend to be, otherwise I feel like I am crushed by the

energy that comes from surrounding environment and people.

Conclusion

This paper discussed personality and traits, curiosity of knowing one’s personality, the

timing when people realize whether they are extroversion or introversion, and flexibility of

personality. The research results give some perspective to think about our own personality and

also some people might get some idea about being flexible to be opposite personality.

Therefore, people have different personality and there could be more possibilities and options

that people to be flexible. Personality tests are very popular all over the world because of that

convenience and easiness. In a way, it might cause people to be more flexible. Personality tests

might give us some information that people can feel that it is useful or is more accurate than

knowledge obtained through introspection.

Reference

Breazeale, R. (2011, March 7). On Being Flexible. Retrieved from

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/in-the-face-adversity/201103/being-flexible

Cain, S. (2012). Quiet: The power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking. New York: Crown.

Why People Are Curious to Know Their Personality

8

Grohol, J. (2007, November 30). Personality Influences Perceived Attractiveness. Retrieved from

http://psychcentral.com/news/2007/11/30/personality-influences-perceived-attractiveness/1597.

html

Hilling, A. (n.d.). Extrovert and Introvert – what is the difference? Retrieved from

http://www.hillinghypnotherapy.co.uk/personality-test-online/personality-testing-explained/extr

overt-and-introvert-what-is-the-difference/

Personality test based on C. Jung and I. Briggs Myers type theory. (n.d.). Retrieved December 7,

2014, from http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp

The Myers & Briggs Foundation - Extraversion or Introversion. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/extraversion-or-introversion.

htm

The Myers & Briggs Foundation - Extraversion or Introversion. (2014, January 1). Retrieved from

http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/extraversion-or-introversion.

htm

Thorson, K. (2014, April 4). Psych Your Mind: Why Do We Take Personality Tests Retrieved

from http://psych-your-mind.blogspot.com/2014/04/why-do-we-take-personality-tests.html

The Myths about Extraversion and Introversion 1

The Myths about Extraversion and Introversion Younghee Lim University of Hawai’i at Manoa Essay Assignment HELP 441W Fall 2, 2014

The Myths about Extraversion and Introversion 2

Introduction People are different. Just as they have different face shape, height, and color of skin, their

traits of the character are different. People know that there are not exactly same characters

between individual human beings like each person’s face is different from others.

However, some people have tried to make a category using the tendency and aspect of the way

people think and act. There are well known categories about people’s trait such as Myers Briggs

test or Extraversion and Introversion. This paper will discuss about what is an extravert and an

introvert, what aspects are observed and expected in each category, what myths people have

about each category’s character, what caused the myths, why people need to be wary about the

myths. Also, it will report the result of an investigation of the differences between assumed

feature and actual one in extraverts and introverts during this discussion. This investigation was

conducted by University of Hawaii students.

What is Extraversion and Introversion? According to Jung (1921), the trait of extraversion-introversion is a central dimension of

human personality theories. He made these terms known to the public. Extraversion is

explained with the tendency for outgoing, talkative, energetic behavior, whereas introversion is

explained with more reserved and solitary behavior. Also he defined introversion as an attitude

type characterised by focusing on one’s subjective psychic activity, and extraversion as an

attitude type characterised by focusing on the outside world so having interest on the external

object. Jung (1925) also said that because people fluctuate in their behavior all the time, even

extreme introverts and extroverts do not always act according to their type.

The Myths about Extraversion and Introversion 3

What aspects are observed and expected in each category?

Cain(2012) described the differences of extravert and introvert as “the North and South

of temperament” (p.01). In this way, cain claims that extraversion and introversion are very

opposite traits. What is the biggest difference between them? Many people believe that extraverts

gain energy from being around others, introverts lose their energy when they are spending time

with many other people. What else do people think the differences are between them? Cain

(2012) said that even though there are many definitions of extravert and introvert, and arguments

over which meaning is most accurate, current psychologists overall agree on several important

points.

Introverts and extroverts have different preference about outside stimulation. Introverts

prefer relatively “less stimulation,” so they like activities like solving a crossword puzzle or

reading a book. Extraverts prefer “extra bang stimulation” comes from meeting new people or

skiing slippery slopes. (p.11)

In additionally introverts and extraverts work differently with their assignments.

Extraverts do assignments quickly. They are good at quick decision making, multitasking, and

risk taking, whilst introverts work more slowly and deliberately. They are good at concentrating

and like to focus on one task at a time. There are more differences between them. Extraverts

prefer talking to listening, and are comfortable with conflict. Introverts prefer listening to talking,

think before they speak, and dislike conflict. According to Myers bricss, 25% of Americans are

introverts.

What Myths People Have about each Category’s Character?

The Myths about Extraversion and Introversion 4

People might assume other people’s feelings or reactions according to their trait they

seem to have. People might think that extraverts are so outgoing and confident that they are

rarely sad, or extraverts are not good listeners, they only care about themselves, or since they like

receiving attention, they are good at public speaking and introverts are not. Cain (2012) made an

example with her own presentation, how she was terrified with the big presentations. What did

she want to say with her fear of presenting in front of many people? She insisted she is an

introvert. So she was suggesting that introverts tend to have fear about public speaking.

According to her research, extraverts have well developed “old brain” and is influenced their

behavior a lot from that part of the brain. Introverts’ brains are different. They have more

developed “new brain” which influence cognitive ability. Then, is her fear of presentation from

her introvert type of brain? Is it from “new brain”? One study (Mitchell, 2009) about public

speaking fear explains how old brains work when people feel public speaking fear. This study

shows that not only new brains but also old brains can accommodate the public speaking fear.

Old brain is the part of the brain that is constantly scanning the environments looking for threats.

Survival is what matters to the old brain. When people need to stand in front of a group of

people, old brain regards this situation as threatening which is not true, but old brain does not

know that so the common reactions about public speaking fear are “fight or freeze”. If

introverts’ new brains are developed well, why does their new brain not work well to let introvert

people know that it is nothing to do with survival? When people learned that extraverts’ old brain

is developed more, people could assume that extraverts also have the fear of public speaking as

much as introverts do from this study.

The Myths about Extraversion and Introversion 5

Here is another research about what percentage of people are afraid of public speaking.

Mclean(2014) mentioned various research results, some are 40% , others are 45%. So he is

saying it seems to be around the 40-45% people have public speaking fear according to the

studies. Even though Cain used the word “tendency” the percentage she suggested as the number

of introverts which is 25%, is not even close to 45%. How could people find the tendency of

trait in introverts and extraverts regarding public speaking fear? They might not be able to find

any reasonable connection between them. There are more likely to make sense to divide the

group of people who have fear about it and people who do not, regardless of introverts and

extroverts.

Here is the interview result conducted by UH students, they made two type of questions,

one was for the personality test according to Myers Bricss, the other was for follow up questions

for what each student wanted to know about each type of character. Four students conducted

interviews with three people. One interviewer chose three people who looked like introverts

intentionally, others did interviews without any such intention. Twelve interviewee did a

personality test, the result shows seven of them are extraverts, five of them are introverts. After

the personality test, the twelve interviewees were asked six questions that show if they really

have the feature of emotions or reactions that is expected to have according to their personal

type. There were two significant discrepancies between the common expectation and the

research result.

People tend to think extraverts are talkative and prefer to talking to listening, introverts

prefer listening. However, among seven extraverts, three of them (means almost half) prefer

listening to talking, one of introverts like both. The result shows not all introverts like just

The Myths about Extraversion and Introversion 6

listening, and many extraverts prefer listening. It means even though extraverts gain energy from

being around people, they are not necessarily talkative or bad listeners. When we see the reasons

extraverts like listening, it is more clear to see that people cannot simply define that extraverts

prefer talking. One of extraverts addressed the reason he prefers listening due to “Listening from

others would help me to learn something.” Another answer was “It is interesting to hear others’

story”. These answers show that people would listen from others with their own interests

regardless of their traits. That is to say, if we categorize people who gains energy from being

around others, even though they like conversations with others, it might be wrong to define that

people who are in that category prefer talking. What if we think there is another category

composed by the preference of talking or listening? Can the word of ‘tendency’ or ‘tend’ cover

the discrepancy of two different categories?

Cain (2012) made an example of public speaking fear to explain introverts’ world. In this

research, only three out of seven extraverts interviewees are not afraid of public speaking. One

introvert among five answered he is not afraid of public speaking. More than 50% of people

seem to have fear for public speaking. Then, can we say that introverts tend to have public

speaking fear and extroverts tend not to? This research is saying that some expected traits by the

category of extraverts and introverts might need another new category.

Here are other opinion about myths. Almquist (2014) said that even extraverts need time

to be alone, not necessarily want to be with others all the time, because extroverts also have their

limits. Therefore if people think extroverts all the time need to be around people, it is not true.

Also extraverts are sad as much as introverts do, even though it might be different to be soothed.

The Myths about Extraversion and Introversion 7

People could find easily what is the misunderstanding about other people’s trait or reaction when

they carefully study others.

What Caused the Myths?

Then what cause the myths? Why people assume something wrong with extraverts and

introverts? If extraverts are the people who like attention and like to talk and are more confident,

why can we not just say that extraverts are good at public speaking? It might be a category

problem. For example, I do not eat the meat of dog. I like neither the meat of dog nor the people

who eat it, and I had condemned the ones who eat dogs. However, if a Japanese friend

condemned that Koreans eat dogs, my excuse would be “only some of Koreans eat dogs”. I could

only say that some of Korean eat dogs, and feel embarrassed to be in the same category of

Korean. And the Japanese cannot avoid same feeling if a western friend says that some Asian

people eat dogs, because the Japanese are Asian. Imagine the alien condemning the American

saying that earth men tend to enjoy eating dogs. The American would admit the alien's

condemnation owing to the word ‘tend’, realizing he is in the earthmen category. People cannot

deny the alien condemnation that some of the earth man tend to eat dog meat even though the

reality is only a few Korean eats dogs ( There are some other countries more, however this

setting up is for just helping understanding). That is the category’s problem. There are more

people who are misunderstood by others with the word of ‘some’ and ‘tendendency’ than the

people who understood correctly. If people make a different category other than Korean, Asian,

or the earthman with the eating dog meat problem, like the ones who are eating dogs and others

who are not eating dogs, it is an accurate category. People made a myth that Koreans eat dogs,

because when they made a category, they used the ethnic standard, but they use this ethnic

The Myths about Extraversion and Introversion 8

category when they mention the preference of part of the group. ‘Some’ and ‘tendency’ do not

cover all problem of category. Like this example, even though people put ‘tendency’ when they

assume the trait of extraverts and introverts such as public speaking fear, people might be wrong

to say that introverts tend to have fear about public speaking, because people made a category

with other aspects like preference of being alone or being around people, and added in the fear in

that category. Even though some people try to find the common denominator of many other traits

and try to cover the discord with the word ‘tendency,’the 20% of gap indicates that people

cannot put other various aspects in one category named introverts and extraverts.

Why People Need to be Wary about the Myths?

What would be the problem if people have myths about people’s character? First, people

should know why some people want to make the category of introverts and extraverts.

It might be for exploring human being’s psychological aspects, and helping people.

People used the category of boy and girl and find tendency what color they prefer when they

make children’s goods. People make blue stuffs for boys, and pink stuffs for girls. The category

and finding tendency in there is helpful to decide what color the maker choose, even though not

all boys like blue and not all girls like pink. However, when people use the wrong image of

category, it could be a problem. Imagine there is the friend who wants to raise her daughter in the

same way like raising a boy hoping her daughter can learn that man and woman are equal, there

are not any differences between men and women, and so prefers to make her daughter wear

something other than pink or blue, but you give her pink dress as her birthday present.

When people judge others with the commonly well known aspects of introverts and

extroverts, they might make a mistake when dealing with others. Most importantly, when people

The Myths about Extraversion and Introversion 9

judge themselves with wrong ideas, it sometimes gives them unjust excuses or sometimes

interferes with their progression with incorrect pre-judgement. Do you think we need make a

category necessarily without ‘accurate’ label?

References

Almquist, H, K. (June10, 2014) An extrovert living in an introvert world. Sanctuary. Retrieved

from http://sanctuarycounseling.com/extrovert-living-introvert-world/

Cain, S (2012) Quiet. New York : crown publishing Group.

Jung, C (1921) Psychologische Typen. Zurich : Rascher Verlag.

Jung, C (1925) Memories, Dreams, Reflections. London: Fontana Press.

The myers & briggs Foundation. Retrieved from

http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/

Mitchell, O. (Sep 22, 2009) The three causes of public speaking fear. Retrieved from

http://www.speakingaboutpresenting.com/nervousness/fear-of-public-speaking-causes/

Mclean (January 16, 2014) What percentage of people are afraid of public speaking. Retrieved

from http://publicspeakingpower.com/percentage-of-people-afraid-of-public-speaking/

How People Become Introverts: Nature vs. Nurture 1

How People Become Introverts: Nature vs. Nurture

Janete Hatada

University of Hawai’i at Manoa

Final Essay Assignment

HELP 442W

Fall 2 2014

Introduction

How People Become Introverts: Nature vs. Nurture 2

In concept, all people fall into some point in the introversion or extraversion scale. The

characteristics of each are known to almost everyone and yet, the definition seems to still stir

such controversy, not only in academia, but also in everyday life. Why is that so?

To begin with, there is a general misconception about introversion and sensitivity. The

portraits of introverts are very similar to that of Highly Sensitive People (HSPs). To HSPs and

introverts, socializing with people can be equally exhausting . However, HSPs have a very strong

reaction to all their surroundings and need more time to process the input. They have an

unusually high sense of smell and/ or touch, and an intolerance for sounds. The confusion seems

to arise from the fact that 70% of HSPs are introverts, ignoring the other 30% that are extraverts

that actually enjoy mingling with people and feel more energized by it (Bartz, 2011).

Extraverts are often called high sensation seekers, as they have the tendency to seek

rewards, or stimulation. They are more likely to do extreme sports or denote some kind of risky

behavior. However, how can we characterize the sensitive extravert? They are often found in

places where people know each other and they mostly grew up in stable families and are socially

confident (Aron, 2011). They are more likely to feel strongly for some cause and stand up to

speak for this cause, and try to make people understand their position.

Although recent researches seem to have uncovered evidence of biological factors for

introversion and extraversion, there are many other factors, like environment and upbringing that

can influence how a person turns out.

This paper will discuss how a person becomes an introvert, if they are born that way, or if

they are formed and transformed by environment and/or nurturing. Then, it will report the results

of an investigation of 12 people ranging from extraverts to introverts, examining their family

How People Become Introverts: Nature vs. Nurture 3

members characteristics and how they were raised, and if they changed from childhood until

now.

Introverts X Extraverts

What are introversion and extraversion? Many tend to think about social skills when

talking about introverts or extraverts. According to them, introverts are shy and have difficulties

relating to other people or socializing, while extraverts are boisterous, open and always talkative.

However, in 1920, when psychologist Carl Jung wrote his book Psychological Types (Jung,

1921) and came up with the names introvert and extravert, he was referring to them in terms of

energy. The extravert gains energy by being with people, partying, talking, engaging with them,

and introverts are depleted of energy when in close and constant contact with others, needing a

down time that allow them to recharge their energy in solitary activities (Castro, 2013).

The introverted world

According to Cain (2013), there is a bias against introverts in a world that seems tailored

for extraverts. From school to jobs, to entertainment, the world revolves around extraverts and

there is an absolute majority of extraverts to a handful of introverts. However, there are still lots

of introverts walking around, as there are no absolutes in the scale of introversion-extraversion.

This is more a case of perception than numbers. Extraverted people are louder and easily

noticeable, leading to misleading impressions. Nevertheless, introverts are not to be confused

with shyness that is characterized by an uneasiness or discomfort with social contact. Introverts

seek isolation to think or recharge and not because they feel uncomfortable around people. They

both spend an equal amount of time around family, friends or coworkers, and both are capable of

feeling a mood boost from interactions with people.

How People Become Introverts: Nature vs. Nurture 4

Researchers found out that in a verbally oriented society, silence can be taken for

disinterest or incompetence, whereas in other cultures that emphasize restraint it can be seen as

deeply reflective and courteous (Helgoe, 2014). On the other hand, this quality of self-

introspection and self-criticism can cause anxiety and depression. The numbers reveal that

anxiety and depression are more prevalent in introverts than extraverts.

In another study, volunteers were asked to do a series of activities that involved thinking

logically or giving speeches. The introverts favored a more aloof state of mind, for the reason

that a happy emotional state would be too distracting for their concentration. Extraverts, on the

contrary, preferred to feel happy or to relive happy memories when doing those tasks.

To an introvert, a simple conversation with an extravert can be daunting and

misunderstandings are bound to happen, as the introvert cannot follow the continuous flow of

questions or information being imparted by the extravert. The lack of response may be taken as

an acknowledging of the interlocutor views, and a sign to continue talking, although the introvert

could be simply overwhelmed and incapable of coherent thought (Helgoe, 2014).

Are these differences part of nature or more precisely, are there any differences in the

physical aspect of introverts and extraverts? There are many theories that aim to answer these

questions, and over the years, with more technological advances, scientists began to delve more

deeply into the answers.

The brain of introverts and extraverts

Hans Eysenck, a psychologist, proposed in the 60’s a new theory (Eysenck, 1967) that

extraverts have a low level of arousal, therefore needing more stimuli to achieve a state of

satisfaction or pleasure than normally required, making them search for parties and novelties

more readily; whereas introverts have a higher level of arousal making them over stimulated by

How People Become Introverts: Nature vs. Nurture 5

social interaction and consequently seeking a quiet atmosphere or in-depth conversation in small

groups (Stafford, 2013).

In 1999, a study was made comparing the blood flow in the brain of both types using

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans. For introverts, the parts of the brain linked to plan

making, recalling and problem solving (frontal lobes and anterior thalamus) had a flow increase.

In contrast, the brain of extraverts showed more blood flow on the temporal lobes and posterior

thalamus, where the sensory data is interpreted. That could be an indication that introverts’

minds are directed inward and extraverts’ are directed outward (Castro, 2013).

In 2005, a study conducted by Michael Cohen (Cohen, Young, Baen, Kessler &

Ranganath, 2005) showed that dopamine plays an important role on introversion and

extraversion behavior. Dopamine is a chemical substance that is linked to the part of the brain

that processes rewards, mainly the nucleus accumbens, which is part of the reward system, and

the amygdala, which is responsible for the emotional stimuli. He scanned the brains of introverts

and extraverts placing and winning bets and discovered that they process rewards in different

ways. Moreover, extraverts have a gene that boosts the dopamine effect on their brain and these

genes were also activated with the gambling and especially with the winning. Extraverts are

more sensitive to rewards as the increase in dopamine seems to indicate and introverts are not so

attracted to rewards.

Rettner, (2010) tells about a study where researchers studied 28 people between the ages

of 18 to 40, ranging from introversion to extremely extraverts, using electroencephalography

(EEG) to record their brains’ electrical activities. They looked out for a variation on their P300

(the reaction within 300 milliseconds that happens on the brain with any sudden changes around

the person). They showed the volunteers photos of faces of men and sometimes women, and

How People Become Introverts: Nature vs. Nurture 6

photos of purple flowers with a few photos of yellow flowers in-between. The P300 of

extraverted people showed a greater reaction when seeing human faces whereas the photos of

flowers didn’t elicit much reaction. On the other hand, for the introverts, their P300 responses to

faces and flowers showed no difference. From this study, scientists concluded that for the

introverts’ brains, faces or flowers have the same value as stimuli, indicating that human

interactions don’t carry the same weight as with extraverts. Human faces are more meaningful

for the extraverts and catch more their attention. These facts might help explain why extraverts

are more likely to seek out people, or why introverts are more content dealing with books.

Although this interpretation might be true, maybe the expressions on the faces are another

consideration that must be taken, as in another experiment (Trey, 2002) where they showed

photos of people with fearful expressions and others with happy expressions. Both types reacted

equally to fearful expressions, probably because of an instinct for survival depending on the

swiftness of the response to dangerous situations. Still, only the extraverted people reacted to the

happy faces.

Family environment and culture

Different styles in raising children are definitively linked to the formation of personality

traits, and the significance of the family environment must be considered in the

introvert/extravert scale that an individual falls in.

In a study conducted in Osaka, Japan with 150 children (Nakao, Takaishi, Tatsuta,

Katayama, Iwase, Yorifuji, Takeda, 2001), researchers found out that family environment was

fundamental for a series of personality traits. For example, extraversion was low if the children

were subjected to overly protective parents and/or subjected to high interference. It was

especially low when overprotective mothers shared in the raising of the children. Children raised

How People Become Introverts: Nature vs. Nurture 7

in high income households with good parenting showed children with good social skills and

emotional control (maturity). Maturity was also linked to fathers’ participation in parenting

before and after the age of 4. In this study, introverts matured more when the fathers were

present and shared in their raising.

Especially in adolescents, their parents can have a beneficial influence that could balance

the genetic influences of the personalities. Studies conducted with twins (Tashiro, 2014) indicate

that although genes make almost 50% of personality traits, parenting can also contribute to

restrain or boost the effects of genes and environment on the personality. For example, children

who have a good connection with parents can be sure that they will receive love and support

from them, while children whose relation with their parents are insecure and anxious, tend to

have a hard time in trusting them.

According to Berezin (2014), the question is not either/ or in the dichotomy of nature/

nurture, but both working together in our development. The first 3 years of life is linked to the

maternal environment, where the babies’ brains trace their experiences, with protection, feeding,

loving and associating these with safety, reliability, and trust, the basis of nurturing until they

form their sense of self and other.

Nonetheless, culture also plays an important part in the unfolding of a child’s personality,

by stimulating determined behavior more accepted by local society. Western society embraces

traits like openness or loud and assertive speaking, whereas in Eastern or Asian countries, a more

reserved and demure demeanor is considered good/ acceptable behavior (Berezin, 2014).

Method

How People Become Introverts: Nature vs. Nurture 8

For understanding better the argument for nature or for nurture and to obtain answers to

the questions we asked, we conducted a series of interviews with students of HELP and some

other people, like friends or relatives.

For the collection of data that would be used in this essay, we (students from HELP 400

level) devised a personality test using Myers-Briggs types of questions to determine introversion/

extraversion and interview questions related to the chosen topics of each student.

Myers-Briggs (Cherry, 2014) is a personality test based on the theories of the famous

psychologist Carl Jung and devised by two women, Myers and Briggs, in the early 20th century.

It is widely used to try to match personality types with jobs for big companies, or for coaching

and group working, but it also has been used by people to find out their own personality traits

and how best to adjust to their work or life. There are 4 dichotomies that characterizes this test:

Extraversion (E)/ Introversion (I), Sensing (S)/ Intuition (N), Thinking (T)/ Feeling (F), Judging

(J)/ Perceiving (P).

If you are outgoing and talkative you are an E and if you like to think before talking and

are quieter, you are I. If you are pragmatic and realistic you are S, if you are imaginative and

creative, you are N. If you are logical and just, you are T and if you are empathetic and forgiving

you are F. If you are methodical and a stickler for rules you are J and if you are easygoing and

accommodating, you are P.

There are 16 combinations for these dichotomies: ISTJ, ISFJ, INFJ, INTJ, ISTP, ISFP,

INFP, INTP, ESTP, ESFP, ENFP, ENTP, ESTJ, ENFJ, ENTJ. We made 6 questions for each

dichotomy totaling 24 questions to determine the specific type of personality of the interviewee.

After that, we took the test ourselves to verify if the questions could really determine the 16

types. As the questions were taken and verified, those questions that could cause answers that

How People Become Introverts: Nature vs. Nurture 9

were not clear enough or could cause some confusion were edited. The results were then checked

with another test until all questions were very clear.

Each student had a specific topic that she was interested in and the interview questions

were tailored to have adequate data for their areas of interest. A total of 12 people were

interviewed, 10 female and 2 males. Of the 10 females, 8 were Japanese and 2 Koreans and of

the 2 males, 1 was from Hong Kong and 1 American.

Analyses and Discussion

In the literature dealing with introversion and extraversion stereotypes abound. Although

the sample interviews are too small compared to some more rigorous studies, still some

preconceived ideas of the behavior of extraverts and introverts can be seen. Such analyses are

difficult due to the nature of the interviews: the people answering about their own habits and

behavior. The perception of the subjects could be different from the perception of an outside

observer and as such, the cause of the behavior can have a number of interpretations. Also, a

majority of the subjects were female Asian, so the analysis is a little skewed compared to a more

diverse group of people.

Some of the subjects who identified themselves as extraverts, liked to study alone or in

small groups, and preferred listening to talking. Although extraversion/ introversion is defined as

a continuum where every people can be at any point, perhaps the image of introversion is not

really accepted as it has some not so good connotations. It can also be that for Asian people, the

definition of introversion or extraversion is a little different from Western cultures, as they

culturally regard silence and reserve as virtues and not handicaps.

From the answers, it can be seen that even if the person is an extrovert with extraverted

parents, the sibling or one of the siblings is an introvert. The influence of parents is a little more

How People Become Introverts: Nature vs. Nurture 10

difficult to see, as even when both parents are outgoing, the son or daughter sometimes becomes

quieter. One explanation could be that there is some kind of pressure to be extraverted like the

parents, which would make the offspring more resistant or rebel against this pressure and

become quiet. However, even if a person was quiet in his childhood, if this person had a really

successful and outgoing friend, they tried to imitate their friend’s behavior, and eventually

became more open.

Family dynamics involving siblings are difficult to study. The causes for always having

one or more introverted siblings in the family can have very disparate explanations. The cause

can be that the pressure from an extraverted brother could have made the brother or sister quieter

in contrast, or the pressure of the parents to make their children outgoing was successful with

one child, but failed with another. It can also be related to the amount of attention the parents

bestowed on their favorite child, ignoring or being blinded to the needs of the other child.

In families where both parents are quiet, the child or children are almost always quiet or

will become quiet later on. However, it can mean only that the child is more attached to one of

the parents and it has nothing to do with both of them being introverted or extraverted.

Unfortunately, the data acquired with the interviews were not enough for a deeper

analysis, as the variables were too numerous for the number of subjects considered.

Conclusion

When an evolutionary researcher was asked if he tried to analyze himself in terms of

genetic markers, he answered no, because “ The value of these data is not meaningful at the

individual level. It only has predictive ability at the statistical level, when you predict trends

across large numbers of subjects” (Ley, 2010, p. 1).

How People Become Introverts: Nature vs. Nurture 11

Contrary to what Freud (1924) said biology is not destiny. What does it means? It means

that in the discussion about how we are genetically or biologically wired to be an introvert or

extravert, it is not our destiny to automatically become one or another. We learned from our

study that there can be many causes that influence the outcome and are related to nurturing and

environment. As a result, they can either ameliorate or exacerbate genetic or biological

tendencies.

Although there was a lack of data from our interviews, we could determine that there is

more than biology in play for the development of introversion or extraversion. In addition, the

literature about introversion/ extraversion indicates that there is a 50/ 50 proportion for genetics

and other causes like environment and upbringing.

Nurturing, environment and biology are also so intrinsically woven that we cannot

distinguish between them. Environment can influence our parents and their parenting styles, their

expectations of us, and an infinite number of decisions that they can make related to us and our

environment. The infinite number of variables that we experience since we are born mold us,

developing our minds, our bodies, and our behavior. A loving, supporting, and nurturing

childhood, coupled with a good environment outside of the family, can develop any infant into a

confident, caring, and socially apt individual. However, we still cannot guarantee a good

environment, or a nurturing family for any child.

There is a story about a fictitious experiment where scientists trying to give the perfect

environment for children, isolated them from birth from normal society and created a new

society themselves. Each child was given love, respect and knowledge without bias from all

scientists, where the roles of parents were exercised by the collective and not individuals. As a

result, all of the children presented qualities of intellect and spirit that were well beyond their

How People Become Introverts: Nature vs. Nurture 12

expectations. The point of the story is that to create the perfect individual we have to give them a

perfect upbringing and a perfect environment for them to flourish as they are meant to.

Unfortunately, we cannot isolate ourselves or our children from the environment that our society

provides. Maybe instead of wondering about introversion or extraversion, or wondering if any

other personality traits are because of nature or nurture, we should be asking how we could

change ourselves and society to provide the best of nurturing and environment for our future

generations.

References

Aron, E. N. (2011). Understanding the highly sensitive person. Psychology Today,

Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/attending-the-undervalued-

self/201107/understanding-the-highly-sensitive-person

Bartz, A. (2014). Sense and sensitivity. Psychology Today, Retrieved from

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201107/sense-and-sensitivity

Berezin, R. (2014). The nature-nurture question – nurture – the function of the limbic

system is to map our nurture experience into the cortex.. Retrieved from

http://www.robertberezin.com/the-nature-nurture-question-nurture-the-function-of-the-

limbic-system-is-to-map-our-nurture-experience-into-the-cortex/

Cain, S. (2013). Quiet the power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking. (1st ed.).

New York: Crown Publishing Group.

Castro, J. B. (2013). The science of what makes an introvert and an extrovert. io9,

Retrieved from http://io9.com/the-science-behind-extroversion-and-introversion-

1282059791

http://psychology.about.com/od/psychologicaltesting/a/myers-briggs-type-indicator.htm

How People Become Introverts: Nature vs. Nurture 13

Cherry, K. (2014). The myers-briggs type indicator. Retrieved from

http://psychology.about.com/od/psychologicaltesting/a/myers-briggs-type-indicator.htm

Cohen, M., Young, J., Baen, J., Kessler, C., & Ranganath, C. (2005). Individual

differences in extraversion and dopamine genetics predict neural reward responses.

Cognitive Brain Research, 25(3), 851-861.

Eysenck, H. (1967). The biological basis of personality. Transaction Publishers.

Freud, S. (1924). Der untergang des Ödipuskomplexes. GESAMMELTE WERKE, XIII,

395-402.

Helgoe, L. (2014). Revenge of the introvert. Psychology Today, Retrieved from

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201008/revenge-the-introvert

Jung, C. (1921). Psychologische typen. Zurich: Rascher Verlag.

Ley, D. (2010). Biology is not destiny. Retrieved from

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/women-who-stray/201009/biology-is-not-destiny

Nakao, K., Takaishi, J., Tatsuta, K., Katayama, H., Iwase, M., Yorifuji, K. and Takeda,

M. (2000), The influences of family environment on personality traits. Psychiatry and

Clinical Neurosciences, 54: 91–95. doi: 10.1046/j.1440-1819.2000.00642.x

Rettner, R. (2010). Brains of introverts reveal why they prefer being alone. Livescience,

Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/8500-brains-introverts-reveal-prefer.html

Stafford, T. (2013). What makes us extroverts or introverts?. BBC Future, Retrieved from

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130717-what-makes-someone-an-extrovert

Trey, L. (2002). Happy faces trigger different brain reactions in extroverts and introverts.

Stanford News. Retrieved from http://news.stanford.edu/news/2002/july10/sciencegab-

710.html

How Japanese Introverted Students Can Improve Their English Speaking?

1

How Japanese Introverted Students Can Improve Their English Speaking?

Anna Kakimoto

University of Hawai‘i at Manoa

Essay Assignment

HELP 442W

Fall 2, 2014

How Japanese Introverted Students Can Improve Their English Speaking?

2

Introduction

Until 3 years ago, Japanese students first started to study English when they were junior

high school students. However, in 2011, the Japanese government established a new education

system. English is required from fifth grade in elementary school. In addition, in 2020, the

Olympic Games will held in Tokyo. Therefore, not only teenagers but also Japanese adults study

English hard nowadays. There are many English materials and English conversation schools in

Japan. Although they go to English conversation schools, it is difficult for Japanese people to

improve their English speaking. Especially, introverted Japanese people usually tend not to speak

English well. Busch (1982) claimed that extroverted Japanese English learners have higher

speaking proficiency than introverted Japanese English learners. In addition, for example, one of

my Japanese friends is good at reading and writing in English. Nevertheless, when she talks with

native English speakers, she is not able to speak very well. It might be related to her personality.

She is quiet and likes to be alone. She has a typical introverted personality. On the other hand,

extroverted people tend to like talking with people and being outgoing. Thus, they may have

higher English speaking ability than introverted people. However, many introverted Japanese

English learners want to improve their speaking proficiency. This paper will discuss how

Japanese introverted students can improve their English speaking. This essay will figure out the

reason why introverted Japanese English learners hardly to improve their English speaking. The

paper will discuss about what methods are good for them to improve their English speaking. This

essay talks about how teachers need to teach English speaking for introverted Japanese students.

How Japanese Introverted Students Can Improve Their English Speaking?

3

Then, it will report the results of an investigation of how Japanese introverted students can

improve their English speaking.

Why introverted Japanese English learners are struggling with speaking?

It could be argued that Japanese introverted English learners are not good at speaking.

Usually, Extroverted students tend to speak more than introverted students during English

classes. Introverted students tend not to speak too much. Therefore, many people tend to think

that introverted students are really quiet and not able to speak English. Brown (1973) says that

extroverts are highly evaluated in speaking, because western culture consider that outspokenness

is highly. In addition, Wong (2011), who taught in English at several junior high schools in

Japan, pointed out that extroverted students easily communicate in English because of their

personality. From their point of view, extroverted Japanese students are highly evaluated for

their English speaking ability. Generally, speaking English a lot is better to improve people’s

English speaking. Many extroverted students are talkative and not afraid of making mistakes. It

may be related to their English speaking proficiency. However, because he or she is introverted,

it does not follow that he or she is not good at speaking English. For example, even though some

introverted students have English speaking ability, they sometimes miss the opportunity to speak

in the class. For example, Wong (2011) mentioned that many introverted students have an

obsession to make accurate sentences and take time to speak with correct form. It means if

teachers gave introverted students more time, the students could speak more in the class.

However, the time they can study is limited. Many teachers cannot give enough time for

introverted students during the class. Therefore, introverted students need to practice their

speaking to come out in English quickly. Then, how should they overcome these speaking

How Japanese Introverted Students Can Improve Their English Speaking?

4

problems?

There are many ways to improve English speaking proficiency. It is not too much to say

that it is the best way to speak English with native speakers a lot. Usually, extroverted students

are sociable so they are easy to get along with native English speakers. According to Swain

(1993), extroverts tend to speak and eager to communicate, which makes them to become an

advanced speaking level. Vice versa, it is hard for introverted students to get along with native

English speaker friends, because they are likely to be quiet and passive. It takes time to make

new friends. Therefore, introverted students have less chances to talk with native speakers than

extroverted students. According to the Language learning for introverts (n.d.), introverts should

use internet chat services like italki. Italki is an educational technology website that helps

English learners connect with online native-speaking language partners. If extroverted or

introverted English learners use it, they can find English native speakers easily. In addition, they

can practice their speaking with native speakers for free. Cooper (2013) said one-on-one

conversations are comfortable for introverts. Therefore, it could be deterministic for introverted

Japanese students to practice their English speaking by using internet chat services such as italki

and skype.

However, some introverted Japanese students are afraid of talking with native speakers

on the internet because they do not know each other very well. There are other methods to

practice their English. That do not need native speakers. Introverted Japanese students can

practice their speaking by themselves. Reading aloud raises speaking skills. For example, a

Japanese woman writes blog about how to study English without study abroad. Her blog has

become popular in Japan. Not only Japan but also her blog was introduced on the webpage of an

How Japanese Introverted Students Can Improve Their English Speaking?

5

English language school in Singapore source. She is a high-school-graduate and has never gone

to study abroad. However, she acquired English by her own method and got a good TOEIC

score. The secret of her success is to read aloud until memorizing the whole dialogues. She

recommended English learners to use one English text book with CD and read aloud many times

until memorizing whole sentences. She said that it is a best way to read aloud for improving

speaking English ability. She also said if people try to memorize dialogues, they can come up

with English easily. As I mentioned earlier, introverted Japanese students tend to take time to

speak English because they tend to think thoroughly before they speak English. Some

introverted Japanese students think in Japanese at first, then try to change sentences in English.

And they finally speak in English. This process takes time and this caused missing opportunity to

speak during the classes. However, if introverted students practice to read aloud many times,

they can speak English more smoothly. Furthermore, this method makes introverted Japanese

students improve their English pronunciation. Gibson (2008) suggested that reading aloud is

effective to improve their English pronunciation. Not only introverted students but also

extroverted students are struggling with English pronunciation. As a reason for that Japanese and

English is a different way to use tongue and mouth. Most common difficulties for Japanese

English learners are differences between L and R. Therefore, both extroverted and introverted

Japanese English learners need to practice to be able to pronounce correctly. Reading aloud helps

for improving their spoken English. Some introverted Japanese students tend to hesitate speaking

English in front of native speakers. Reading aloud is comfortable for them because they can

practice English by themselves.

However, if introverted Japanese students are studying in English speaking countries,

How Japanese Introverted Students Can Improve Their English Speaking?

6

they probably want to make native speaker friends and talk with them in English. It is a good

way to join some clubs in which introverted Japanese students are interested. Isaacs (2009)

pointed out that although introverted students tend to be quiet, they talk more when they are

interested in topics. For example, I have an American friend, who is introverted. She usually

does not speak a lot. However, she is an enthusiastic Arashi’s fan. When she talks about Arashi,

she began to speak like she became a different person. She belongs to Japanese club at her

university. She met Japanese friends, who likes Arashi in the club. She sometimes hangs out with

Japanese friends and practices her Japanese. Although she is an introverted American, it is

something that can be said introverted Japanese English learners. If introverted Japanese students

join clubs during studying abroad, they can enjoy talking with native English speakers in a

common subject. Since club is not class, introverted Japanese students can relax to speak in

English. They do not feel stress compared to classes. It is a good method to join some clubs to

meet native English speakers and practice English.

How to teach speaking English to introverted Japanese students

Thus far, this paper only paid attention to the Japanese introverted students how they can

improve their speaking English. However, not only the students but also English teachers need to

consider about how to teach speaking English to introverted Japanese students. For example,

there are many activities in the class such as debate, pair work, presentation, and individual

worksheets. According to the How to be an effective EFL teacher (n.d.), teachers should give

introverted students opportunities to talk in small groups. Many introverted students tend to feel

pressure when they give their presentation or discussion in the class because other students look

at a speaker. It is uncomfortable for introverted students. If they talk in small groups, they can

How Japanese Introverted Students Can Improve Their English Speaking?

7

relax in speaking English compared to giving a presentation or participating in a discussion.

However, presentations and debates are also useful for English learners to improve their English

speaking ability. Teachers could use these activities in classes. Isaacs (2009) suggested that

allowing the students to prepare questions at home by assigning the material for the next class

discussion in advance can help. Many introverted students tend to take time to speak in classes.

Dahl (2010) said that introverts need more time to come up with their idea and express them. If

teachers let students know about the next discussion topic beforehand, introverted students can

have time to prepare for speaking about the topic in advance. This also holds good for

presentation. They can speak out more comfortably in the class and it will lead to improve their

English speaking ability.

Method

This paper discussed about how Japanese introverted students can improve their English

speaking through articles and people’s experiences. However, this paper also reports on an

investigation of how introverted students actually study English speaking. Our classmates

conducted an interview related to our final paper. We took interview to 12 people. There are 3

men and 9 women. Before doing the interview, we conducted the personality test. This

personality test can let us know whether interviewees are introverted or extroverted. It is helpful

for this paper because the subject of this paper is introverted Japanese English learners. I can

know the tendency of introverted Japanese English learners more through taking the personality

test. Our classmate created original personality test based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

(MBTI). This test can measure a people’s preference using four basic scales. The four scales are

(1) extroversion/introversion (2) sensate/intuitive (3) thinking/feeling and (4) judging/perceiving.

How Japanese Introverted Students Can Improve Their English Speaking?

8

The four scales are separated by 16 personality types. For example, INTJ (introversion, intuition

with thinking and judging) represent one’s tendencies through the four scales. Our classmate

made original personality test using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. We made 24 true or false

questions and added up those questionnaires. Based on the result, we tried to understand his or

her personality type. Then, we did the interviewees related to our final paper. Among 12

interviewees, there were 4 Japanese introverted students. There were all female. I targeted them

as a subject of my paper because my paper is about Japanese introverted students. I asked four

questions.

・What kind of activities are comfortable for you to study English speaking in the

class? TYPES: debate, pair work, presentation, test, individual worksheets.

・When you want to improve your speaking English skills, what do you usually

do?

・How do you usually study English speaking? Do you study by yourself or with

your friends? Why?

・Do you have any native English speaking friends? *If yes, how did you make

friends? (party, school, club)

Result and Discussion

I found that 3 out of 4 introverted Japanese students prefer to study English by group

work, pair work, and individual work. One of the introverted students explained that individual

work is most comfortable for her although her speaking skill will not improve. Only one

introverted Japanese student answered debate, pair work, and presentation activities are

How Japanese Introverted Students Can Improve Their English Speaking?

9

comfortable for her to study English speaking in the class. As I mentioned earlier, introverted

students tend to be afraid of speaking English in front of other classmates. Therefore, 3 out of 4

introverted Japanese students responded group work and individual work is better than debate

and presentation. I also found that 3 out of 4 introverted Japanese students try to talk with people

in English when they want to improve their speaking English skills. Another student responded

that she watches the website that offers English basic phrases. Before I took the survey, I

expected introverted students do not try to speak with people in English because it is hard for

them to talk with native English speakers actively. I found out many introverted students tend to

talk with native English speakers when they want to improve their speaking proficiency.

Although they try to speak with native English speakers, 3 out of 4 students answered they

usually study English speaking by themselves. Another student said she does not study by herself

because she thinks using English is definitely a better way to improve speaking skills more than

studying. One student said that she uses an application on her smartphone that includes a lot of

example sentences. She tries to translate the sentences into English sentences. I think it is good

method for introverted students because introverted students take time to speak and produce

sentences in English. If people practice using this application, they could talk with native

speakers more easily. There are many ways to meet with English native speakers. One student

answered that she meets native speaker friends in her university in Japan. Another student said

her Japanese friend invited her to a party. Then, she met a lot of native English speakers.

Introverted students could benefit from opportunities to meet with native speakers but it is hard

for them to speak with native speakers first. Before taking interviews, I thought if introverted

students made native speaker friends, they would tend to wait for someone to speak at first.

How Japanese Introverted Students Can Improve Their English Speaking?

10

However, one introverted student answered that she was looking for a roommate who can speak

English by using Internet. I thought many introverted students are shy but she was not shy even

though her personality is introverted. Cain (2012) also said that introverted people are not shy. I

realized her meaning through the result. One of introverted students said that she met native

English speakers at her club. It is good opportunity for her to meet native English speakers

because she can enjoy talking with people who have a similar personality in English.

Conclusion

In conclusion, many people tend to think that Japanese introverted English learners do

not speak English well. However, if they practice more, they can overcome their speaking ability

such as internet chat services, read aloud, joining some clubs. In addition, English teachers need

to consider about introverted students to give them speak comfortably. After the survey, I found

that although introverted students are tend to be quiet, they try to speak with native speakers.

Generally, many people think that introverted students are quiet and not outgoing compared to

extroverted students. However, they introverted students have speaking ability. If they practice

their speaking, they can definitely improve their English ability.

References

Brown, H.D. (1973). Affective variables in second language acquisition. Language learning,

How Japanese Introverted Students Can Improve Their English Speaking?

11

23(2), 231-244.

Busch, D. (1982). Introversion-Extroversion and the EFL proficiency of Japanese students.

Language learning. 32(1), 109-132.

Cain, S. (2012). Quiet: The power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking. New York,

NY: Broadway Books.

Cooper, B.B. (2013) 22 tips to better care for introverts and extroverts. Buffersocial. Retrieved

from

https://blog.bufferapp.com/introverts-and-extroverts-what-they-are-and-how-to-get-along

-with-everyone

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