Being introverted in the classroom: Teacher and student views

The present study aimed to investigate the views of middle-school students with highintroversion, on English lessons. Besides, the study also aimed to examine the views of the teachers who teach the aforementioned introverted students. This study was conducted at a private language school in İzmir, during the 2020-2021 spring term. After a personality test was conducted with the participation of 54 students, 12 students and 5 teachers were interviewed to collect the qualitative data. This study employed a qualitative design and qualitative analysis methods. Interviews were the preferred tool to gather the required data for this study. The study's participants were limited to students who showed high-introversion and their teachers. Based on the thematic analysis of the answers provided bu teachers and students, who participated in this study, the following results were revealed. The introverted students reported that they needed more options and time in terms of participation and the activities that were done in the class, and stated they sometimes felt tired and overwhelmed during English lessons depending on the frequency of activities that required pair/ group work. The main reasons for those views were reported as "pressure to change", "overstimulation" and "inadequate time". The teachers reported the challenges of working with highly-introverted students in three groups, which were "the difficulty of telling whether a student was disinterested or quiet", "the students being challenging to motivate and communicate with" and "the difficulties caused by class-size". Besides, it was found that they used strategies to support their introverted students, which were grouped as "strategies they used in the class" and "strategies they used outside the class".