Social Intelligence and Language Proficiency: Are They Related

Abstract

This study explored the relationship between social intelligence and English language proficiency by employing Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) developed by Baron-Cohen et al. (2001) and cloze multiple choice item test (CMCIT) designed by Hale et al. (1988) as their representative measures, respectively. The administration of the two tests to 181 undergraduate university students of English Language and Literature and Theology and correlating the scores obtained on the two tests showed that social intelligence is significantly related to language proficiency. When the participants were,<br><br>however, classified into low, middle and high proficiency groups on the basis of their zscores on the CMCIT and the social intelligence of these three groups were compared with each other, the mean score of middle and high proficiency groups did not show any significant difference on the RMET and were thus collapsed into one, i.e., middle-high group. The correlational analysis of the scores obtained by low and middle-high proficiency groups on the RMET and CMCIT showed that there is only a significant<br><br>relationship between the social intelligence and language proficiency of middle-high group. The results are discussed and suggestions are made for future research.