The relationship between classical languages, linguistic skills, and personality traits and their impact on medical education and student performance

Stephens, Shiby 2024. The relationship between classical languages, linguistic skills, and personality traits and their impact on medical education and student performance. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Medical students face the daunting task of perfecting a vast array of anatomical and medical terminologies, many of which derive from the barely taught classical languages of Greek and Latin in schools and at universities. This challenge is exacerbated by a reduction in anatomy contact hours and dissection room exposure, which diminishes students' understanding of anatomical relationships and hinders terminology acquisition. Through questionnaires, this study sought to analyse attitudes towards the importance of classical Greek and Latin in medical education at Cardiff University. The results revealed that the final-year students displayed scepticism about the relevance of these languages while first-year students acknowledged their importance. Further investigations confirmed that students with prior knowledge of Greek and Latin performed better than their peers in anatomical examinations, supporting the notion that prior linguistic knowledge might contribute positively to academic success in medical studies. This performance disparity prompted a deeper exploration into the effects of multilingualism on spatial and verbal intelligence, involving medical students in the second-year. It was found that multilingual students exhibited higher levels of spatial and verbal intelligence compared to monolinguals, although this did not directly influence anatomy examination scores. The research highlighted the complex interplay between language skills, cognitive abilities, and academic performance, suggesting that enhanced spatial and verbal skills could benefit medical students, particularly in tests requiring spatial orientation. The final part of the study investigated the role of personality traits in linguistic proficiency and academic achievement. Using the self-reported 'Big Five Inventory the 'Big Five Inventory', a comparative study amongst medical students in the UK and France, as well as psychology and business students in France, was undertaken and revealed differences in openness (O), conscientiousness (C), extraversion (E), agreeableness (A), and negative affectivity (N) with varying effects on examination performance. Notably, the Greek/Latin students were seen to have lower ‘conscientiousness (C) personality traits, indicating that their examination performance is more likely to be related to their ability to understand complex medical/anatomical terminologies. iii This research underscores the multifaceted influences on medical students' learning processes and the potential benefits of integrating classical language education and cognitive skill development into medical curricula. Furthermore, it raises a question as to whether there is enough consideration during the early stages of a medical student’s training about the individual’s personal skills, knowledge and personality traits so that the student can be appropriately advised, and/or reflect upon, what they bring to medical school that is advantageous or disadvantageous to their studies.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Schools > Biosciences
Subjects:	Q Science > Q Science (General)
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	3 April 2025
Last Modified:	04 Apr 2025 14:39
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/177326

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