Learner Variables in L2 Learning

• Cognitive and affective factors: Intelligence Aptitude Personality Motivation and Attitude Learner preferences (covered separately) Learner beliefs Age of acquisition

The “Good Language Learner”

Are there personal characteristics that make one learner more successful than another?

In your experience, as an English language learner, which characteristics seem to you most likely to be associated with success in L2 acquisition?

• share your opinion with your group members. Find three most important and three least important learner characteristics

Before looking at learner characteristics…

– Difficulties in research on learner characteristics and SLA:

• A learner’s language proficiency can be defined and measured in many ways (e.g. * CALP vs. BICS ). That is, there are many ways to define the “success” of language learning .

• It is not possible to directly observe and measure qualities such as motivation, personality, aptitude, and intelligence. They are just labels of behaviors.

• *Note: CALP – cognitive/academic language proficiency ; BICS – basic interpersonal communicative skills

• Psychological variables are often not independent of one another . Researchers may use the same labels to describe different sets of behavioural traits.

• A correlation of two factors does not mean that there is a causal relationship between them. That is, the fact that two things tend to occur together does not necessarily mean that one caused the other.

1. Intelligence

– Multiple types of intelligence : • Traditionally, intelligence refers to the mental

abilities that are measured by an IQ (intelligence quotient) test. It usually measures only two types of intelligence: verbal/linguistic and mathematical/logical intelligence.

• There are other types of intelligence such as spatial intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, musical intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, and intrapersonal intelligence .

Intelligence…

– Linguistic intelligence : speaking, using words, writing, giving presentations, solving word problems.

– Logical-mathematical intelligence : using numbers, logic, calculations; learning and understanding grammar rules.

– Spatial intelligence : drawing, painting, using colour, art, graphics, pictures, maps, and charts.

Intelligence…– Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence : muscular

coordination, athletic skill, body language, drama and theater.

– Musical intelligence : using music, tones, hearing; producing the intonation and rhythm of a language.

– Interpersonal intelligence : talking with other people, understanding them, using language to communicate.

– Intrapersonal intelligence : self-knowledge, self-confidence, using language to analyze yourself.

Intelligence…

– Research findings:

• Intelligence, especially measured by verbal IQ tests, may be a strong factor when it comes to learning that involves language analysis and rule learning .

• On the other hand, intelligence may play a less important role in language learning that focuses more on communication and interaction

Intelligence…

– Conclusions:

• It is important to keep in mind that “intelligence” is complex and that a person has many kinds of abilities and strengths.

• An individual with strong academic performance does not necessarily mean that s/he is a successful second language learner.

2. Aptitude – Aptitude refers to potential for achievement . An

aptitude test is designed to make a prediction about an individual’s future achievements.

– Aptitude for language learning is usually composed of four different types of abilities:

• to identify and memorize new sounds • to understand the function of particular words in

sentences • to figure out grammatical rules from language

samples • to memorize new words

Aptitude…

Research findings: • Earlier research revealed a substantial

relationship between aptitude for language learning and performance in foreign language that was taught with grammar-translation or audiolingual methods .

• However, aptitude seems irrelevant to L2 learning with the adoption of a more communicative approach to teaching (i.e., with a focus on meaning rather than on form).

Aptitude…

Conclusions: Successful language learners are not

necessarily strong in all of the components of aptitude.

(e.g., Some may have strong memories but only average ability to figure out grammatical rules.)

Teachers can select appropriate teaching approaches and activities based on learners’ aptitude profiles to accommodate their differences in aptitude.

3. Personality

– There are a number of personality characteristics that are likely to affect L2 learning, such as

• Extroversion vs. introversion

• Inhibition vs. risk-taking

• Self-esteem (self-confidence)

• Anxiety

• Empathy

Personality…

– Research findings: • Some studies have found that learners’

success in language learning is associated with extroversion such as assertiveness and adventurousness , while others have found that many successful language learners do not get high scores on measures of extroversion.

• Inhibition is a negative force for second language pronunciation performance.

Personality…

• However, in general, the research does not show a clearly defined relationship between personality and SLA . The major difficulty is identification and measurement of personality characteristics.

• Personality may be a major factor only in the acquisition of conversational skills (i.e., oral communicative ability), not in the acquisition of literacy skills (i.e., reading and writing skills).

4. Motivation & Attitude

Research findings: • Both integrative and instrumental types of

motivation are related to success in L2 learning. Most L2 learning situations involve a mixture of each type of motivation.

• Research strongly favours intrinsic motivation , especially for long-term retention. Intrinsically motivated learners are striving for excellence, autonomy, and self-actualization.

Motivation & Attitude…

An individual’s identity and attitudes towards the second language community:

• Positive learning L2 experience produces enrichment.

• Negative L2 learning causes resentment.

Motivation & Attitude…

Social dynamics and power relationships between L1 and L2. • Minority group members learning the

language of a majority groups may have different attitudes and motivation from those of majority group members learning a minority language.

• Think of why an ESL learner’s and an EFL learner’s attitude may differ in motivation and attitude.

Motivation & Attitude…

– Motivation in the classroom setting: • Motivating students in the lesson. • Varying the activities, tasks, and materials

to increase students’ interest levels. • Using cooperative rather than competitive

goals to increase students’ self-confidence.

• Creating a supportive and non-threatening learning atmosphere.

5. Learner Beliefs

– Virtually all learners, particularly older learners , have strong beliefs about how their language instruction should be delivered.

– Learner beliefs are usually based on previous learning experiences and the assumption that a particular type of instruction is better than others.

Learner Beliefs…

– Research findings: • The available research indicates that

learner beliefs can be strong mediating factors in learners’ L2 learning process.

• e.g., L2 learners’ progress was negatively affected by an instructional approach that was not consistent with their beliefs about the best ways for them to learn.

Learner Beliefs…

– Implications: • Learners’ preference for learning , whether

due to their learning styles or to their beliefs about how language are learned, will influence the kinds of strategies they choose to learn new material.

• Teachers can use this information to help learners expand their repertoire of learning strategies and thus develop greater flexibility in their second language learning.

6. Age of Acquisition

• The relationship between a learner’s age and his/her potential for success in second language learning is complicated .

• The relationship needs to take into account • 1) the stage of L2 development , 2) the goals

of learning L2 (i.e., In what aspects of the L2 the learner has achieved), and 3) the context in which the learner learns L2 (including language input, learning environment, and socio-cultural context).

Age of Acquisition…

– Research findings:

(1) L2 development in informal language learning environments where the TL is used primarily: –Children can eventually speak the L2 with

native-like fluency, but their parents and older learners (i.e., post-puberty learners) are hard to achieve such high levels of mastery of the spoken language , especially in pronunciation/accent .

Age of Acquisition…

– Adults and adolescents can make more rapid progress toward mastery of an L2 in contexts where they can make use of the language on a daily basis in social, personal, professional, or academic interaction.

Age of Acquisition…

– Research findings:

(2) L2 development in formal language learning environments (i.e., classrooms): • In the early stages of the L2

development, older learners (adolescents and adults) are more efficient than younger learners (children).

• Learners who began learning an L2 at the elementary school level did not necessarily do better in the long run than those who began in early adolescent.

• It is more difficult for post-puberty learners to attain native-like mastery of the spoken language , including pronunciation , word choice , and some grammatical features

Age of Acquisition…

– Conclusions (I): • At what age should L2 instruction begin? • Those who support critical period hypothesis (CPH): • Younger is better (particularly in the phonological

achievement) • Those who consider that the age factor cannot be separated

from factors such as motivation , social identity , and the conditions for learning :

• Older learners may well speak with an accent because they want to keep their L1 identity , and the language input for adults is different from that for children because they rarely get access to the same quantity and quality of language input that children receive in play setting.

Age of Acquisition…

– Conclusions (II): • When the goal is basic communicative

ability of the TL, rather than native-like mastery, and when children’s native language remains the primary language , it may be more efficient to begin L2 or FL learning later (e.g., in early adolescence – at age 10, 11, or 12).

• When learners receive only a few hours of instruction per week, those who start later often catch up with those who began earlier.

• One or two hours a week will not produce very advanced L2 speakers, no matter how young they were when they began learning

Summary

• 1. Age is only one of the characteristics which affects the learner’s L2 learning. The opportunities for learning (i.e., context - both inside and outside the classroom), the motivation to learn, and individual differences in intelligence , aptitude , personality , and learning styles have also been found to be important determining factors in both rate of learning and eventual success in learning.

Summary…

• 2. The study of individual learner variables is not easy and the results of research are not entirely satisfactory, partly because of the lack of clear definitions and methods for measuring the individual characteristics and partly because of the complex interactions of those characteristics Thus, it remains difficult to make precise predictions about how a particular individual’s characteristics influence his/her success as a language learner.

Summary…

3. Implications for second language teaching : – Even though the research findings are not

conclusive in the relationship between personal factors and second language learning, teachers should take learners’ individual aptitudes, personalities, and learning styles into account to create a learning environment in which virtually all learners can be successful in learning a second language.