This paper is an attempt to shed light on cognitive factors in second language learning which are considered hardly modifiable, namely intelligence and foreign language aptitudes, including working memory. At first, each of the factors will be defined, the main research findings will briefly be outlined and some controversies and stereotypes surrounding the constructs will be presented. Next, the interface between research into these factors and teaching practice will be discussed. In particular, we will refer to ability training, aptitude-treatment-interaction and pedagogical suggestions concerning teaching mixed-ability classes.
There is much controversy surrounding the influence of affect on for-eign language aptitude. In most foreign language aptitude models and tests this factor is treated marginally or it is entirely absent. In research studies, much attention is devoted to individual factors defined in the context of positive psychology, but their relationships with cognitive factors are rarely analyzed. This paper is an attempt to present the role of factors other than cognitive in foreign language aptitude theory and research, selected reasons for their weak position, as well as pedagogical implications and suggestions for further research.
While a substantial body of empirical evidence has been accrued about the role of individual differences in second language acquisition, relatively little is still known about how factors of this kind can mediate the effects of instructional practices as well as how empirically-derived insights can inform foreign language pedagogy, both with respect to shaping certain variables and adjusting instruction to individual learner profiles. The present paper is an attempt to shed light on the interface between research on individual difference factors and teaching practice, focusing upon variables which do not easily lend themselves to external manipulation, namely intelligence, foreign language aptitude, working memory and personality, with the role of the last of these in language learning being admittedly the least obvious. In each case, the main research findings will briefly be outlined, their potential for informing instruction will be considered, and, in the final part, the caveats concerning practical applications of research on the variables in question will be spelled out.
JavaScript is turned off in your web browser. Turn it on to take full advantage of this site, then refresh the page.