SLA: Aptitude

Aptitude and Age 2

-Abrahamsson & Hyltenstam (2008) -100 Spanish speakers of Swedish- passed as native speakers -divided into two groups based on age of arrival (younger/older than 12) -younger than 12- no effect on aptitude (range of scores) -older than 12- all had high aptitude -Munoz (2014) -48 bilingual Catalan-Spanish learners of English (aged 10-11) -significant correlations with all subcomponents of eMLAT -Harley & Hart (1997) -different aspects of aptitude important at different ages -memory more important with younger learners -analytical ability more important with older learners

PLAB: Pimsleur Modern Languages Aptitude Battery (Pimsleur, 1966)

-Developed as an alternative to MLAT -English vocabulary size as measure of overall ability -Language analysis measures -sound discrimination measures -motivation

Aptitude and IQ

-Foreign language learning originally viewed as intellect training -L1 is acquired regardless of intelligence -savants show disassociation between intelligence and aptitude -Christopher (Smith & Tsimpli, 1995) -Genesee (1976) in Canada -No relationship between intelligence and communication skills (speaking and listening) -relationship between intelligence and 'academic' skills (reading and writing)

Aptitude and age effects 1

-Fundamental Difference Hypothesis (Bley-Vroman 1990. 2009) -L1 is learnt implicitly -instructed L2 via analysis & analogy (explicitly) -Success depends on how good analytic capacities & memory are (link to aptitude) -Dekeyser (2000) -Hungarian learners of English -aptitude relevant for adults and adolescents not younger learners (< 15 years old) -high aptitude for those with high levels of achievement -Ross et al (2002) -aptitude only important after puberty (age 12)

Aptitude and learning context/conditions

-Implicit vs. Explicit learning conditions -Krashen (1981) aptitude only applies in explicit learning -Robinson (2002) aptitude applies to all conditions -Nation & McLaughlin (1986) aptitude is more relevant in implicit learning

LLAMA tests (Meara, )

-Llama tests are robust and not unduly influenced by individual factors -Caution is advised if used with younger learners or L3 learners as different norms may be needed -Timings seem optimal

Criticisms of Carroll's approach

-Main teaching approach at the time= audiolingualism -Krashen's (1981) acquisition vs. learning = aptitude not relevant -Skehan (2002) -Outdated- particularly in terms of memory capacity -Robinson (2005) -not so interested in rate of learning any more -more interested in ultimate attainment -relevance of aptitude in various conditions

MLAT (Modern Languages Aptitude Test) (Carroll & Sapon, 1959)

-Most widely used test in the USA -Predictive test for learning rate in instructed learners -Three components: -grammatical sensitivity -words in a sentence -phonetic coding ability -number learning (aural) -phonetic script (aural) -spelling cues -memory capacity -paired associates

Carroll (1965) four specific abilities

-Phonemic Coding -Grammatical Sensitivity -Inductive Language-Learning -Rote-Learning Ability

Aptitude and Dyslexia

-Sparks & Ganshow (1991): tests for mild dyslexia similar to phonemic coding ability -Issue: now sound is processes and linked to the spelling -Dyslexia: lack of connection between known sounds and symbols (spellings) -L2 learners: difficulty is segmenting the sound

Linguistic Coding Difference Hypothesis

-Views problems with L2 as related to language learning problems in L1 -15-20% of children have difficulties with L1 literacy -Difficulties may resurface in L2 -Area of difficulty: phonological processing -Phonemic awareness (ability to segment sounds) -phonological decoding (ability to relate sound to symbol/spelling)

Empirical studies on aptitude and learning context

-Wesche (1981): aptitude profiles (analytic vs. memory) related to teaching methodology (analytic vs situational) - higher satisfaction and achievement -Erlam (2005) L2 French: different types of instruction lead to different correlations with aptitude (Words in sentence) -Kormos & Safar (2008) Hungarian learners of English: low correlations between aptitude and profiency -Granena (2015): two types of aptitude (Explicit and implicit) linked to different cognitive styles (rational vs. intuitive) -Problem: can't commpare studies as using different tests/ sub-components and calling it 'aptitude'

Carroll's Aptitude Theory

-aptitude is different from other cognitive systems, including intelligence -aptitude is stable -aptitude is made up of different components

L2 aptitude and literacy

-relationship between L2 aptitude and difficulties in L1 literacy -Dufva et al ( 2001) L1 literacy predictive of L2 aptitude (80% of variance)

Grammatical Sensitivity

Ability to identify functions of words in a sentence

What tests have been used to measure aptitude?

MLAT: Modern Language Aptitude Test (Carroll & Sapon, 1959) PLAB: Pimsleur Modern Language Aptitude Battery (Pimsleur, 1966)

What is language aptitude?

The special ability for learning a language A cognitive variable- something you are born with 'the amount of time a student needs to learn a given task, unit of instruction, or curriculum to an acceptable criterion of mastery under optimal conditions of instruction and student motivation.' (Carroll 1990)

How does working memory act whilst you are doing a task?

Working memory is a temporary storage system for relevant information whilst you are doing a task

Is it different from general intelligence?

Yes it is separate from general intelligence

Phonemic Coding Ability

capacity to retain unfamiliar sounds

Associative learning ability

make links between L1 and L2 words

Inductive language learning ability

talent to find generalisations based on input