Cognitive Individual Differences in Second Language Processing and Acquisition

Cognitive Individual Differences in Second Language Processing and Acquisition
Author: Gisela Granena
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
Total Pages: 361
Release: 2016-12-23
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9027266328

Cognitive Individual Differences in Second Language Processing and Acquisition contains 14 chapters that focus on the role of cognitive IDs in L2 learning and processing. The book brings together theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of cognitive IDs, as well as empirical studies that investigate the mediating role of cognitive IDs in various linguistic domains. Chapters include contributions from researchers working within second language acquisition (SLA), psycholinguistics, and cognitive psychology, sharing a common interest in the application of cognitive IDs to their respective areas of study. The interdisciplinary understanding of cognitive IDs presented in this book makes the book of interest to a wide readership of graduate students, faculty members, and academic researchers in the fields of SLA, psycholinguistics, cognitive psychology, and education.

Individual Differences in Second Language Learning

Individual Differences in Second Language Learning
Author: Peter Skehan
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 170
Release: 2014-04-04
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1317856546

Understanding the way in which learners differ from one another is of fundamental concern to those involved in second-language acquisition, either as researchers or teachers. This account is the first to review at book length the important research into differences, considering matters such as aptitude, motivation, learner strategies, personality and interaction between learner characteristics and types of instruction.

Cognitive Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition

Cognitive Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition
Author: Zhisheng (Edward) Wen
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 350
Release: 2023-04-03
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1614514747

This book presents comprehensive, thorough and updated analyses of key cognitive individual difference factors (e.g., age, intelligence, language aptitude, working memory, metacognition, learning strategies, and anxiety) as they relate to the acquisition, processing, assessment, and pedagogy of second or foreign languages. Critical reviews and in-depth research syntheses of these pivotal cognitive learner factors are put into historical and broader contexts, drawing upon the multiple authors' extensive research experience, penetrating insights and unique perspectives spanning applied linguistics, teacher training, educational psychology, and cognitive science. The carefully crafted chapters provide essential course readings and valuable references for seasoned researchers and aspiring postgraduate students in the broad fields of instructed second language acquisition, foreign language training, teacher education, language pedagogy, educational psychology, and cognitive development.

The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Individual Differences

The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Individual Differences
Author: Shaofeng Li
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 547
Release: 2022-05-30
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1000548406

The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Individual Differences provides a thorough, in-depth discussion of the theory, research, and pedagogy pertaining to the role individual difference (ID) factors play in second language acquisition (SLA). It goes beyond the traditional repertoire and includes 32 chapters covering a full spectrum of topics on learners’ cognitive, conative, affective, and demographic/sociocultural variation. The volume examines IDs from two perspectives: one is how each ID variable is associated with learning behaviors, processes, and outcomes; the other is how each domain of SLA, such as vocabulary or reading, is affected by clusters of ID variables. The volume also includes a section on the common methods used in ID research, including data elicitation instruments such as surveys, interviews, and psychometric testing, as well as methods of data analysis such as structural equation modeling. The book is a must-read for any second language researcher or applied linguist interested in investigating the effects of IDs on language learning, and for any educator interested in taking account of learners’ individual differences to maximize the effects of second language instruction.

Individual differences in early instructed language learning

Individual differences in early instructed language learning
Author: Raphael Berthele
Publisher: Language Science Press
Total Pages: 254
Release:
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 3961103240

Variability in predispositions for language learning has attracted scholarly curiosity for over 100 years. Despite major changes in theoretical explanations and foreign/second language teaching paradigms, some patterns of associations between predispositions and learning outcomes seem timelessly robust. This book discusses evidence from a research project investigating individual differences in a wide variety of domains, ranging from language aptitude over general cognitive abilities to motivational and other affective and social constructs. The focus lies on young learners aged 10 to 12, a less frequently investigated age in aptitude research. The data stem from two samples of multilingual learners in German-speaking Switzerland. The target languages are French and English. The chapters of the book offer two complementary perspectives on the topic: On the one hand, cross-sectional investigations of the underlying structure of these individual differences and their association with the target languages are discussed. Drawing on factor analytical and multivariable analyses, the different components are scrutinized with respect to their mutual dependence and their relative impact on target language skills. The analyses also take into account contextual factors such as the learners’ family background and differences across the two contexts investigated. On the other hand, the potential to predict learner’s skills in the target language over time based on the many different indicators is investigated using machine learning algorithms. The results provide new insights into the stability of the individual dispositions, on the impact of contextual variables, and on empirically robust dimensions within the array of variables tested.

The Psychology of the Language Learner

The Psychology of the Language Learner
Author: Zoltán Dörnyei
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 283
Release: 2014-04-04
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1135704783

The scope of individual learner differences is broad, yet there is no current, comprehensive, and unified volume that provides an overview of the considerable amount of research conducted on various language learner differences, until now.

The Psychology of the Language Learner

The Psychology of the Language Learner
Author: Zoltán Dörnyei
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2014-04-04
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1135704775

Research results over the past decades have consistently demonstrated that a key reason why many second language learners fail--while some learners do better with less effort--lies in various learner attributes such as personality traits, motivation, or language aptitude. In psychology, these attributes have traditionally been called "individual differences." The scope of individual learner differences is broad--ranging from creativity to learner styles and anxiety--yet there is no current, comprehensive, and unified volume that provides an overview of the considerable amount of research conducted on various language learner differences, until now. Each chapter in this new volume focuses on a different individual difference variable. Besides a review of the relevant second language literature, Zoltán Dörnyei presents a concise overview of the psychological research involving each topic. A key concern for the author has been to define the various learner factors as measurable constructs and therefore the discussion includes a summary of the most famous tests and questionnaires in each domain. A wide range of readers will benefit from this book--students in linguistics, applied linguistics, modern languages, and psychology programs; second language teachers participating in in-service training courses; and researchers in second language acquisition and psychology.

Individual Differences and Instructed Language Learning

Individual Differences and Instructed Language Learning
Author: Peter Robinson
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
Total Pages: 399
Release: 2002-09-27
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9027297517

Second language learners differ in how successfully they adapt to, and profit from, instruction. This book aims to show that adaptation to L2 instruction, and subsequent L2 learning, is a result of the interaction between learner characteristics and learning contexts. Describing and explaining these interactions is fundamentally important to theories of instructed SLA, and for effective L2 pedagogy. This collection is the first to explore this important issue in contemporary task-based, immersion, and communicative pedagogic settings. In the first section, leading experts in individual differences research describe recent advances in theories of intelligence, L2 aptitude, motivation, anxiety and emotion, and the relationship of native language abilities to L2 learning. In the second section, these theoretical insights are applied to empirical studies of individual differences-treatment interactions in classroom learning, experimental studies of the effects of focus on form and incidental learning, and studies of naturalistic versus instructed SLA.

Cross-theoretical Explorations of Interlocutors and their Individual Differences

Cross-theoretical Explorations of Interlocutors and their Individual Differences
Author: Laura Gurzynski-Weiss
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2020-01-21
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 902726161X

This book examines the role of interlocutors and their individual differences (IDs) in second language (L2) development from four theoretical lenses: the cognitive-interactionist approach, sociocultural theory, the variationist approach, and complex dynamic systems theory. A theoretical overview to each approach is written by a preeminent scholar in the framework, and each overview is followed by an empirical study that demonstrates how interlocutor IDs can be fruitfully researched within that framework. To maximize readability and impact, the chapters follow common organizing questions, inviting the engagement of L2 researchers, students, and teachers alike.Collectively, the chapters in the current volume initiate a cohesive discussion of the theoretical roles of the interlocutor within these four popular approaches to SLA; illustrate how interlocutor IDs influence L2 opportunities and/or development; present innovative, original empirical research on interlocutors and their IDs within each approach; and provide theoretical, empirical, and methodological guidance for future research on interlocutors and their IDs. A powerful contribution of this volume, highlighted in the concluding chapter’s synthesis, is the common call across all four approaches for the irrefutable role and need for research on interlocutors and their IDs. The volume also demonstrates how, despite theoretical and methodological differences, the four approaches are advancing congruently toward a more robust understanding of the multifaceted and dynamic nature of all interlocutors and their IDs, and thus toward a more complete and accurate picture of their influence on L2 development.

Individual Differences in Second Language Learning

Individual Differences in Second Language Learning
Author: Peter Skehan
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 177
Release: 2014-04-04
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1317856554

Understanding the way in which learners differ from one another is of fundamental concern to those involved in second-language acquisition, either as researchers or teachers. This account is the first to review at book length the important research into differences, considering matters such as aptitude, motivation, learner strategies, personality and interaction between learner characteristics and types of instruction.