Predicting Near-Native Ability: The Factor Structure and Reliability of Hi-LAB (original) (raw)
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THE ROBUSTNESS OF APTITUDE EFFECTS IN NEAR-NATIVE SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 2008
Results from a number of recent studies suggest that nativelike adult second language (L2) learners possess a high degree of language learning aptitude, the positive effects of which may have compensated for the negative effects of a critical period in these learners. According to the same studies, child learners seem to attain a nativelike command of the L2 regardless of high or low aptitude, which has led researchers to conclude that this factor plays no role in early acquisition. The present study investigates the L2 proficiency and language aptitude of 42 near-native L2 speakers of Swedish (i.e., individuals whom actual mother-tongue speakers of Swedish believe are native speakers). The results confirm previous research suggesting that a high degree of language aptitude is required if adult learners are to reach a L2 proficiency that is indistinguishable from that of native speakers. However, in contrast to previous studies, the present results also identify small yet significant aptitude effects in child SLA. Our findings lead us to the conclusions that the rare nativelike adult learners sometimes observed would all turn out to be exceptionally talented language learners with an unusual ability to compensate for maturational effects and, consequently, that their nativelikeness per se does not constitute a reason to reject the critical period hypothesis.
2019
...The International Roundtable Forum on ‘Language Aptitude’ was successfully held at the Macao Polytechnic Institute and the University of Macau between 6-9 June 2017. During the forum, most contributing authors to the current volume (except for a few who could not attend) presented their individual chapters and participated actively in the roundtable discussions of relevant issues. The edited volume is based on the major papers presented at the aptitude roundtable, plus those of the authors who were unable to attend the forum. The editors identified five major themes that emerged from the papers: (1) updating current language aptitude theories and testing instruments; (2) emerging issues and insights from more contemporary research into the long-standing relationships between language aptitude, age, and ultimate attainment; (3) redefining cognitive constructs and models; (4) perspectives from cognitive neuroscience; and (5) providing final commentaries reflecting on current practices, identifying future directions and research agendas. In the next section, we briefly highlight the key issues discussed in each chapter under these major themes...
Language Aptitude Reconsidered
ERIC Digest (ED318226 1989-12-0), 1989
Foreign language aptitude was the subject of much research in the 1950s and has been the subject of intermittent research for the last 30 years. Aptitude is measured by the amount of time it takes an individual to learn. Foreign language aptitude appears to differ from general aptitude or intelligence. One theory states that foreign language aptitude consists of four cognitive abilities: (1) phonetic coding, or the ability to segment and identify distinct sounds, form associations between the sounds and their symbols, and retain these associations; (2) grammatical sensitivity, or the ability to recognize the grammatical function of words or other linguistic structures in sentences; (3) rote learning ability in foreign language situations; and (4) inductive language learning ability, or the ability to infer the rules governing language use. Several tests of foreign language ability are in use today for a variety of purposes in government and education. Concerns about the age of currently used language aptitude tests and the need to incorporate new knowledge of aptitude into test design suggest a need for research, test development, and data collection and analysis. The concept of language aptitude may need to be expanded and refined.
Testing Aptitude for Second Language Learning
In E. Shohamy, L. Or, and S. May (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Language and Education, 3rd ed.: Language Testing and Assessment, pp. 1-14, 2016
The construct of aptitude for language learning began with the work of John Carroll, who conceived of aptitude as a relatively fixed set of attributes that made some people better able to learn a second language than others. Carroll’s work culminated in the Modern Language Aptitude Test, and Carroll’s work on aptitude in general and on the MLAT in particular continues to provide the foundation for the development of new aptitude tests and for research and theory related to the role of aptitude in second language acquisition (SLA) research. Since the development of the MLAT, several other aptitude tests have been developed. The US Department of Defense has played a particularly large role in developing aptitude tests, including the Defense Language Aptitude Battery and the High-level Language Aptitude Battery (Hi-LAB). Within SLA research, researchers have refined aptitude as a construct and investigated whether aptitude plays a role in various aspects of second language (L2) learning. One of the ways aptitude has been investigated in SLA research is as an individual factor that might predict ultimate attainment. Some studies find a significant role for aptitude in predicting ultimate attainment – aptitude scores correlate in these studies with end-state L2 knowledge and performance. The present chapter discusses the construct of aptitude, how aptitude is measured, and how it has been used in SLA research.
The Performance of Non-Native Speakers of English on Toefl and Verbal Aptitude Tests
ETS Research Report Series, 1979
The performance of two groups of non-native English speakers on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and an approprl.ate verbal aptitude test was examined. One group of graduate applicants took both TOEFL ard the verbal section of the Aptitude Test of the Graduate Record Examinations (GPE). Another group of undergraduate applicants +ook TOEFL, the verbal section of the r7ollege Board Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), and the Test of Standard Written English (TSWEI. Da*a are presented showing how native and non-native speakers compare on each set of tests. Information is also provided to aid in interpreting test results for non-native speakers who have taken both types of tests. The appendix to the report summarizes item reviews, by specialists in English as a Second Language, which suggest future directions for TOEFL test development. (Author/GR)
ELT Journal, 2011
Experience tells us that some people learn a second or foreign language with greater ease, more quickly, or with apparently better results than others. One perspective on this phenomenon is the concept of Foreign Language Aptitude (FLA). Originally, the notion of FLA presumed a relatively stable talent for learning a foreign language that differs between individuals (Dörnyei and Skehan 2003: 590). However, whether FLA is fixed/innate or amenable to training has become the departure point for most research in this area. Research into FLA first became established during the late 1950s and early 1960s (Spolsky 1995). The most influential achievement in this period was the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) (Carroll and Sapon 1959), with variants developed for specifically targeted groups such as younger learners and military personnel. Carroll's (1962) subsequent conception of FLA comprised four components:
A report by the Center for Applied Linguistics, 1988
The report of the Interagency Language Roundtable's invitational symposium on language aptitude testing consists of a description of the project and appendixes which include the following: (1) the symposium program and abstracts of papers; (2) a list of participants; and (3) summaries of the discussions of three working groups (on applications, research, and instrumentation respectively). The symposium was developed in response to intense interest in testing for foreign language learning aptitude among government agencies involved in foreign language training. It included individual and panel presentations by representatives of the National Cryptologic School, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Public Service Commission of Canada, Defense Language Institute, Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, Army Research Institute, Foreign Service Institute, U.S. Air Force Academy and academic institutions. The presentations included these topics: aptitude tests currently in use in government agencies; cognitive abilities and foreign language aptitude; the uses and limitations of various tests in public agencies; predictors of success in intensive language learning; a new language aptitude test using an artificial language; learning styles, strategies, and aptitude; cognitive models of students' language structure based on intelligent computer-assisted instruction; the relationship between cognitive development and language proficiency; brain hemisphericity, language aptitude testing, and prediction of success in foreign language learning; and aspects of attitude, motivation, and personality in language learning. (MSE)