Foreign language (FL) aptitude generally refers to a specific talent for learning a foreign or second language (L2). After experiencing a long period of marginalized interest, FL aptitude research in recent years has witnessed renewed enthusiasm across the disciplines of educational psychology, second language acquisition (SLA) and cognitive neuroscience. This paper sets out to offer a historical and an updated account of this recent progress in FL aptitude theory development and research. As its subtitle indicates, the paper centres on three major issues: following the introduction and clarification of basic concepts, Section 1 traces the early conceptions of FL aptitude dominated by John Carroll's pioneering work. Section 2 summarizes and examines more recent theoretical perspectives and FL aptitude models proposed by researchers from multiple disciplines that have significantly broadened the conventional research traditions associated with Carroll's original conception. Based on the research synthesis of current FL aptitude models, Section 3 suggests the directions FL aptitude theory and research might take in coming years. We conclude that a working memory perspective on FL aptitude presents one promising avenue for advance, as does the development of new aptitude tests to predict speed of automatization, implicit learning and greater control over an emerging language system. In addition, it is argued that issues of domain-specificity versus domain-generality for aptitude tests may lead to aptitude theory and research becoming more central in applied linguistics.

A new book by Z. E. Wen on working memory (WM) was written with a view to presenting an up-to-date and comprehensive review of our knowledge of this cognitive factor which has been gaining popularity but still remains poorly examined. The book includes an introduction, preceded by a foreword written by Peter Skehan, three theoretical parts and concluding remarks. The author's goal was to integrate WM research into cognitive science and second language acquisition (SLA) research in applied linguistics, the two in which he specializes. The book consists of three parts. Part 1 contains two chapters which present the theoretical and methodological foundations of the discussed domain. In Chapter 2, the author focuses on the origins and evolution of the concept of WM in cognitive science and in SLA. The current theoretical models of WM are presented as well as the discussion of the controversies surrounding the construct. In the final sections of this chapter, the author attempts to integrate the existing models into a unified theory, taking as a point of reference six themes which can

Abstract:The present paper proposes and argues a case for incorporating the working memory (WM) construct as a component of foreign language aptitude. As such, it first briefly reviews previous research on foreign language aptitude, which lays the ground for the proposal. Then, by drawing on recent research from both the fields of cognitive psychology and second language acquisition, the paper will summarize the key representative theoretical models, major claims and empirical evidence supporting the role of WM in different aspects of L2 learning, such as listening, reading, speaking, writing and interpreting, thus rendering the proposal a feasible blueprint for future research on foreign language aptitude. 16Zhisheng Wen & Peter Skehan

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This book introduces a principled approach to incorporating the construct of working memory (WM) into second language acquisition (SLA) research. Towards that end, I argue for an integrated framework of WM for SLA that draws on insights from established WM research in cognitive psychology as well as initial findings from SLA studies looking into the effects of WM. Within the framework, I also propose a set of general principles that serve as a basis for further studies probing the WM‐SLA nexus. Applying some tenets from this framework, I report on an empirical study investigating the differential effects of WM constructs on L2 task‐based speech planning and performance, culminating in forged links bridging WM components and their corresponding L2 speech performance measures. Further implications of this integrated framework of WM for SLA are also discussed in the context of “WM as foreign language aptitude”.