&lt;b&gt;A new perspective on foreign language aptitude research: building and supporting a case for "working memory as language aptitude"&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;DOI:10.5007/2175-8026.2011n60p015

The traditional definition of language aptitude sees it as "an individual's initial state of readiness and capacity for learning a foreign language, and probable facility in doing so given the presence of motivation and opportunity" (Carroll, 1981, p. 86). This conception portrays language aptitude as a trait, in the sense of exhibiting stability over long periods of time and being immune to training. The trait view of language aptitude tends towards the notion that it is innate, and indeed language aptitude has often been associated with the popular notion of a "gift for languages" (cf. Rosenthal, 1996, p. 59). The view of language aptitude as an innate trait has, however, long been questioned (see e.g., Neufeld, 1978). Recently, this questioning has intensified (see Singleton, 2014), especially since the development of a widespread consensus that working memory needs to be recognized as an important component of language aptitude (see Wen, 2016). Working memory was also once thought of as a trait, but is now recognized as susceptible to the influence of experience and instruction (see e.g., Williams, 2012). The present paper will track the trajectory of the above theoretical discussion and will explore the implications of the stage it has now reached.

Section: The Working Memory Dimensionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Language aptitude: Desirable trait or acquirable attribute?

Singleton

2017

“…Robinson, 2003), cognitive psychologists (Cowan, 2014) and neuroscientists (Postle, 2014), and proposed as another FL aptitude (cf. Doughty, 2013;Wen & Skehan, 2011), has attracted relatively little attention in the neuroscientific research on individual differences with respect to SLA, which is a major oversight in view of the developments in the field of WM. For instance, Baqués, Castellà, and Bowers (2014) suggest that implicit memory for words does not rely on the phonological loop, whereas explicit memory for words does.…”

Section: Conclusion and Suggestions For Further Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Besides, such constructs as working memory (WM), phonological short-term memory and noticing ability have been incorporated in all the contemporary models of FL aptitude (Robinson, 2002;Skehan, 2002), which extends the FL aptitude research to the fields usually associated with psychology. Particularly, the proposal to include WM in the array of FL aptitudes seems to have gained increasing attention among SLA researchers in recent years (DeKeyser & Koeth, 2011;Doughty, 2013;Juffs & Harrington, 2011;Wen & Skehan, 2011;Williams, 2012). Overall, the whole construct of FL aptitude is highly complex and multifaceted, which is reflected by Dörnyei's (2005, p. 33) statement that it has become an umbrella-term for a number of cognitive factors creating a composite gauge regarded as the general capacity to master a foreign language.…”

Section: Neurolinguistic Research On Foreign Language Aptitudementioning

confidence: 99%

Neurology of foreign language aptitude

Biedroń

2015

This state-of-the art paper focuses on the poorly explored issue of foreign language aptitude, attempting to present the latest developments in this field and reconceptualizations of the construct from the perspective of neuroscience. In accordance with this goal, it first discusses general directions in neurolinguistic research on foreign language aptitude, starting with the earliest attempts to define the neurological substrate for talent, sources of difficulties in the neurolinguistic research on foreign language aptitude and modern research methods. This is followed by the discussion of the research on the phonology of foreign language aptitude with emphasis on functional and structural studies as well as their consequences for the knowledge of the concept. The subsequent section presents the studies which focus on lexical and morphosyntactic aspects of foreign language aptitude. The paper ends with a discussion of the limitations of contemporary research, the future directions of such research and selected methodological issues.

“…WM (Baddeley, 2003(Baddeley, , 2015Baddeley, Gathercole, & Papagno, 1998;Baddeley & Hitch, 1974) has recently been high on the agenda of SLA researchers as a significant factor determining the outcomes of L2 learning (Biedroń & Pawlak, 2016;Biedroń & Szczepaniak, 2012a;DeKeyser & Juffs, 2005;DeKeyser & Koeth, 2011;Doughty, Campbell, Mislevy, Bunting, Bowles, & Koeth, 2010;Doughty, 2013;Juffs & Harrington, 2011;Mackey, Philip, Egi, Fujii, & Tatsumi, 2002;Miyake & Friedman, 1998;Papagno & Vallar, 1995;Pawlak, 2017;Robinson, 2003;Sawyer & Ranta, 2001;Skehan, 2012;Wen & Skehan, 2011;Wen, Mota, & McNeill, 2015;Wen, 2016;Williams, 2012). Recently, there have been some suggestions that WM can be another foreign language aptitude (Wen & Skehan, 2011;Wen, 2015Wen, , 2016.…”

Section: Working Memorymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, there have been some suggestions that WM can be another foreign language aptitude (Wen & Skehan, 2011;Wen, 2015Wen, , 2016. Baddeley and Hitch (1974) proposed the multicomponent WM model that comprises two storage systems, that is a phonological loop (PL) and a visuospatial sketchpad, regulated by a supervisory attention-limited control system (CE).…”

Section: Working Memorymentioning

confidence: 99%

Polish Listening SPAN: A new tool for measuring verbal working memory

Zychowicz

Biedroń

Pawlak³

2017

Individual differences in second language acquisition (SLA) encompass differences in working memory capacity, which is believed to be one of the most crucial factors influencing language learning. However, in Poland research on the role of working memory in SLA is scarce due to a lack of proper Polish instruments for measuring this construct. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the process of construction and validation of the Polish Listening Span (PLSPAN) as a tool intended to measure verbal working memory of adults. The article presents the requisite theoretical background as well as the information about the PLSPAN, that is, the structure of the test, the scoring procedures and the steps taken with the aim of validating it.