Abstract
AbstractThis article discusses the conceptualization, measurement, and validity of a recently emerged construct in the field of second language acquisition (SLA)—implicit language aptitude (alternatively “implicit aptitude”). Implicit aptitude is a set of cognitive abilities that enable learners to make unconscious computations of the distributional and transitional probabilities of linguistic input. Implicit aptitude is key to an accurate understanding of the cognitive foundation of language learning and contributes significantly to the advancement of SLA theory and pedagogy. The article starts by clarifying the concept and components of implicit aptitude, elaborating its role in SLA theories, identifying its attributes, and discussing its measurement. It then synthesizes the empirical evidence on its divergent, convergent, and predictive validity, which refers to whether it is distinct or separable from explicit aptitude, whether measures of implicit aptitude are correlated, and whether it is predictive of learning outcomes, respectively. Next, the article provides an overview of the seven empirical studies included in this special issue that examined implicit aptitude from various perspectives. The article concludes by identifying future directions.
Highlights
TO THE SPECIAL ISSUEShaofeng Li * Florida State UniversityRobert DeKeyser University of Maryland AbstractThis article discusses the conceptualization, measurement, and validity of a recently emerged construct in the field of second language acquisition (SLA)—implicit language aptitude
The advent of implicit aptitude has changed the terrain of aptitude research, prompting researchers to reconsider the findings and implications of previous research, reconceptualize the cognitive foundation of SLA, and collect evidence to validate the construct validity of implicit aptitude
The research designs encompass correlational studies investigating the predictive power of implicit aptitude for learning success, experimental studies ascertaining the interface between aptitude and treatment effects, and validation studies aiming to examine the convergent, divergent, and content validity of the measures of implicit aptitude
Summary
TO THE SPECIAL ISSUEShaofeng Li * Florida State UniversityRobert DeKeyser University of Maryland AbstractThis article discusses the conceptualization, measurement, and validity of a recently emerged construct in the field of second language acquisition (SLA)—implicit language aptitude (alternatively “implicit aptitude”). The large body of psychological research conducted in different paradigms, such as artificial grammar, SRT, statistical learning, declarative versus procedural memory, and priming, has provided robust evidence for the existence of implicit learning and its separation from explicit learning.
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