Individual Differences in Second Language Learning: A Book Review

Abstract

In second language acquisition (SLA), an understanding of individual differences (IDs) is the key to grasping both the variant and invariant aspects of it (Li et al. 2022: xxiv). Given the complex and dynamic role of IDs plays in the L2 learning process, researchers have made efforts to reach a clear, accurate, and comprehensive picture of how IDs work. However, current studies on IDs generally adopt a monolithic view lacking systematic integration, which fails to provide a meta-theory of IDs (Dörnyei 2009). The two books under review present relatively comprehensive, thorough, and updated accounts of ID research in SLA. Understanding Variability in Second Language Acquisition, Bilingualism, and Cognition, situated from a multidisciplinary perspective of theory and method like psychology, sociology, and math, sets an example of innovative explorations of IDs in SLA and proposes a nested structure of multiple contextual levels to probe IDs. In contrast, The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Individual Differences is an excellent encyclopaedia of ID research for its extensive breadth and depth. This book provides an overview of ID-related theories, research, pedagogy-oriented applications, and research methods. In short, these two contributions on IDs, are welcome additions to the traditional universalist perspective in SLA with significant implications for advancing both the theory and practice of IDs and SLA.