Abstract
AbstractThe present study was conducted by using mixed methods design to investigate the role of language aptitude in second language acquisition (SLA). The quantitative method involved Hungarian adults (N = 27) of two kinds of schools: a technical school and three different universities. These adults participated in completing the aptitude test called Hungarian Language Aptitude Test (HUNLAT). The qualitative part included an in-depth interview, which was conducted with six participants mainly focussing on their learning habits in order to examine if there is any correspondence between aptitude and language learning habits in this sample. Within this sample, males achieved significantly higher scores on the Grammar analysis task and older students scored significantly higher on three tasks; additionally, they scored significantly higher on the total score of the HUNLAT. Furthermore, those students who scored high on the aptitude test regard themselves to be successful and those who scored low regard themselves less successful language learners. The major pedagogical implication that can be drawn from this particular research is that there are many constructs that may influence language aptitude including language learning habits, motivation, and language learning strategies; thus, EFL teachers may reconsider the role of this construct in SLA.
Highlights
Language aptitude as an individual difference (ID) is an extensively researched construct in the area of second language acquisition (SLA) and cognitive psychology (e.g., Carroll, 1981; Parry & Stansfield, 1990; Wen & Skehan, 2011)
The major pedagogical implication that can be drawn from this particular research is that there are many constructs that may influence language aptitude including language learning habits, motivation, and language learning strategies; EFL teachers may reconsider the role of this construct in SLA
The rationale for conducting research on aptitude lies in the fact that cognitive constructs in SLA – such as aptitude – are considered to be more strongly correlated with the success of SLA as compared to affective constructs such as motivation (Marinova-Todd, Marshall, & Snow, 2000); in the present research paper, the focus will be on a cognitive construct that may significantly contribute to language achievement and success in SLA
Summary
Language aptitude as an individual difference (ID) is an extensively researched construct in the area of second language acquisition (SLA) and cognitive psychology (e.g., Carroll, 1981; Parry & Stansfield, 1990; Wen & Skehan, 2011). The rationale for conducting research on aptitude lies in the fact that cognitive constructs in SLA – such as aptitude – are considered to be more strongly correlated with the success of SLA as compared to affective constructs such as motivation (Marinova-Todd, Marshall, & Snow, 2000); in the present research paper, the focus will be on a cognitive construct that may significantly contribute to language achievement and success in SLA. In their empirical study, Ehrman and Oxford (1995) have shown that within the ID variables, aptitude measures – for example, the Modern
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