Language Aptitude in Relation to Handedness, Hemispheric Dominance, Cognitive Learning Strategies and Non-verbal IQ: A Combined Quantitative and Qualitative Study

Abstract

Individuals vary greatly in their aptitude for language, a phenomenon especially visible in the diverging degree of proficiency present in second language learners. This study uses a combined quantitative and qualitative approach to test individual differences in language aptitude. It explores the impact of handedness and hemispheric brain dominance on language performance by testing participants’ cognitive flexibility in verbal and non-verbal domains. The test battery, consisting of the fifth part of the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT), part F of the LLAMA language aptitude test, and Raven’s Progressive Matrices, was administered to 16 right- and 16 left-handed native German speakers (n = 32) studying art, languages, or natural sciences. These tests serve to evaluate the participants’ aptitude for vocabulary learning, grammatical inferencing, and abstract reasoning. Additionally, two (non-validated) complementary questionnaires enquired about the participants’ preference for either verbal or non-verbal games. The results confirm that handedness does not have any traceable influence on language aptitude, and the groups of art students, language students, and science students did not produce significantly different results. Correlations between scores on the language and reasoning tests indicate that verbal and non-verbal abilities draw on similar mental resources. An additional finding shows that participants opting for non-verbal games scored significantly higher on the language tests than participants who preferred verbal games. These findings lead to the conclusion that handedness and hemispheric dominance have no measurable effect on language performance. Results further suggest that good visuospatial skills can present a considerable advantage in second language learning.