Research into Individual Differences in SLA and CALL: Looking for Intersections

Abstract

Research into the role of individual difference (ID) factors in the process of second and foreign language (L2) learning and teaching has been one of the most robust lines of inquiry in the field of second language acquisition (SLA; Dörnyei & Ryan, 2015; Griffiths & Soruç, 2020; Pawlak & Kruk, 2022). Most of these empirical investigations have concerned L2 learning in general contexts while empirical inquiry targeting specific instructional settings has been quite limited in terms of both quantity and scope. One such context is computer-assisted language learning (CALL), which involves numerous applications, devices and environments that can be drawn upon to enhance and support L2 learning and teaching. While many studies have been carried out in this area, there have been very few comprehensive attempts to synthesize such empirical evidence and such research has largely lagged behind the developments in the broader domain of SLA. The aim of this paper is to synthesize and critically evaluate research into ID factors in CALL against the backdrop of such advances in SLA and consider future directions of such empirical investigations.