The role of the language aptitude and self-reported strategy use on the achievement of EFL learners

Gamze Yavas Celik,Fatih Yavuz

doi:10.18844/gjflt.v10i1.4412

Abstract

Whether the success depends on language aptitude or the language aptitude tests can predict the language learning achievement is one of the contradictive issues in SLA. Scholars have questioned the effect of aptitude on success, and they developed many language aptitude tests in time; because the success in aptitude measurement and the achievement prediction would mean to gain time in language learning. In addition, with the changing understanding of aptitude in recent years, language learning aptitude began to be compared to other individual differences (ID). These studies aim to increase the success of learners by designing instructions according to their aptitude and other ID. Therefore, this study aimed to find out the relationship between language aptitude, self-reported strategy use and language achievement of the Turkish EFL learners to see the decisiveness of language aptitude on strategy use and achievement. Results showed that the language aptitude influences foreign language learning achievement. Keywords: Language aptitude, language learning strategies, achievement, individual differences, EFL.

Highlights

Language learning is a complex process affected by many different factors, such as the complexity of language itself as a linguistic form (VanPatten & Smith, 2015), individual differences (ID) of learners and type of instruction
The results demonstrated that there is no significant relationship between language aptitude and the achievement of the participants who have low aptitude level in all subtests
The studies, which have been shaped by the changing aptitude perspective after the 90s, have been more about how ID can be better reflected in the teaching process

Summary

Introduction

Language learning is a complex process affected by many different factors, such as the complexity of language itself as a linguistic form (VanPatten & Smith, 2015), individual differences (ID) of learners and type of instruction. All these variables have been discussed separately for many years, and they all have particular importance in language learning. ID has been analysed for many years by researchers despite the difficulties in defining and grouping. It is challenging to define and group ID because they all depend on the nature of the learners. ID can be generally listed as age, gender, aptitude (Carroll & Sapon, 1959), personality (Brown, 1973; Ehrman, 1990), attitude, motivation (Gardner & Lambert, 1972; Gardner, 1985, 1990), cognitive style (Carroll & Maxwell, 1979; Ellis, 1994; Larsen-Freeman & Long, 2014), learning strategies (Oxford, 1990; Skehan, 1991) and anxiety (Horwitz, Horwitz & Cope, 1986)

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