Foreign Language Aptitude Research Articles

Students’ beliefs about language learning: a study of university students’ beliefs about learning English as a foreign language

This study explores students’ beliefs about learning English as a foreign language (EFL). The participants in this study were students at International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where English is the formal language of instruction. The research adapted the questionnaire from Horwitz’s (1987) Beliefs About Language Learning Instrument (BALLI), which was filled in by 157 students. In the process of developing the research objectives and research questions, the following determinants were examined: the difficulty of language learning, the foreign language aptitude, the nature of language learning, learning strategies and communication strategies, and motivations and expectations. After testing the determinants, results indicate that students’ beliefs about language have an impact on their learning process. Therefore, this paper argues for the need to address students’ beliefs about language learning and highlights the teacher’s role in raising university students’ awareness of these issues. /Keywords: language learning, students’ beliefs, EFL

Bilinguals outperform trilinguals in implicit language aptitude: the mediating role of selective attention

ABSTRACT A mounting number of individuals engage in the simultaneous learning of multiple foreign languages. Prior research has underscored the advantages of bilingualism on foreign language aptitude (FLA). However, the impact of multilingual experience on the constituents of FLA, namely explicit language aptitude (ELA) and implicit language aptitude (ILA), along with the cognitive mechanisms underlying these effects, remain less explored. This study seeks to fill this gap by examining the potential multilingual influence on FLA constituents and the possible mediating role of cognitive abilities such as selective attention and working memory. Our research involved 82 Chinese college students, aged between 17 and 24, equally distributed into two cohorts: Chinese-English bilinguals and Chinese-English-Japanese trilinguals (41 per group). The results showed that bilinguals outperformed trilingual learners in terms of ILA performance, with selective attention fully mediating the relationship between multilingualism and ILA. This work is pioneering in identifying the crucial role of selective attention in linking multilingualism and ILA, thereby advancing our understanding of the cognitive underpinnings of the relative bilingual efficiency in language aptitude. The insights are invaluable for educational practice, suggesting that language learning programmes should be designed to optimise cognitive resources in multilingual learners.

English Language Learning Beliefs of Iranian High School Students

Language learning beliefs are considered to be an important factor influencing student learning outcomes. This mixed-methods research investigated English language learning beliefs of Iranian English language learners. Data were collected from 226 junior and senior male and female high school students using the Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) and semi-structured interviews. Participants reported strong beliefs in terms of ‘motivation and expectation’ and ‘foreign language aptitude’. First and third graders’ mean belief scores were statistically different across their ‘overall beliefs’, ‘foreign language aptitude’, and ‘motivation and expectations’. Moreover, although the overall gender differences were not statistically meaningful, significant differences were noticed with regards to beliefs about ‘difficulty of language learning’ and ‘foreign language aptitude’. The results underscore the hypothesis that changes in language learning beliefs happen due to learners’ stage of development, i.e. their grade. Further, certain misconceptions among high school learners were noticed about the role of aptitude and intelligence, error correction, and supremacy of learning certain forms of language. The implications are discussed with reference to language education and policy development.

A cross-cultural study of differential item functioning analysis of beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI)

This research examines students' beliefs about language learning by evaluating the measurement equivalence of the beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI). The graded response model (GRM) was used to examine differential item functioning (DIF) in the BALLI across four different countries, namely: Iran, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Bangladesh. The sample was drawn from 1613, including 500 males and 1113 females who completed the online version of the BALLI, comprising five subscales of beliefs about foreign language aptitude, the difficulty of language learning, the nature of language learning, learning and communication strategies, and motivations and expectations. Most BALLI items showed non-uniform DIF. This finding implies that students in different countries had different perceptions of the BALLI items. Therefore, researchers should be very cautious about using the BALLI in different countries. This cross-cultural comparison may generate new insights into revising the BALLI items or developing another scale to compare students' beliefs about language learning in different countries.

Developing internet-based Tests of Aptitude for Language Learning (TALL): An open research endeavour

Tests of Aptitude for Language Learning (TALL) is an openly accessible internet-based battery to measure the multifaceted construct of foreign language aptitude, using language domain–specific instruments and L1-sensitive instructions and stimuli. This brief report introduces the components of this theory-informed battery and methodological considerations for developing it into an open research instrument. It also presents the preliminary results from the initial validation of TALL carried out on data collected from Chinese L1 participants ( n = 165) from a university setting who took two rounds of tests (with counterbalanced test items) with a minimum 30-day interval. The results of data analyses at subtest, item, and battery levels suggest that, in general, TALL has satisfactory reliability and can be used to measure aptitude conceptualized in the theoretical frameworks on which it has been developed. This report also highlights the value of TALL as a convenient data collection tool openly accessible to any researcher for free, its potential for facilitating an open data pool for high-quality syntheses of aptitude-related research findings, and its implications for Open Research practices in testing language-related constructs.

Research on Cultivating Foreign Language Aptitude of International Talents in the Context of ‘Trinity’ in the New Era

Research on Cultivating Foreign Language Aptitude of International Talents in the Context of ‘Trinity’ in the New Era

Young learners’ bilingual status and cognitive development in foreign language aptitude testing

Abstract Young learners’ L1s preference, cognitive development and bilingual status might influence their performance on language aptitude tests, particularly if these are language-dependent. The objective of this study was to test the validity, reliability and consistency across populations of two such tests: the Modern Language Aptitude Test-Elementary in Catalan (MLAT-EC) and in Spanish (MLAT-ES). 629 bilingual students from grades 3 to 7 took the MLAT-ES and the MLAT-EC for test comparison in a counterbalanced order. The results show that their performance on both tests presented hardly any significant differences considering students’ L1 preference (Catalan, Spanish or no preference). In addition, these bilingual examinees outperformed the predominantly monolingual samples in the MLAT-ES norming study. The same score patterns related to young learner cognitive development stages were found across test versions. These results reinforce the confidence in the validity of the MLAT-E adaptations and support the hypothesis that bilingualism results in greater aptitude.

Review of Exploring L1-L2 relationships: The impact of individual differences by Richard Sparks

This paper is a review of Richard Sparks' latest position, Exploring L1-L2 relationships. The impact of individual differences, which summarizes 30 years of his research in the field of SLA. The author is the originator of the Linguistic Coding Deficit Hypothesis (LCDH), later modified to the Linguistic Coding Differences Hypothesis, which is one of the most cited theories in the context of research into foreign language aptitude. The volume contains 7 chapters representing different strands of research.

The TUNJO battery as a predictor of phonetic ability: A survey among English Philology students

Some learners are more successful in foreign language mastering than others. Among the plausible explanations discussed in the literature (Carroll 1981; Skehan 1991; Dörnyei 2005; Stansfield & Reed 2019; Griffiths & Soruç 2020), the concept of foreign language aptitude (FLA) is regarded as one of the key factors that can influence or predict learners’ success in the process of foreign language acquisition. The present pilot quantitative study aims to assess the extent to which learners’ level of foreign language aptitude can be correlated to their general phonological ability based on the example of first-year MA English Philology students (N=10). To assess the students’ level of aptitude, the Polish adaptation of the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT), called the Test of Aptitude for the Learning of Foreign Languages (Test Uzdolnień do Nauki Języków Obcych – TUNJO), was used. On the other hand, to measure their level of phonetic ability, the test, which focused on several chosen areas covered during practical and theoretical phonetics classes during the BA programme, was constructed and submitted to the group. The quantitative data gathered throughout those two stages were subsequently analysed and interpreted. The results obtained revealed no significant correlation between the students’ level of aptitude and their general phonetic ability. Other individual differences and affective factors in language learning, alongside the structure of the measuring tools and the measurement itself, may justify the apparent lack of correlation.

Foreign Language Aptitude Examined in relation to Implicit and Explicit Grammar Instruction

Language aptitude (LA) is one of the primary individual differences with which the language learning ability of learners can be foreseen. This quasi-experimental study aims to contribute to the LA literature by investigating the role of LA in explicit and implicit grammar instruction. To do so, LLAMA_D aptitude test was administered to 133 participants, and from this cohort group, four subgroups were formed. A one-session course was designed and delivered to participants with a pre and post-test. The results indicated that there is a significant correlation between implicit instruction and the LA level of the participants. However, based on the Pearson Correlation results, it can be concluded that LA is a stronger determinant in the achievement of learners than the type of instruction. It can be suggested, therefore, that taking LA level into consideration before planning implicit or explicit instruction would contribute to the effectiveness of the instruction.

Exploring Chinese Foreign Language Aptitude among Undergraduates in a Public Sector University

Foreign Language learning is relatively not a new concept within Pakistan. As, young students in order to avail opportunities abroad learn foreign languages for better exposure and cultural assimilation in the new context. Previously, French and German languages were two foreign languages that students used to acquire. However, with the introduction of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, new realities and opportunities have been explored. As a result, of this expansionist project, universities within Pakistan are offering Chinese language courses along with the relevant degree programs. Under the current circumstances, there is a sheer need to investigate the beliefs with regard to foreign language aptitude towards Chinese as a foreign language. Therefore, the present study examined the foreign language aptitude of undergraduates ‘who were learning Chinese as a compulsory foreign language course in a Public Sector University in Karachi. For this quantitative study, data was collected from 200 undergraduate students using BALLI questionnaire. The descriptive statistics was used to analyze the quantitative data. The findings reveal that undergraduates hold broad range of mixed beliefs about learning Chinese. They hold strong positive beliefs about foreign language aptitude and their expectations from Chinese in future. Also, curriculum designers, decision makers and teachers must be aware of undergraduates’ beliefs which are essential in terms of improving curriculum and teaching methodologies.

Foreign Language Learners’ Beliefs and Use of Language Learning Strategies

Variation in individuals’ success in learning a foreign/second language is often attributed to a host of cognitive, psychological and socio-cultural factors. Learners’ language learning strategies and preconceived beliefs have been explored as possible factors contributing to this variation. Research suggests that successful language learners usually utilize, whether consciously or subconsciously, more effective strategies than less proficient learners (Chamot, 2004). Similarly, learners’ beliefs are thought to shape the course of their linguistic development and their whole language learning experience (Debreli, 2012). Thus, any mistaken beliefs could have prolonged detrimental and negative effects on the learners’ learning experience (Peacock, 2001). Hence, this paper investigates the intricate relationship between learners’ beliefs and their strategic preferences. The study uses two questionnaires to collect data from 173 students in the English Department at SQU, Oman. Inferential statistical analysis shows an overall medium use of learning strategies, with metacognitive strategies occupying a top position. The results about learners’ beliefs reveal that learners’ motivation and expectations are the strongest set of beliefs held by language learners. Learners seem to accord less significance to the traditional role of grammar and vocabulary in language learning. As for the relationship between strategies and beliefs, the findings show that students’ beliefs intricately correlate with different categories of strategies. In specific, foreign language aptitude and learners’ motivation and expectations strongly correlate with almost all sets of strategies. From a pedagogical perspective, the findings of this investigation are of a great significance for both learners and instructors. To ensure a successful language learning experience, instructors need to give special attention to helping learners overcome any preconceived negative beliefs and providing them with proper training on how to use appropriate strategies.
 Keywords: beliefs, strategies, correlation, metacognition, strategy training.

Exploring Kurdish EFL University Students’ Beliefs about Language Learning

This paper is an attempt to deal with language learners’ beliefs. Researchers used Elaine Kolker Horwitz’s model (1988), Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory, and they applied it to explore the views of Kurdish EFL university students concerning language learning. The study aims to investigate and expose their opinions regarding language learning generally, then English language more precisely. Its significance lies in exploring the beliefs of Kurdish EFL university students about language learning. It mainly answers the question, “what are the beliefs of Kurdish EFL university students about learning English?”. The researchers administered a Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) questionnaire to seven universities to achieve this aim. The questionnaire includes several viewpoints regarding the difficulty of language learning, foreign language aptitude, the nature of language learning, learning and communication strategies, and motivation and expectations. They collected and analyzed the questionnaire results and found out that the first category, the difficulty of language learning, has the lowest mean score among the five categories. In contrast, the fifth category, motivation and expectations, has the highest mean score. They ended the study with suitable beneficiary recommendations.

Using Reverse Mentoring to Transform In-Service Teachers’ Beliefs About How to Teach English

This qualitative research study delves into elementary school teachers’ beliefs and the potential contribution of reverse mentoring to improve English language teaching for children. The purpose was to explore how elementary in-service teachers’ beliefs could be transformed after participating in a reverse mentoring experience. A group of in-service teachers from two public elementary schools and a group of student-teachers from Universidad de Córdoba (Colombia) were the research participants. Data were gathered through a questionnaire, interviews, and classroom observations. Findings showed that reverse mentoring played an important role in transforming in-service teachers’ beliefs about teaching English to children regarding the difficulties of language learning, communicative strategies, motivation and expectations, foreign language aptitude, and the nature of language learning.

An Exploratory Study of Beliefs about Foreign Language Learning Among Self-Learners of English in Saudi Arabia

This mixed-method exploratory study was conducted to investigate the types of beliefs that Saudi self-learners of English as a foreign language bring to the learning process. It also examined the possible links between those beliefs and self-rated English proficiency and explored whether individual factors, such as age and gender, played a role in shaping the learners’ beliefs. Data were collected from 243 participants, using three instruments, two quantitative and one qualitative. The first was the Background Information Questionnaire, which was designed specifically for this study and consisted of two parts. The first part collected demographic data about the learners, and the second part elicited the participants’ self-rated English proficiency in the four basic skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The second questionnaire was a modified version of Horwitz’s (1985) Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) and consisted of 27 items. The qualitative data were collected using one-on-one retrospective interviews, mainly to support and interpret the questionnaire results. The findings revealed that the beliefs of the participants were mostly realistic. Further, a significant positive correlation at the .01 level was found between the learners’ belief that they had foreign language aptitude and their self-rated English proficiency. The results of independent samples t-tests revealed two significant differences in learner beliefs according to gender and four significant ones according to age. The study concluded by offering recommendations and suggestions for further research in the field.
 
 Received: 3 December 2020 / Accepted: 27 January 2021 / Published: 3 January 2022

Concurrent Validity of LLAMA_F: Measure of Language Analytic Ability as a Predictor of Morphosyntax Knowledge

Foreign language aptitude is defined as one’s potential to learn a second language. A language learner with higher aptitude is predicted to learn more, faster, and reach a higher level of proficiency. If this is the case, one way to validate the construct of aptitude and its measure is to conduct a validation study in which measures of aptitude is correlated with a learning outcome. This study aimed to conduct a concurrent validity of LLAMA_F, a foreign language aptitude test using grammaticality judgement test (GJT) as its concurrent criterion. This was done through dis-attenuated correlation, using reliability values obtained using classic test theory (CTT) and item analysis. The results show barely adequate reliability for LLAMA_F, high reliability values for GJT and a weak linear relationship between the two constructs. The findings of this study demonstrated that LLAMA_F might suffer from a lack of strong internal consistency. While the 200-item GJT was shown to be reliable, a few of its subcomponents were less than adequate. A further in-depth item analysis of GJT is needed in order to pare down the test and make it shorter for easier application and data collection. Finally, a nonlinear relationship between aptitude and measures of achievement is suggested for future research on language aptitude.

Working memory as a partial mediator of the relationship between multilingualism and foreign language aptitude

ABSTRACT While the relationship between language experience and foreign language aptitude (FLA) has been studied extensively, little is known about the underlying intermediate link between them. This study investigates whether multilingual learning experience is correlated with FLA and whether working memory (WM) mediates this relationship. A total of 93 accomplished bilingual or trilingual learners aged 18–25 years from Chinese universities participated in this study. Results showed significant differences in the performance of implicit language aptitude (ILA) (measured by LLAMA D) between L2 and L3 learners. Critically, further mediation analysis demonstrated that WM acted as a partial mediator between the multilingualism – ILA association. Taken together, these findings highlight the partial indirect effect of multilingual learning experience on FLA through WM, which contributes to the understanding of the underlying mechanism between language experience and FLA as well as the extent to which WM affects their relationship.

СТРУКТУРА ТА ЗМІСТ ЗДІБНОСТЕЙ ДО ВИВЧЕННЯ ІНОЗЕМНИХ МОВ

This study aims to explore the foreign language (FL) aptitude components as one of the crucial factors of successful language learning. Having conducted the research, the following results and conclusions have been drawn. FL aptitude is defined as individual psychological characteristics which determine and predict the dynamics of mastering FL, that is the rate, speed and progress of learning. The components of FL aptitude include language abilities (phonetic, lexical, grammatical and stylistic abilities), speech abilities (abilities to listening, speaking, reading and writing), communicative abilities, the sense of language, thinking in a foreign language, linguistic creativity, motivation. The sense of language and thinking in a foreign language is considered to be the central abilities in FL aptitude. The structure of FL aptitude forms an integral unity, since it is characterized by the interdependence and interaction of all its components. Moreover, it is closely related to general intelligence. Therefore, it is possible to single out auditory and cognitive abilities which are common for all above mentioned abilities and play a key role in determining the level of their development. These abilities involve auditory differential sensitivity (phonemic awareness and intonation hearing), memory (iconic, echoic, motor, working, short-term, long-term, verbal and the ability of involuntary remembering), verbal thinking and inductive reasoning, cognitive processing speed (the rate of speech, the rate of associative processes and the rate of processing new information). According to the level of FL aptitude development there are three styles of FL learning: communicative, cognitive and mixed. The difference between these three styles lies in the fact that the first style refers to language acquisition and the second and the third styles refer to language learning. Consequently, the direct (natural) methods of FL learning are more appropriate for the representatives of the cognitive style and the indirect methods or the combination of the direct and indirect methods is more beneficial for the representatives of the cognitive and mixed styles. Taking into account the results of our research, we suppose it is expedient to run the tests for revealing and measuring FL aptitude which is normally difficult to observe. It allows the educators to detect the factors which make it difficult for students to learn FL and to find the effective ways to eliminate or relieve them.

Correlation between EFL Students’ Language Aptitude and their English Proficiency

This study is designed to investigate the correlation between EFL students’ language aptitude and their English proficiency. The data were collected from sixty-five students in the end of their eighth semester at the English department in faculty of teacher training in UIN Raden Fatah Palembang.The students took a foreign language aptitude test(both explicit and implicit LLAMA tests) and an English proficiency test (TOEFL). The collected data was analyzed using Pearson-Product Moment correlation test. It reveals that Pearson correlation between LLAMA explicit scores and TOEFL scores is significant at 0.676, P < 0.01 (2-tailed), so the correlation between LLAMA explicit scores and TOEFL scores is considered moderate. In addition, the correlation between LLAMA implicit scores and TOEFL scores is significant at 0.422, P < 0.01 (2-tailed), therefore, the correlation between LLAMA implicit scores and TOEFL scores is considered low.

Stages of Acquisition and the P/E Model of Working Memory: Complementary or contrasting approaches to foreign language aptitude?

AbstractThis paper explores the roles of both working memory (WM) and more traditional aptitude components, such as input processing and language analytic ability in the context of foreign language learning aptitude. More specifically, the paper compares two current perspectives on language aptitude: the Stages Approach (Skehan, 2016, 2019) and the P/E Model (Wen, 2016, 2019). Input processing and noticing, pattern identification and complexification, and feedback are examined as they relate to both perspectives and are then used to discuss existing aptitude testing, recent research, and broader theoretical issues. It is argued that WM and language aptitude play different but complementary roles at each of these stages, reflecting the various linguistic and psycholinguistic processes that are most prominent in other aspects of language learning. Overall, though both perspectives posit that WM and language aptitude have equal importance at the input processing stage, they exert greater influence at each of the remaining stages. More traditional views of aptitude dominate at the pattern identification and complexification stage and WM with the feedback stage.