Language Aptitude Battery Research Articles

“Foreign” language aptitude predicts individual differences in native grammatical proficiency

AbstractLanguage aptitude is known to be a strong predictor of success in late second-language (L2) learning in instructional settings but is generally assumed to be irrelevant for native language (L1) acquisition. We investigated the relationship between language aptitude and L1 grammatical proficiency in the two studies reported here. Language aptitude was measured by means of a newly-developed test of grammatical sensitivity (Studies 1 and 2) and the Language Analysis subtest of the Pimsleur Language Aptitude Battery (Study 1), whereas grammatical proficiency was assessed by a grammaticality judgment task in Study 1 and a picture selection task in Study 2. The results of the two studies reveal a robust relationship between language aptitude and L1 grammatical proficiency that is remarkably consistent across different measures for both variables and appears to hold across the board for a variety of grammatical structures. These results fit well with the proposal that explicit learning may play an important role not only in adult L2 learning but also in L1 acquisition and raises questions about the validity of arguments for a fundamental difference between L1 and L2 acquisition based on the premise that only the latter is related to aptitude.

Effects of written languaging on second language learning: Mediating roles of aptitude

AbstractLanguaging—that is, using language to mediate thinking, orally or in writing—facilitates second language (L2) learning. As languaging requires the deliberate, analytical action of L2 learners, learners with higher language aptitude are likely to benefit more from languaging than those with lower aptitude. Thus, this study investigated the extent to which language aptitude mediates the effects of written languaging (WL) on L2 learning. Pre‐intermediate Japanese university students were assigned to +WL or −WL groups. The +WL group was instructed to compare their composition with the model text and explain, in writing, the use of articles (i.e., WL). In contrast, the −WL group copied the model 3 times. Examination of the association between the scores on aptitude tests (i.e., LLAMA, Language Aptitude Battery for Japanese, and Modern Language Aptitude Test) and the gain scores on assessment tests (pre‐, post‐, and delayed posttests) revealed that half of the correlations were significant for the 2 test types in the −WL group. However, no such correlations were found in the +WL group. Thus, WL might have benefitted the +WL participants by facilitating their noticing and reflecting on the linguistic issues, regardless of their aptitude profiles. We argue that WL may be a more influential factor than aptitude.

IMPLICITNESS AND EXPLICITNESS IN COGNITIVE ABILITIES AND CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK

AbstractThis aptitude–treatment interaction study investigated the extent to which explicit and implicit cognitive abilities are differentially related to learning outcomes under two corrective feedback conditions. One hundred and thirteen intermediate English learners of Spanish were randomly assigned to an implicit feedback (recast), explicit feedback (explicit correction), or control group after completing tests from two aptitude batteries (High-Level Language Aptitude Battery [Hi-LAB] and LLAMA). Linguistic improvement on noun-adjective gender agreement and Differential Object Marking was assessed using grammaticality judgment and oral production tasks. Results showed that implicit but not explicit abilities were relevant for the acquisition of gender agreement under implicit feedback as measured by grammaticality judgments. In contrast, explicit but not implicit abilities were relevant for the acquisition of object marking under explicit feedback as measured by oral production. These results lent support to a double dissociation, but they also suggested higher-order interaction effects between the type of cognitive ability, outcome measure, and target structure.

Cognitive Language Aptitude

AbstractAfter discussing key issues in the aptitude literature and presenting an updated, multicomponential model of cognitive language aptitude, we consider two analyses from a longitudinal investigation using aptitude to predict success in language learning. Aptitude is conceptualized as a special talent for learning languages and a ceiling on success. In other words, for any given person, when motivation is high, personality facets are aligned, and the learning context is excellent, differences in aptitude determine ultimate attainment. Findings show that the full Modern Language Aptitude Test and the full High‐Level Language Aptitude Battery each predicted adult language learning success outcomes. In addition, different combinations of components drawn from these two (by design) complementary aptitude batteries predicted different aspects of basic and advanced proficiency and did so above and beyond nonaptitude variables, such as childhood exposure, previous language learning, age at the time of training, level of education, and enjoyment.

Corrective Feedback and the Role of Implicit Sequence‐Learning Ability in L2 Online Performance

AbstractThis study investigated the relative effectiveness of two instructional interventions (implicit and explicit feedback) as a function of implicit sequence‐learning ability. Second language (L2) attainment was measured by means of a self‐paced reading task, which shows online sensitivity to language errors. Implicit sequence‐learning ability was measured by means of the serial reaction time task from the High‐Level Language Aptitude Battery. Two Spanish target structures were investigated (gender agreement and differential object marking). The results showed that neither explicit nor implicit feedback had an effect on L2 learners’ grammatical sensitivity to the target structures and, therefore, that feedback was not effective in changing L2 learning outcomes, as measured through an online processing measure. The results also showed a significant relationship between implicit sequence‐learning ability and sensitivity to feminine gender agreement on the posttest, after controlling for pretest scores, but only in the implicit feedback group.

A diplomatic advantage? The effects of bilingualism and formal language training on language aptitude amongst Australian diplomatic officers

This study sought to contribute to the growing literature on third and subsequent language learning by establishing whether bilingualism has an effect on ability to learn a subsequent language, as indicated by a measure of language aptitude, the Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB). Test results were obtained for 142 diplomatic officers in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The officers’ language biographies were elicited using an online questionnaire and were used to classify them as monolingual or bilingual, and with or without experience of formal language training. Results showed that bilinguals performed better on the aptitude test than monolinguals, as did those with prior formal training. This suggests that bilinguals’ metalinguistic awareness, and likelihood of success in subsequent language learning, is higher than that of monolinguals, at least as measured by the DLAB.

Usability testing the Afghan Language Aptitude Battery: Evaluating Cognitive Tests for Non-Traditional Populations

We present two closely-related approaches to product evaluation in less-commonly taught languages with native speaker informants and test participants. The Afghan Language Aptitude Battery (ALAB) was designed to be used to identify promising Afghan candidates for English language instruction before they started training in Afghanistan. In evaluating the battery, however, we were limited to testing in the United States. We asked Afghan service members who were already enrolled in language courses to act as usability participants and solicited their input on the design of the tests, the quality of the translations, and on the battery’s suitability for use in Afghanistan. Our testing found that the students were able to accomplish the tests, though the elements were unfamiliar, but that the instructions required extensive revisions in order to make them understandable to a less-educated audience in Afghanistan. The difference in the outcomes of our two evaluations suggests that translation evaluation should be done separately from test evaluation.

SECOND LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY, FOREIGN LANGUAGE APTITUDE, AND INTELLIGENCE: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE ANALYSES.Miyuki Sasaki. New York: Peter Lang, 1996. Pp. xii + 155. $40.95 cloth.

There are few in-depth studies that have attempted to explore the complex relationships among second language proficiency, foreign language aptitude, and intelligence. Information on such studies is usually found only in unpublished dissertations or in greatly reduced form in journal articles. This text is a rare example of a full-length report of such a study. Based on data from 160 EFL students in Japan, the researcher employed an extensive array of analytical procedures relating performance on English language proficiency measures with performance on a three-part aptitude battery and an intelligence measure. The proficiency measures included multiple-choice tests of grammar, cohesion, vocabulary, listening, and reading using short and long texts as well as a cloze and a free composition. The foreign language aptitude battery was a Japanese version of a test modeled after the short version of the Modern Language Aptitude Test. The measures of verbal intelligence and reasoning came from an existing Kyoto University test with 12 subtests.

Relationships Among Second Language Proficiency, Foreign Language Aptitude, and Intelligence: A Protocol Analysis

The present protocol analysis supplements Sasaki's(1993) study, which used structural equation modeling to investigate the relationships among measures of second language proficiency (SLP), foreign language aptitude, and two types of intelligence (verbal intelligence and reasoning). In the present study, 6 participants randomly selected from the same subject pool took different types of SLP tests, a foreign language aptitude battery, and an intelligence test. The researcher attempted (a) to test Bachman and Palmer's (1982) hypothesis that a general SLP factor is related to the amount of information processing required for solving a given item, (b) to compare cognitive processes and strategies employed for different types of aptitude/intelligence tests, and (c) to compare the quality and quantity of test‐taking processes employed by students with different levels of SLP.The results provided important information not captured in the previous product‐oriented psychometric study (Sasaki, 1993). First, Bachman and Palmer's (1982) hypothesis only partly supported the data. The size of the general second language proficiency (SLP) factor effect on test scores did not completely correspond to the amount of information processing required by these tests. Second, the protocol analysis helped to check the validity of the tests. Most of the tests appeared to measure what they were supposed to measure. Lastly, the results revealed differences in information processing between the high and low SLP groups. The high SLP group differed from the low SLP group in assessment, planning, and execution of problem solving processes.

Relation of Cognitive Aptitudes to Success in Foreign Language Training

The incremental validity of specific cognitive aptitudes beyond general cognitive ability have been small. This research examined the validity of a specific aptitude test, the Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB), in the domain of basic foreign language learning. Successful com\letion of training and end-of-training proficiency were measured for 5,673 military students. For all training outcomes, the DLAB contributed significant incremental validity beyond general aptitude (g) and beyond the Armed Services Voca- tional Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), a general trainability measure. These findings were discussed in the framework of Cattell's (1963) fluid and crystallized intelligence and Hunter's (1983) findings in regard to the domi- nance of general cognitive ability.

The Pimsleur Battery as a Predictor of Student Performance

University High School (University of Illinois, Urbana) have administered the Pimsleur Language Aptitude Battery to incoming subfreshmen, a combined 7th-8th grade class of uniformly high-aptitude students.' The Pimsleur Battery is used to assist in diagnoses of student learning difficulties in foreign languages. The battery consists of six parts: 1) estimated previous grade point average in all major subjects; 2) foreign language interest indicator; 3) English vocabulary subtest; 4) language structure subtest; 5) sound discrimination subtest; 6) soundsymbol discrimination subtest. A thorough validation of the Pimsleur Battery with foreign language students in public schools was published with the Battery itself.2 We have undertaken an analysis of our student Pimsleur Battery test results in order to look for differences between

The Development of the Defense Language Aptitude Battery (Dlab

The purpose of this research was to develop and to validate a language aptitude battery for use by the Defense Language Institute (DLI) which offers training in over 50 foreign languages. Predictor and criterion measures were collected on DLI students in 12 languages. Items were selected and grouped through canonical factor analysis of an experimental item pool. Validity was established through prediction of grades. These validities were then compared with those of other tests and predictor variables. The results were that the new battery (DLAB) did produce consistently higher validities than did other predictors. Although differential prediction by language was also investigated, evidence that it can be achieved was not found in this study.

A Four‐Year Study of Foreign Language Aptitude at the High School Level

ABSTRACT Correlations of scores on the Modern Language Aptitude Test and the Pimsleur Language Aptitude Battery with FL course marks provided evidence that the tests are best suited to predicting the potential initial rate of FL learning. Attrition, grouping, and self‐selection were among factors which reduced predictive power in advanced FL courses by narrowing the range of variability in aptitude and course marks. The testing of three hypotheses revealed that (1) the French students achieved higher aptitude scores and course marks than the Spanish students, (2) achievement of aptitude test scores was not influenced by prior FL study, and (3) the girls were superior to the boys in aptitude and achievement at all levels. The improvement of long‐term prediction depends on refinement of objectives, increased precision in defining and measuring FL proficiency, and a continuing reassessment of conceptual relationships. The improvement of instruction should be supported by broader diagnostic use of aptitude measurement as a basis for course differentiation and remedial training. Where circumstances permit, consideration should be given to grouping by sex, especially at the first level.

Can Aptitude for German Be Predicted?

Most teachers would be glad to know at the beginning of the year what grades the students seated in front of them were going to get at the end. That tall boy: will he be my brightest student, or a troublemaking failure? Which of these kids, whose names I don't yet know by heart (though I soon will), will be the good learners who make my year worthwhile? Which the depressing laggards? If teachers knew these things, they could take steps accordingly: prepare enrichment for the best students and remedial work for the poorest, perhaps exchange some students with another teacher. They could avoid some of the discouragement and frustration that misplaced students inevitably cause. The way classes are chosen at present, by accidental assignment, the teacher doesn't find out about his students until too much of the school year has passed for any changes to be made. Is it utopian to think we can know, before he starts, how well a student will learn German? Yes, it is unrealistic to expect to know precisely what grade each student will get a year hence. But it is quite within reason to expect some clues, like this student will probably be good, that one probably fair, and that one probably poor. There is a test which does this. Here is how it was used in three schools during the 1965-66 school year.1 At the beginning of the school year, the Pimsleur Language Aptitude Battery was given to all ninth graders about to begin German: 122 of them. The aptitude scores were not disclosed to the teachers, who proceeded to teach first-year German as they normally do. At the end of the year, the final grades were collected. The point was to match the aptitude scores against the final grades. Of the 122 students who started, 113 were left at the end; their aptitude scores and final grades are shown in Table 1. How well did the aptitude test predict the students' final grades? The table shows that the students who got the highest aptitude scores (stanine 9, 8, and 7) also got high grades in German; mainly A's and B's. Those who got the lowest aptitude scores (stanine 1, 2, and 3) got poor or failing grades in German; there were no A's among them, and only one B. The middle aptitude