Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T07:51:40.207Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

18 - Epilogue

The Nature and Measurement of Language Aptitude: What Are Some Important Questions?

from Part V - Final Commentaries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 May 2023

By
Michael F. Bunting
Edited by
Zhisheng (Edward) Wen ,
Peter Skehan  and
Richard L. Sparks
Zhisheng (Edward) Wen
Affiliation:
Hong Kong Shue Yan University
Peter Skehan
Affiliation:
Institute of Education, University of London
Richard L. Sparks
Affiliation:
Mount St Joseph University
Get access

Summary

The editors of this volume have issued a full-throated call for a paradigm shift in language aptitude research from its predominant focus on test construction for the purpose of predicting success to theory construction that would enable diagnosis and explanation of second language learning processes and outcomes, as well as tailored teaching of foreign languages. The paradigm shift called for is, indeed, timely and of paramount importance. This epilogue revisits the origins of foreign language aptitude testing and the intended purposes of the original language aptitude batteries, especially the MLAT. The approach in this epilogue is to introduce and discuss questions that are key to the paradigm shift from the Carroll era of test construction to contemporary efforts to develop a comprehensive theory of language learning. Overall, it argues that individual chapters of this volume have contributed to demonstrating how the potential links between language aptitude testers and language teachers (the practitioners) can be built through joint efforts to illuminate the underlying processes and outcomes of foreign/second language learning.

Keywords

language aptitude theoryaptitude testMLATHi-LABATIsecond language acquisitionfactor analysis
Type
Chapter
Information
Language Aptitude Theory and Practice , pp. 468 - 490
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abrahamsson, N., & Smeds, H. (Chapter 8, this volume). Is language aptitude immune to experience? Divergent evidence from bilingualism vs. blindness. In Wen, Z., Skehan, P., & Sparks, R. (eds.), Language Aptitude Theory and Practice. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Ackerman, P. L. (1996). A theory of adult intellectual development: Process, personality, interests, and knowledge. Intelligence, 22(2), 227–257. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0160-2896(96)90016-1Google Scholar
Ackerman, P. L. (2018). Intelligence‑as‑process, personality, interests, and intelligence‑as‑knowledge: A framework for adult intellectual development. In Flanagan, D. P. & McDonough, E. M. (eds.), Contemporary Intellectual Assessment: Theories, Tests, and Issues (pp. 225–241). The Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Ackerman, P. L., & Heggestad, E. D. (1997). Intelligence, personality, and interests: Evidence for overlapping traits. Psychological Bulletin, 121(2), 219–245. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.121.2.219Google Scholar
ACTFL. (2012). ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines 2012. ACTFL. https://www.actfl.org/resources/actfl-proficiency-guidelines-2012.Google Scholar
ALPAC. (1966). Language and Machines – Computers in Translation and Linguistics: A Report by the Automatic Language Processing Advisory Committee. Retrieved October 1, 2021, from www.nap.edu/read/9547/chapter/1Google Scholar
Bacon, S. M. C., & Finnemann, M. D. (1992). Sex differences in self-reported beliefs about foreign-language learning and authentic oral and written input. Language Learning, 42(4), 471–495. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1992.tb01041.x.Google Scholar
Beaujean, A. A. (2015). John Carroll’s views on intelligence: Bi-factor vs. higher-order models. Journal of Intelligence, 3(4), 121–136. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence3040121CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Binet, A., & Simon, T. (1916). The Intelligence of the Feeble-Minded, translated by Kite, E. S.. Williams & Wilkins Co. https://doi.org/10.1037/11070-000Google Scholar
Bokander, L. (Chapter 5, this volume). Exploring the predictive validity of the LLAMA language aptitude tests: A research synthesis. In Wen, Z., Skehan, P., & Sparks, R. (eds.), Language Aptitude Theory and Practice. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Bokander, L., & Bylund, E. (2019). Probing the internal validity of the LLAMA language aptitude tests. Language Learning, 70(1), 11–47. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12368Google Scholar
Burgoyne, A. P., & Engle, R. W. (2020). Attention control: A cornerstone of higher-order cognition. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 29(6), 624–630. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721420969371Google Scholar
Burman, D. D., Bitan, T., & Booth, J. R. (2008). Sex differences in neural processing of language among children. Neuropsychologia, 46(5), 1349–1362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2007.12.021.Google Scholar
Cambridge University Press. (2018). How long does it take to learn a foreign language? www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/How-long-does-it-take-to-learn-a-foreign-language.pdf.Google Scholar
Carlstedt, B. (2010). Differentiation of cognitive abilities as a function of level of general intelligence: A latent variable approach. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 36(4), 589–609. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327906MBR3604_05Google Scholar
Carroll, J. B. (1962). The prediction of success in intensive foreign language training. In Glaser, R. (ed.), Training Research and Education. Wiley, pp. 87–136. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED038051Google Scholar
Carroll, J. B. (1981). Twenty-five years of research on foreign language aptitude. In Diller, K. C. (ed.), Individual Differences and Universals in language Learning Aptitude. Newbury House, pp. 83–118.Google Scholar
Carroll, J. B. (1990). Cognitive abilities in foreign language aptitude: Then and now. In Parry, T. S. & Stansfield, C. W. (eds.), Language Aptitude Reconsidered. Center for Applied Linguistics, pp. 11–29.Google Scholar
Carroll, J. B. (1993). Human Cognitive Abilities: A Survey of factor-Analytic Studies Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511571312Google Scholar
Carroll, J. B. (1996). A three-stratum theory of intelligence: Spearman’s Contribution. In Dennis, I. & Tapsfield, P. (eds.), Human Abilities: Their Nature and Measurement. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., pp. 1–18.Google Scholar
Carroll, J. B., & Sapon, S. M. (1957). Modern Language Aptitude Test. Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Carroll, J. B., & Sapon, S. M. (1959). Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT). Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Chomsky, N. (1957). Syntactic Structures. Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Cook, V. (2016). Second Language Learning and Language Teaching, 5th Edition. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315883113.Google Scholar
Cronbach, L. J. (1957). The two disciplines of scientific psychology. American Psychologist, 12 , 671–684. https://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Cronbach/Disciplines/CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cummins, J. (1979). Linguistic interdependence and the educational development of bilingual children. Review of Educational Research, 49(2), 222–251. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543049002222Google Scholar
Daniel, M. H. (1997). Intelligence testing: Status and trends. American Psychologist, 52(10), 1038–1045. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.52.10.1038Google Scholar
Dionne, G., Dale, P. S., Boivin, M., & Plomin, R. (2003). Genetic Evidence for bidirectional effects of early lexical and grammatical development. Child Development, 74 (2), 394–412. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.7402005.Google Scholar
Doughty, C. J. (2019). Cognitive language aptitude. Language Learning, 69(S1), 101–126. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12322.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ehrman, M. E., & Oxford, R. L. (1995). Cognition plus: Correlates of language learning success. The Modern Language Journal, 79(1), 67–89. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1995.tb05417.xGoogle Scholar
Greenwood, D. J., & Levin, M. (1998). Introduction to action Research: Social Research for Social Change. Sage.Google Scholar
Gregersen, T., & Mercer, S. (2022). The Routledge Handbook of Psychology of Language Learning and Teaching. Routledge.Google Scholar
Grigorenko, E. L., Sternberg, R. J., & Ehrman, M. E. (2000). A Theory-based approach to the measurement of foreign language learning ability: The CANAL-F theory and test. The Modern Language Journal, 84(3), 390–405. https://doi.org/10.1111/0026-7902.00076Google Scholar
Gustafsson, J.-E. (1999). Measuring and understanding G: Experimental and correlational approaches. In Ackerman, P. L., Kyllonen, P. C., & Roberts, R. D. (eds.), Learning and Individual Differences: Process, Trait, and Content Determinants. American Psychological Association, pp. 275–291. https://doi.org/10.1037/10315-012Google Scholar
Han, L., Wen, Z., Lin, Z. & Li, W. (Chapter 13, this volume). An aptitude model for translation and interpreting: Insights from translanguaging theory. In Wen, Z., Skehan, P., & Sparks, R. (eds.), Language Aptitude Theory and Practice. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Hellman, A. B. (2011). Vocabulary size and depth of word knowledge in adult-onset second language acquisition. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 21 (2), 162–182. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1473-4192.2010.00265.x.Google Scholar
Henriksen, B. (1999). Three dimensions of vocabulary development. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 21(2), 303–317. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263199002089.Google Scholar
Hulstijn, J. H. (2015). Language Proficiency in Native and Non-Native Speakers: Theory and Research. John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Hunt, E. (1999). Intelligence and human resources: Past, present, and future. In Ackerman, P. L., Kyllonen, P. C., & Roberts, R. D. (eds.), Learning and Individual Differences: Process, Trait, and Content Determinants. American Psychological Association, pp. 3–30. https://doi.org/10.1037/10315-001Google Scholar
Jackson, D. & Maie, R. (Chapter 16, this volume,). Implicit statistical learning and second language outcomes: A Bayesian meta-analysis. In Wen, Z., Skehan, P., & Sparks, R. (eds.), Language Aptitude Theory and Practice. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Javadi-Safa, A. (2018). An overview of cross-linguistic influence in language learning. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, 5(3), 186–203.Google Scholar
Kyllonen, P. C., & Christal, R. E. (1990). Reasoning ability is (little more than) working-memory capacity?! Intelligence, 14(4), 389–433. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0160-2896(05)80012-1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lambelet, A. (Chapter 7, this volume). Testing language aptitude for recently arrived parent–child immigrant dyads. In Wen, Z., Skehan, P., & Sparks, R. (eds.), Language Aptitude Theory and Practice. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Language Learning and Testing Foundation (2021). Modern Language Aptitude Test. https://lltf.net/aptitude-tests/language-aptitude-tests/modern-language-aptitude-test-2/Google Scholar
Li, S. (2015). The associations between language aptitude and second language grammar acquisition: A meta-analytic review of five decades of research. Applied Linguistics, 36(3), 385–408.Google Scholar
Mercer, S., Ryan, S., & Williams, M. (2012). Psychology for Language Learning: Insights from Research, Theory and Practice. Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Michaud, G., & Ammar, A. (Chapter 14, this volume). Language aptitude and timing of form-focused instruction in TBLT. In Wen, Z., Skehan, P., & Sparks, R. (eds.), Language Aptitude Theory and Practice. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Miller, G. A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review, 63(2), 81–97. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0043158Google Scholar
Milton, J. (2009). Measuring Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition. Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847692092.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miyake, A., Friedman, N. P., Emerson, M. J., et al. (2000). The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex “frontal lobe” tasks: A latent variable analysis. Cognitive Psychology, 41(1), 49–100. https://doi.org/10.1006/cogp.1999.0734Google Scholar
Nakata, Y. (2006). Motivation and Experience in Foreign Language Learning. Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Nation, P. (2013). Vocabulary acquisition in second language acquisition. In Chapelle, C. A. (ed.), The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics. Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal1265.Google Scholar
Ortega, L. (2019). SLA and the study of equitable multilingualism. The Modern Language Journal, 103(S1), 23–38. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12525Google Scholar
Pimsleur, P., Reed, D. J., & Stansfield, C. W. (2004). Pimsleur Language Aptitude Battery: Manual, 2004 Edition. Language Learning and Testing Foundation.Google Scholar
Repov, G., & Baddeley, A. (2006). The multi-component model of working memory: Explorations in experimental cognitive psychology. Neuroscience, 139(1), 5–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2005.12.061Google Scholar
Robinson, P. (2005). Aptitude and second language acquisition. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 25, 46–73.Google Scholar
Robinson, P. (2013). Individual differences, aptitude complexes, SLA processes, and aptitude test development. In Pawlak, M. (ed.), New Perspectives on Individual Differences in Language Learning and Teaching. Springer-Verlag, 57–75.Google Scholar
Rogers, V., Meara, P., & Rogers, B. (Chapter 3, this volume). Testing language aptitude: LLAMA evolution and refinement. In Wen, Z., Skehan, P., & Sparks, R. (eds.), Language Aptitude Theory and Practice. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Singleton, D. (2017). Language aptitude: Desirable trait or acquirable attribute? Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 7(1), 89–103.Google Scholar
Skehan, P. (Chapter 9, this volume). Testing language aptitude: Reanalysis of batteries and constructs. In Wen, Z., Skehan, P., & Sparks, R. (eds.), Language Aptitude Theory and Practice. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Sparks, R. L. (Chapter 11, this volume). The Linguistic Coding Differences Hypothesis (LCDH) and L2 learning: A thirty-year retrospective. In Wen, Z., Skehan, P., & Sparks, R. (eds.), Language Aptitude Theory and Practice. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Sparks, R. L. (2012). Individual differences in L2 learning and long-term L1–L2 relationships. Language Learning, 62(2), 5–27. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2012.00704.xGoogle Scholar
Sparks, R. L., Artzer, M., Ganschow, , L., et al. (1998). Differences in native-language skills, foreign-language aptitude, and foreign-language grades among high-, average-, and low-proficiency foreign-language learners: Two studies. Language Testing, 15(2), 181–216.Google Scholar
Sparks, R. L., & Ganschow, , L. (1993). The effects of a multisensory structured language approach on the native and foreign language aptitude skills of at-risk learners: A replication and follow-up study. Annals of Dyslexia, 43, 194–216.Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J. (2013). Intelligence. In Freedheim, D. K. & Weiner, I. B. (eds.), Handbook of Psychology: History of Psychology. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., pp. 155–176.Google Scholar
Stansfield, C. W., & Reed, D. J. (2004). The story behind the Modern Language Aptitude Test: An interview with John B. Carroll (1916–2003). Language Assessment Quarterly, 1(1), 43–56.Google Scholar
Stansfield, C. W., & Reed, D. J. (2019). The MLAT at 60 Years. In Wen, E., Skehan, P., Biedroń, A., Li, S., & Sparks, R. (eds.), Language Aptitude: Advancing Theory, Testing, Research and Practice. Routledge, pp. 15–32.Google Scholar
Suzuki, Y., DeKeyser, R., & Huang, Y. T. (Chapter 15, this volume). Implicit (not explicit) learning aptitude predicts the acquisition of difficult (not easy) structure: A visual-world eye-tracking study. In Wen, Z., Skehan, P., & Sparks, R. (eds.), Language Aptitude Theory and Practice. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Thorndike, R. M. (1997). The early history of intelligence testing. In Flanagan, D. P., Genshaft, J. L., & Harrison, P. L. (eds.), Contemporary Intellectual Assessment: Theories, Tests, and Issues. The Guilford Press, pp. 3–16.Google Scholar
Three-Stratum Theory. (2021, October 25). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-stratum_theoryGoogle Scholar
UW–Madison Languages. (2021). Proficiency. UW–Madison Languages. https://languages.wisc.edu.Google Scholar
Wen, Z., Biedroń, A., & Skehan, P.. (2017). Foreign language aptitude theory: Yesterday, today and tomorrow. Language Teaching, 50(1), 1–31. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444816000276Google Scholar
Wen, Z., Biedroń, A., Skehan, P., Li, S., & Sparks, R. (Eds.) (2019). Language Aptitude: Advancing Theory, Testing, Research and Practice. Routledge.Google Scholar
Wen, Z., & Skehan, P. (2021). Stages of acquisition and the P/E model of working memory: Complementary or contrasting approaches to foreign language aptitude? Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 41 , 6–24. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190521000015Google Scholar
Wen, Z., Skehan, P., & Sparks, R. (Chapter 1, this volume). Language Aptitude Theory and Practice. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Wen, Z., Sparks, R., Biedroń, A., & Teng, F. (2023). Cognitive individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition. Mouton de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Wittmann, W. W., & Süß, H.-M. (1999). Investigating the paths between working memory, intelligence, knowledge, and complex problem-solving performances via Brunswik symmetry. In Ackerman, P. L., Kyllonen, P. C., & Roberts, R. D. (eds.), Learning and Individual Differences: Process, Trait, and Content Determinants. American Psychological Association, pp. 77–108. https://doi.org/10.1037/10315-004Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×