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Individual differences in second language learning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Fred Genesee  and
Else Hamayan
Fred Genesee*
Affiliation:
McGill University
Else Hamayan
Affiliation:
Bilingual Education Service Center, Arlington Heights, III.
*
Fred Genesee, Psychology Department, McGill University, 1205 avenue Docteur Penfield, Montréal, Québec H3A 1B1
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Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate individual differences in French language achievement in a group of grade 1 anglophone students attending a total early immersion program. A number of different predictor factors were used to predict achievement in French language arts, listening comprehension and oral production; achievement in English reading was also assessed. The predictor factors included indices of the students' attitudes, personality traits, non-verbal reasoning ability, degree of field independence and school-related behavior. Multiple regression techniques were used to analyze the associations between the predictor factors and the results of the achievement tests.

Teachers' ratings of the students' behavior along with the cognitive factors of field independence and non-verbal reasoning ability were found to be positively correlated with achievement in French language arts and listening comprehension. The cognitive factors were also found to correlate positively with achievement levels in English reading. No significant predictors emerged in the case of oral production. The findings are discussed further in terms of their pedagogical implications.

Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 1 , Issue 1 , February 1980 , pp. 95 - 110
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1980

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