Individual Learner Differences and Second Language Acquisition

Individual Learner Differences and Second Language Acquisition

1. Aptitude

   • Tests like TOEFL, IELTS
     • Evaluates if the person is capable of learning a S.L
   • Aptitude is based on:
     • Phonemic coding ability
     • Grammatical sensitivity
     • Inductive language learning ability
     • Memory and learning

2. Sex

   • women: greater integrative motivation and positive attitude.
     • learning/social strategies
   • Males have greater auditory vocabulary.

3. Age

   • Critical period and sensitive period
     • The C.P helps to learn a new language
     • The S.P optimizes the acquisition of an S.L
   • Physiological changes cause the brain to lose its plasticity
     • Fluency, pronunciation
       • learning success

4. Motivation

   • The most plausible reasons of success a SLA
     • Effort + desire to achieve goal + attitudes
   • Integrative
     • Social reasons.
   • Instrumental
     • Obtain benefits

5. Learning styles

   • Is the way in which a person prefers to learn an S.L.
     • Concrete learning style
     • Analytical learning style
     • Communicative learning style
     • Authority-oriented learning style
     • Field Independent Field Dependent style
       • rational, logical and mathematical learning.
       • visual and emotional learning.

6. Learning strategies

   • Strategies are the tools for active, self-directed involvement needed for developing L2 communicative ability.
     • Cognitive strategies
       • manipulates the input
       • Metacognitive strategies
         • preparation for learning.
         • Estrategias sociales y afectivas
           • interact and control

7. Personality

   • Variety and Comfort
   • Extroversion vs. introversion
     • Self esteem
       • Inhibition
         • Risk-taking
           • Anxiety
             • feeling of worry about exposure or learning.
           • fear of exposure
         • language ego
       • personal judgment and confidence
     • group learning. self-learning