Individual Differences in Second Language Learning

Research
1. How?
  1. Tests
    1. Correlated results
      1. Requires careful interpretation
2. Why?
  1. Understanding how these characteristics interact with each other and how they affect learners' experiences
  2. "Better understanding of human learning" (Patsy & Spada, 2013)
  3. Helping learners
Intelligence
1. More associated with metalinguistic knowledge
  1. Maybe more useful when learning grammar
Language Learning Aptitude
1. Ability to learn quickly (Carroll, 1991)
2. Memorising new sounds and words, understanding functions, grammar rules
  1. Working memory
    1. Cognitive approach
Learning Styles
1. Preferred way of learning
2. Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic, etc
3. More research is nedded
Personality
1. Extroversion, Inhibition, Anxious learner, Willingness to communicate, etc
2. Inconclusive and often contradictory results
Attitudes and Motivation
1. More than success in the learning process, it produces perseverance
Motivation in the classroom
1. Teachers' role in the learning process
Identity and Ethnic Group Affiliation
1. Social dynamics and power relations
2. How learners are perceived by native speakers, and how they perceive themselves inside the community
Learner Beliefs
1. Learners' opinion on how their instruction should be delivered
Age
1. Critical Period Hypothesis
2. Child learners seem to be more successful in the second or foreign language, however, older learners seem to be more efficient

Resource summary

	Created by Katerinne A. Figueroa Aranzaes about 4 years ago