Dear Dr. Reid,

First of all we need to define giftedness. This is a difficult concept in and of itself. 

Nevertheless, if we define giftedness as scoring above a certain IQ score on a particular IQ scale, we can also look at this problem by looking at the EFL abilities of students that score lower on an IQ test.

People with a wide spectrum of IQ levels can learn a foreign language and learn it well. Giftedness, though, seems to provide an advantadge. Bear in mind that there is a difference between gifted and talented. Gifted means an overall higher performace, while talent means that a certain area (for instance, mathematical reasoning) is specially above average, while the others might be within the expected average performance.

I am attaching some articles that might help you on your research, but this exact question has not been answered in a final way in any of the research that I have found so far.

Best regards,

Fiorella

http://www.academicjournals.org/article/article1379602913_Okan%20and%20Ispinar.pdf

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1944-9720.1982.tb00959.x/abstract

http://tip.duke.edu/node/646

http://www.down-syndrome.org/practice/197/

http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-20850-8_21#page-1

http://cehhs.utk.edu/files/2013/08/IE2012Fall-FINAL.pdf#page=85

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3203549/

Born to Learn: Language, Reading, and the Brain of the Child

Dr. Patricia K. Kuhl

Child prodigy: A novel cognitive profile places elevated general intelligence,

exceptional working memory and attention to detail at the root

of prodigiousness

Joanne Ruthsatz a,

⁎, Jourdan B. Urbach b

The Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence;Joseph F. Fagan, III, Ph.D.

Leffingwell Professor

Department of Psychology

Case Western Reserve University

Cleveland, Ohio 44106-7123 

You might want to look at this. DeKeyser worked on the idea that as an adult learning a second language well required superior abilities.

http://www.atsweb.neu.edu/hlittlefield/CourseDocs/Acq/DeKeyser-2000.pdf

Dear Eva:

This is an interesting question especially since learning to speak a foreign language is a oral process while reading it  well is verbal or written (Marshall McLuhan, Walter, Ong, et al).   The Fiortta's thread on making a distinction between talented and gifted is also well taken.  

Mike

Dear Eva,

The connection has a long history and the interconnection has been substantiated through research so much so it has become an essential part  of university admission programs. Scores  on TOEFL and IELTS  tests are powerful  predictors of students' success on academic subjects in their future education studies. Therefore, you are absolutely right in your speculation about a possible connection between intellectual giftedness and language learning and vice versa.

Best regards,

R. Biria

Dobry den!

The ability to learn a foreign language is most easily predicted by measures (tests) of language learning aptitude. The research shows that, as might be expected, language aptitude and intelligence seem to be overlapping but also independent constructs. Considering both are measured using psychometric tests, it is not that surprising that they seem to be related. However, your observations that good language learners do not have to be particularly good at other subjects, although normally they are. A key area of overlap here is verbal intelligence, which seems to measure the ability of learners to profit from instruction, ie they more readily understand the words of those instructing them, be they a teacher or textbook, etc.

I've attached some links to some seminal papers looking at the link between intelligence and language aptitude and hope they help.

Some other references worth following up are:

Dörnyei, Z. (2005). The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition. Lawrence Erlbaum.

Sasaki, M. (1996). Second language proficiency, foreign language aptitude, and Intelligence: Quantitative and qualitative analyses. New York: Peter Lang.

Sternberg, R. J. (2002). The theory of successful intelligence and its implications for language-aptitude testing. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Individual differences and instructed language learning (pp. 13–43). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Hope that helps!

PS Say hi to Profesorka Hartanska for me! 

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=2731196

http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1965-15290-001

Some people still believe that speaking foreign languages is for geniuses. 

Or for little children, because they have a special talent for learning languages fast.

Children have a lot of curiosity. And they're not worried about making mistakes.If they don't get it right the first time, they just repeat it as many times as necessary. They don't give up. 

When we arrive on this planet, we're naturally equipped with a lot of curiosity and abundant  motivation to learn. And to explore the unknown. 

For a number of reasons, most people seem to have decided, too early, that these essential traits have an expiration date.  And so, they don't allow the child inside to have a voice.

I have always believed that curiosity is the most valuable human asset.

And that we all preserve part of it, no matter how old we are.

I still keep more than my share. And it shows no sign of fading.

It's my curiosity that ignites me to new journeys in the quest for knowledge.

Have you ever tried to let your curiosity drive you when learning a new skill ? 

Believe me, it’s worth trying.

Since I was a teenager, have always worked by myself, extensively and intensively, to advance my proficiency of each language that I learned. 

Out of necessity and enjoyment. In equal measure.

I believe that there’s no experience more rewarding than learning to communicate with people from a different country, in their language. 

It’s like opening a Christmas gift package that keeps unfolding forever, with new and surprising gems of precious knowledge. 

Every day comes with new flavors, tastes and perspectives of what the World has to offer. 

This is all possible, If only we let our natural curiosity lead the way. And when we learn to forgive ourselves for the little mistakes that we all make, in the process of learning a foreign language.

I'm no genius, just a regular Joe and have learned to speak more than one language to full fluency. And I can say that anyone can do the same.

José do Amaral Nunes

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseamaraldujan

 Am available for Communication in English, French, German, Italian and Portuguese.

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