Hi Everyone (esp. colleagues working in the fields of Foreign language education and second language acquisition research),I am posting here two questions here from Prof. Richard Sparks (Mount St Joseph University) about the research traditions for Individual Differences in language learning.First, does anyone know of a recent book or comprehensive literature review on the topic of Individual Differences (IDs) in language learning. I have the books or reviews by Ellis (2003), Dornyei (2005), Dornyei and Skehan (2003), Robinson (2002), as well as several others. But when searching the literature, I have not yet found anything more recent, say after 2009-10. I have the book from the 2011 conference in the Netherlands, our chapters from our recent conference in Macau (Wen, Skehan, Biedron, Li & Sparks, 2018), and Hulstijn's book. The latter three books focus mostly on language aptitude and language variables. Do you know of something that has been published recently?
Second, in my work, I move back and forth between reading foreign language education research in the states and SLA research. The former research discusses language variables in L2 learning but also focuses extensively on affective and social variables (motivation, anxiety, learning strategies, learning styles, learner beliefs, etc.). In fact, the foreign language education research here does not focus heavily on language aptitude and language variables as explanations for IDs in L2 learning. However, SLA research appears to focus more on aptitude and cognitive variables for IDs in L2 learning. Is this a fair characterization of these two different fields of inquiry (SLA vs. FL education)? If so, is it fair to speculate that SLA research has "moved on" from affective and social variables as primary areas of interest in L2 learning and instead the field is focusing more (albeit not exclusively) on language aptitude and other cognitive (e.g., working memory) variables? Since I also write and focus heavily on L1 research and am an "outsider" in L2, I want to confirm whether my reading of the literature is accurate or whether I am just being selective in my reading.
Any assistance that you can provide would be much appreciated.
Thank you,
Richard
Richard Sparks
Mount St Joseph University
hi, individual differences can manifest themselves in SLA contexts. when there is more exposure to language acquisition, language users are more exposed to comprehensible input fostering their engagement. in this context, language users can show their individual differences and researchers can study them by direct observation. in EFL context, students do not have enough opportunities to show their personal traits and individual differences due to the initiation, response and feedback or followup patterns in English classes. therefore, researchers should design some indirect ways of researching like interviews ,questionnaires and self-reporting. best
https://www.palgrave.com/de/book/9783642208492
Second Language Learning and Teaching
Free Preview📷© 2012
New Perspectives on Individual Differences in Language Learning and Teaching
Editors: Pawlak, Mirosław (Ed.)
Granena, G., Jackson, D.O., & Yilmaz, Y. (Eds.). (2016). Cognitive individual differences in second language processing and acquisition. Amsterdam, Netherlands: John Benjamins.
https://benjamins.com/catalog/bpa.3
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