CHAPTER 3. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING

Question 1

What does the following description refer to?

The term ‘_______________’ has traditionally been used to refer to performance on certain kinds of tests. These tests are often associated with success in school, and a link between intelligence and second language learning has sometimes been reported

Answer 1

Intelligence

Question 2

What does the following description refer to?

ƒA link between intelligence and SLA has been reported.

ƒSome researchers have shown that IQ scores were a good means of predicting success in SLA.
ƒHowever, IQ tests may be more strongly related to metalinguistic knowledge than to communicative ability

Answer 2

Intelligence

Question 3

What does the following description refer to?

Traditional IQ tests have assessed only a limited range of abilities.

Answer 3

Intelligence

Question 4

Complete the information

Specific abilities thought to predict success in language learning have been studied under the title of___________

Answer 4

language learning ‘aptitude’

Question 5

What does the following description refer to?

defined as an individual’s ‘natural, habitual, and preferred way(s) of absorbing, processing, and retaining new information and skills’ (Reid 1995: viii)

Answer 5

Learning styles

Question 6

What do the following items refer to?

‘visual’ learners
‘auditory’ learners
‘kinaesthetic’ learners,

Answer 6

Learning styles

Question 7

Complete the following information

A number of _____________ characteristics have been proposed as likely to affect second language learning, but it has not been easy to demonstrate their effects in empirical studies

Answer 7

personality

Question 8

What does the following description refer to?

It is often argued that an extroverted person is well suited to language learning. However, research does not always support this conclusion.

Answer 8

Extroversion

Question 9

What does the following description refer to?

It has been suggested that this characteristic discourages risk-taking, which is necessary for progress in language learning. This is often considered to be a particular problem for adolescents, who are more self-conscious than younger learners.

Answer 9

Inhibition

Question 10

What does the following description refer to?

Feelings of worry, nervousness, and stress that many students experience when learning an L2.

Answer 10

Anxiety

Question 11

What does the following description refer to?

It has also been related to anxiety. We have all experienced occasions when we have tried very hard to avoid communicating in a foreign language.

Answer 11

Willingness to Communicate

Question 12

What does the following description refer to?

It has been defined in terms of two factors: on the one hand, learners’ communicative needs, and on the other, their attitudes towards the second language community

Answer 12

Motivation

Question 13

What does the following description refer to?

refers to getting started and to setting goals

Answer 13

Choice motivation

Question 14

What does the following description refer to?

is about carrying out the necessary tasks to maintain motivation

Answer 14

motivation retrospection

Question 15

What does the following description refer to?

refers to students’ appraisal of and reaction to their performance.

Answer 15

‘motivation retrospection

Question 16

What does the following description refer to?

The motivation that is essentially practical, such as the need to learn the language in order to get a better job or read a technical material

Answer 16

Instrumental motivation

Question 17

What does the following description refer to?

Motivation for a second language learning that is based on a desire to know more about the culture and community of the target language group and even a desire to be more like members of that group.

Answer 17

Integrative motivation

Question 18

What does the following description refer to?

It refers to an individual’s motivation to perform a particular activity because of internal rewards such as joy, pleasure, the satisfaction of curiosity, feelings of competence, and self-determination.

Answer 18

Intrinsic motivation

Question 19

What does the following description refer to?

The individual expects an external reward such as good grades, praise from others, money, prizes, and positive feedback.

Answer 19

Extrinsic motivation

Question 20

What does the following description refer to?
Social factors in the wider community can also affect motivation, attitudes, and language learning success. One such factor is the social dynamic or power relationship between languages

Answer 20

Identity and ethnic group afiliation

Question 21

What does the following description refer to?

• Previous learning experiences
• And the assumption (right or wrong) that a particular type of instruction is the best way for them to learn.

Answer 21

Learner beliefs

Question 22

What do the following items refer to?

• Attention to language form,
• Corrective feedback,
• Or teacher-centered instruction.

Answer 22

concerns of students of ESL programs

Question 23

What does the following description refer to?

The age characteristic is easier to define and measure than personality, aptitude, or motivation. However, the relationship between age and success in SLA is controversial.

Answer 23

Age and second language learning.

Question 24

What does the following description refer to ?

It says that there is a period of growth in which full native adolescence. The critical period hypothesis has implications for teachers and learning programmes, but it is not universally accepted. Acquisition theories say that adults do not acquire languages as well as children because of external and internal factors, not because of a lack of ability.

Answer 24

The critical period: More than just pronunciation

Question 25

What does the following description refer to?

In informal language learning environments, children usually have more time to devote to learning language

Answer 25

Children Learners

Question 26

What does the following description refer to?

They often have more opportunities to hear and use the language in environments where they do not experience strong pressure to speak fluently and accurately from the very beginning

Answer 26

Children learners

Question 27

What does the following description refer to?

Their early imperfect efforts are often praised or, at least, accepted.

Answer 27

Children Learners

Question 28

What does the following description refer to?

Older learners might find themselves in situations that demand more complex language and the expression of more complicated ideas.

Answer 28

Adult learners

Question 29

What does the following description refer to?

Adults are often embarrassed by their lack of mastery of the language and they may develop a sense of inadequacy after experiences of frustration in trying to say exactly what they mean.

Answer 29

Adult learners

Question 30

What do the following items refer to?

• The opportunities for learning (both inside and outside the classroom),• The motivation to learn, and• The aptitude for language learning

Answer 30

Factors that affect learning success

Question 31

In recent years, many educators have been influenced by Howard Gardner’s (1993) proposal that

Answer 31

Individual have “ working memory”