Language Aptitude and Grammatical Difficulty

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between foreign language aptitude and the learning of two English structures defi ned as easy or diffi cult to learn. Using a quasiexperimental design, 66 secondarylevel learners of English as a foreign language from three intact classes were provided with four hours of instruction on the passive (a diffi cult structure) and the past progressive (an easy structure). Language aptitude was measured using the LLAMA Aptitude Test (Meara, 2005 ). Language outcomes were measured with a written grammaticality judgment and an oral production task. The results revealed that one of the aptitude components, grammatical inferencing, contributed to learners' gains on the passive but not the past progressive on the written measure. Another component of aptitude, associative memory, contributed to learners' gains on the past progressive on the oral measure. The results provide support for the claim that different components of aptitude contribute to the learning of diffi cult and easy L2 structures in different ways. There is also support for the proposal that different components of aptitude may be involved at different stages of language acquisition (Skehan, 2002 ).

Probing the Internal Validity of the LLAMA Language Aptitude Tests

“…We also used principal component analysis to investigate the interrelationships between the different subtests in order to assess Granena's (2013a) assertion of a division in the LLAMA between explicit and implicit aptitude and Skehan's (1998) proposal of three aptitude components (memory, analytic ability, and phonetic encoding). The latter have not been examined for the LLAMA, but LLAMA F has been used as a measure of language analytic ability in several studies (e.g., Yalcin & Spada, 2016;Yilmaz, 2013). We thus conducted two-and three-component principal component analyses in order to look for meaningful patterns.…”

“…The construct of language aptitude has gained increasing attention among scholars of language acquisition and use. A growing number of studies have not only assessed the construct of language aptitude itself and its interaction with different cognitive traits but have also examined the explanatory potential of this cognitive individual difference variable across a wide range of contexts, including instructed language learning, early and late second language (L2) acquisition, heritage language development, and first language (L1) attrition (e.g., Abrahamsson & Hyltenstam, 2008;Bylund, Abrahamsson, & Hyltenstam, 2010Yalcin & Spada, 2016;Yilmaz, 2013).…”

Explicit and implicit aptitude effects on second language speech learning: Scrutinizing segmental and suprasegmental sensitivity and performance via behavioural and neurophysiological measures

“…Building on Carroll's aptitude model, LLAMA features not only explicit learning aptitude -associative memory, phonemic coding and grammatical inferencing, but also incidental learning aptitude -sound sequence recognition. According to previous investigations, explicit LLAMA test scores appeared to predict the extent to which L2 learners can benefit from explicit (rather than implicit) instruction within a short amount of time under laboratory (e.g., Yilmaz & Granena, 2016) and classroom (e.g., Yalçın & Spada, 2016) conditions. In contrast, L2 learners with high-level incidental aptitude (sound sequence recognition) tend to attain advanced proficiency in L2 morphosyntax, especially when they have had regular access to naturalistic language input since an early age (e.g., Granena, 2013).…”

The role of aptitude in second language segmental learning: The case of Japanese learners’ English /ɹ/ pronunciation attainment in classroom settings

“…The LLAMA adopts the same measures as in the MLAT for assessing intentional learning abilities (i.e., phonemic coding and associative memory). These intentional test scores have been found to predict successful L2 morphosyntax learning especially when L2 learners receive explicit instruction/corrective feedback (e.g., Yalçin & Spada, 2016; Yilmaz & Granena, 2016)…”

“…A growing number of studies have investigated the intricate connections between different types of aptitude and multiple aspects of L2 morphosyntax learning. In the context of EFL students in Turkey, for example, Yalçin and Spada (2016) found that those with higher language analysis abilities (grammatical inferencing) demonstrated strong gains in the acquisition of a relatively easy structure (past progressive) after 4 hr of instruction. Comparatively, those with higher memory abilities (associative memory) successfully acquired the relatively difficult structure (passive).…”