Language aptitude and language awareness
Polyglot perspectives
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24220795 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kenneth Hyltenstam (0000-0003-4687-1605) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 41 |
| Pages | 55-75 |
| Publication date | 2021-03-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (BOOK_SERIES) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0267-1905 • E-ISSN: 1471-6356 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0267190521000027 |
| OpenAlex | W3154000417 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 33 |
This paper discusses the notion of language aptitude as a factor contributing to successful language acquisition achievements in polyglots. The difficulty in distinguishing between what is, indeed, language aptitude and what is language awareness is the main focus of the paper. A polyglot is operationalized here as a person who, after puberty, (a) acquired/learned at least six new languages (L2s), (b) commands at least six L2s at an intermediate or advanced proficiency level, and (c) presently uses these languages relatively unimpededly in oral interaction. The article draws specifically on a controlled investigation of ten polyglots who were extensively interviewed and tested for language aptitude, motivation, language awareness, and use of language learning strategies. Results show well above average, often outstanding, aptitude scores and an immediate preference for explicit learning. It appears that the combination of strong motivation and high levels of language aptitude and language awareness is what makes polyglots unusually successful second language learners. This paper suggests that language aptitude is both a prerequisite for developing high levels of language awareness and (since the two concepts are partially overlapping), much of the dynamism sometimes ascribed to aptitude is indeed awareness.
language aptitude · language awareness · language learning motivation · polyglots · second language acquisition · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Language Acquisition and Education · Second Language Acquisition and Learning
Young learners’ bilingual status and cognitive development in foreign language aptitude testing
Exploring the interplay between aptitude, vocabulary learning strategies, and achievement in pre-service language teachers
Exploring language learning strategies and autonomy
Language aptitude and its links with metalinguistic knowledge, self-efficacy, anxiety, and language maintenance in multilingual language teachers
Setting them up for (grammatical) success
Garfield, SLA gold medalist
Aptitude and Second Language Acquisition
Language development in the pre-school years
Attention, Noticing, and Awareness in Second Language Acquisition
The Robustness of Critical Period Effects in Second Language Acquisition
Cross-linguistic evidence for the nature of age effects in second language acquisition
Linguistic Interdependence and the Educational Development of Bilingual Children
The Role of Consciousness in Second Language Learning1
Metalinguistic Knowledge and Language Ability in University-Level L2 Learners
Domain-general auditory processing as an anchor of post-pubertal second language pronunciation learning
Linguistic coding deficits in foreign language learners
Foreign language aptitude theory
Language awareness and language learning
Individual Differences and Universals in Language Learning Aptitude
The Robustness of Aptitude Effects in Near-Native Second Language Acquisition
Hi-Lab
Individual Differences and the Fundamental Similarity of Implicit and Explicit Adult Second Language Learning
Probing the Internal Validity of the LLAMA Language Aptitude Tests
| Citations per year | 1.5 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2022 - 2026 (5) |
| Highly cited | No |