Ideas of a Good Language Learner Marina Wiens, Stephanie Hanisch, Maren Wolf, Vildan Aytekin

Table of Contents Introduction Good language learner characteristics Research & problems on the topic Variables Learning styles & success Motivation Learner beliefs Inhibition and anxiety Ethnic groups Dicussion

Who is a ‘good language learner‘? Intelligent Able to learn quickly (Aptitude) Motivation Age Outgoing personality

Remaining Issues How did research identify the personal characteristics that make one learner more successful than another? To what extent can we predict differences in the success of SLA if we have information about learners’ personalities?

Research on Learner characterictics Select group of learners and give them a questionnaire to measure the type and degree of their motivation. Some kind of test is used to assess their Language Proficiency.  scoring (Correlation)

A good language learner is a willing and accurate guesser 1 2 3 4 5 b tries to get a message across even if specific language knowledge is lacking c is willing to make mistakes d constantly looks for patterns in the language e pactises as often as possible f analyses his or her own speech & the speech of others g attends to whether his/her performance (..) h enjoys grammar exercieses i begins learning in childhood j has an above-average IQ k has good academic skills l has a good-image and lots of confidence

Problems We can not directly observe and measure variables Social and educational backgrounds Characteristics are not independent from each other  successful because of motivation or motivated because of success?

Conclusion Researches seek to know how different cognitive and personality variables are related and how they interact with learners’ experiences so that they can gain a better understanding of human learning.  Educators hope to help learners with different characteristics achieving success in Second Language Learning

Intelligence Traditionally = performance on certain kinds of tests associated with success at school Link between IQ and L2-learning  predicting success IQ rather related to Metalinguistic knowledge than to communicative ability IQ influences language analysis and rule learning Nevertheless students with weak academic performance often succeed in L2-learning

Theory of Multiple Intelligences - Howard Gardner (1993)

Traditional IQ tests asses only limited range of abilities: verbal intelligence strength in the language arts: speaking, writing, reading, listening verbal intelligent pupils most successful because this kind of intelligence lends itself to traditional teaching

Aptitude Specific abilities predicting success in language learning John Carroll (1991): aptitude = ability to learn quickly Hypothesis: learner with high aptitude may learn easier and quicker but others may also succeed if they keep up

Aptitude Tests Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) by Carroll and Sapon 1959 Pimsleur Language Aptitude Battery (PLAT) by Pimsleur 1966 Computer tests by Paul Meara 2005

Several Components of Aptitude Ability to Identify and memorize new sounds Understand the function of particular words in sentences Figure out grammatical rules from language samples Remember new words

Aptitude Test Results Positive correlations of performance in Aptitude Tests and foreign language performance  at times of Grammar Translation and Audiolingual Methods Communicative Approach  common belief: measured abilities irrelevant for LA Other beliefs: some measured abilities predict success in communicative settings

Other Beliefs Leila Ranta (2002): good language analytics => most successful in SLL without focus on grammar Nick Ellis (2001): Working Memory = most important predictive variable Peter Skehan (1989) Due to learners’ individual differences of strengths and weaknesses in the components of abilities they succeed in different instructional programmes

Learning Styles Simlpy put: various approaches or ways of learning Reid (1995): Learning style = individual’s natural, habitual, and preferred way of absorbing, processing and retaining new information and skills

Perceptually-based learning styles Visual Learners (Eye) Aural Learners (Ear) Kinaesthetic Learners (Physical Action)

Cognitive learning styles Field dependence (holistic/global thinking) tendency to see the perceptual field as a whole without analyis of single parts of the field: “seeing the forest for the trees” learner excels in classroom learning which involves analysis, attention to details, and mastering of exercises, drills, and other focused activities Field independence (analytical thinking) tendency to break the field down into its component parts and to seperate details from the general background learner achieves higher success in everyday language situations beyond the classroom; tasks requiring interpersonal communication skills

Interaction of Learning Styles and Success in Language Learning unchangable differences or development through experience? Insufficient research in this area a single teaching method will never suit the needs of all types of learners variation of methods needed to accommodate all types

Motivation and attitudes Robert Gardner has carried out a program of research on the relationship between a learner's attitudes toward the second or foreign language and its community, and success in second language learning. But it is difficult to know whether positive attitudes produce successful learning or successful learning engenders positive attitudes.

Motivation and attitudes Motivation in second language learning is a complex phenomenon. It has been defined in terms of two factors Learners' communicative needs Attitudes towards the second language community

Motivation and attitudes Zoltán Dörnyei developed a process-oriented´model of motivation that consists of three phases: 1) 'choice motivation' 2) 'executive motivation' 3) 'motivation retrospection'

Motivation in the classroom Graham Crookes and Richard Schmidt point to several areas where educational research has reported increased levels of motivation for students in relation to pedagogical practices: 1)Motivating students into the lesson 2)Varying the activities, tasks, and materials 3)Using co-operative rather than competitive goals

Learner beliefs Learner beliefs can be strong mediating factors in their experience in the classroom. Learners' instructional preferences will influence the kinds of strategies they use in trying to learn new material.

Inhibition and Anxiety Discourages risk taking Negative force for second language pronunciation performance Experiment: small amount of alcohol  better pronunciation Larger doses of alcohol  pronunciation deteriorated Dynamic and dependent on situations and circumstances

Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale Item Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Dis agree Strongly disagree I never feel quite sure of myself when I am speaking in my English class. I don't worry about making mistakes in English class. I tremble when I know that I'm going to be asked to speak in English class. Even if I am well prepared for English class, I feel anxious about it. I feel easy when native English speakers are with me.

Anxiety can also have a positive effect on learning Motivation and focus an success Positive term “tension” Anxiety can be both useful an harmful

Not personality alone but the combination with other factors contributes to second language learning!

Ethnic group affiliation Languages exist in social contexts Children and adults are sensitive to social dynamics and power relationships Students reluctant to speak in situations of imbalanced power Learners with a high degree of accuracy perceived as “less loyal to their ethnic group” than those with a “foreign accent”

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