Transcript The good language learner

The Good
Language Learner
In second language learning, in the same
classroom setting, some students progress
rapidly while others progress very slowly.
What are the personal characteristics which
make one learner more successful than
another?
There are several individual factors
which contribute to successful language
learning:
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Intelligence
Aptitude
Personality
Motivation and Attitudes
Learner Preference
Learner Beliefs
Age of Acquisition
Intelligence
Traditionally, the term “intelligence” has been used to
refer to performance on certain kinds of tests (IQ).
However, “intelligence” is complex and individuals
have many kinds of abilities and strength not all of
which can be measured by traditional IQ tests.
Thus intelligence is a strong factor when it comes to
language analysis and rule learning, but it is not
always related to oral skills such as: communication
and interaction.
Aptitude
Aptitude is composed of different types of
abilities:
 Identifying and memorizing new sounds.
 Understanding words function in
sentences
 Figuring out grammatical rules from
language samples.
 Memory for new words.
Personality
Some studies have found correlation between
personality characteristics and the acquisition
of conversational skills. These characteristics
include assertiveness, adventurousness, risktaking, self – esteem, empathy , dominance ,
talkativeness and responsiveness.
Other studies don’t show any clear relationship
between personality and SLA.
Motivation and Attitudes
Motivation involves the attitudes and affective states that
influence the degree of effort that learner make to learn
an L2. Studies show that positive attitudes and motivation
are related to success in SLA.
Motivation is defined by 2 factors:
1. Learners’ communicative needs
2. Learners’ attitudes towards the SL community.
There are various kinds of motivation: instrumental,
integrative, resultative, extrinsic and intrinsic.
Learner Preference
 A good SL learner is conscious of his
individual learning styles (visual, aural,
kinaesthetic etc).
 A good SL learner knows how to employ
different learning strategies (cognitive,
meta-cognitive, social).
 A good SL learner is aware of grammatical
structure, an active learner and flexible in
using several learning styles.
Learner beliefs
 A good SL learner has strong beliefs and
opinions about how the instruction should
be delivered.
 Teachers can use learners’ preferences
and beliefs in order to help them develop
a better flexibility in learning a new
language.
Age
It is claimed that there is critical period for SLA.(the age of
puberty), however the role of the critical period in SLA is
still much debated.
Age is considered critical for native-like fluency. (the age
of 12)
In the early stages of SLA, older learners are more
efficient than younger learners.