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Experience tells us that some people learn a second or foreign language with
greater ease, more quickly, or with apparently better results than others. One
perspective on this phenomenon is the concept of Foreign Language
Aptitude (FLA). Originally, the notion of F L A presumed a relatively stable
talent for learning a foreign language that differs between individuals
(Dornyei and Skehan 2003: 590). However, whether FLA is fixed/innate or
amenable to training has become the departure point for most research in
this area.
Research into FLA first became established during the late 1950s and early
1960s (Spolsky 1995). The most influential achievement in this period was
the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) (Carroll and Sapon 1959), with
variants developed for specifically targeted groups such as younger learners
and military personnel. Carrolls (1962) subsequent conception of F L A
comprised four components:
n phonemic coding ability (i.e. the ability to identify and retain sounds and
link them to phonetic symbols);
n sensitivity towards the grammatical functions that words fulfil in
a sentence;
n the ability to learn inductively (i.e. to infer and generalize linguistic
structures from language samples); and
n the ability to rote learn vocabulary items paired with their associated
translations.
This approach served as the blueprint for most ensuing research.
From the 1970s onwards, however, enthusiasm for the concept of FLA and
aptitude testing began to fade, influenced in part by developments in
mainstream educational psychology (Williams and Burden 1997).
Language teachers became increasingly sceptical of the value of testing and
subsequently labelling learners according to an aptitude score; meanwhile,
the MLATs focus on rote learning and grammatical patterns favoured
audio-lingual teaching methods that were perceived as an irrelevance in the
more communicative classrooms which prevailed in the 1970s and 1980s
(Skehan 1998: 189). However, after experiencing a prolonged period of
little theorizing and little empirical work (Skehan 2002: 69), research
into FLA has recently regained momentum (Ellis 2004). Among others,
Sparks and Ganschow (2001) advocate reconsidering F L A in terms of
a linguistic coding differences hypothesis (LCDH). The LCDH stresses the
importance of analysing L1 skills (particularly orthographic decoding skills
E LT Journal Volume 66/2 April 2012; doi:10.1093/elt/ccr068
The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press; all rights reserved.
Advance Access publication November 1, 2011
233
234
Zhisheng Wen
235
The author
Zhisheng (Edward) Wen is currently an Assistant
Professor at Hong Kong Shue Yan University. Over
the last decade, Dr Wen has lectured, researched, and
published in S LA and psycholinguistics. His current
research foci are issues surrounding Working
memory as foreign language aptitude in SLA.
Email: wenzhisheng@hotmail.com