UNIT 4 LEARNER FACTORS IN-SECOND

LANGUAGES ACQUISITION-I

Structure

Objectives
Introduction
Age
Sex
Intelligence
Aptitude
Let Us Sum Up
Key Words
Reading List

4.0 OBJECTIVES

This unit focusses on the shift in secondJforeignlanguage research from traditional

approaches to language teaching, which were largely teacher centered, to the current
approaches that value the creativity of the leamer and treat the learner as an active
participant in the process of learning a foreignlsecond language. This unit will
describe in some detail the contribution of the following learner variables:

0 Age
@ Sex
0 Intelligence
0 Aptitude

4.0 INTRODUCTION

The emphasis of theory and practice of second language learning in the late
nineteenth and greater half of the twentieth century was mainly on the behaviounst
ideas of association between stimulus and response. It viewed the human mind as a
blank slate and considered language learning as a mechanical process of habit
forination. The greatest advocate ofthis view was the American psychologist B.F
Skinner. This view was challenged by the revolutionary ideas of Noam Chomsky in
1959. He felt that behaviourism simplified the learning prccess and underestimated
the role of creativity of the human mind. He asserted the remarkable capacity of the
child to "generalize, hypothesize and process information in a variety of very special,
.
apparently highly complex ways . . which may be largely innate, or may develop
through some sort of learning or through maturation of the nervous system (p.158)".
This shift had a tremendous impact on research in both the first and second
language learning. The learner, rather than the teacher or the materials,
became the focus of study. The learner began to be viewed as an active participant
in the process of learning. In teaching, more and more emphasis began to be given to
those exercises in teaching which would help the learner to induce the language
system and intemalise.the rules that govern the target language. In other words to I

actively participate in the learning process. However, focus on the learner *adualjy
50 led researchers such as Widdowson, Morrow and others to look beyond the linguistic
needs to the communication needs of the learners. Another important consequence of Learner Factors in
the increasing focus on the learner was that the output of the learner began to be Second Languages
considered independent of the learner's frst or target language. This output began to Acquisition-l
be called 'transitional competence' (Corder 1971)' 'approximate system' (Nemser
1971) and 'inter-language' (Selinlcer 1972).

This shift from the teacher and the teaching materials to the learner, hisker needs and
hisker linguistic output has also led some researchers to look into the learner
characteristics in greater detail and identify those characteristics that appear to be
more responsible for success or failure in second/foreign language learning.
Significant among the learner characteristics identified so far, include the learner' age,
intelligence, aptitude, motivation, attitude, personality and cognitive style.

4.2 AGE

Most people, including some psychologists and linguists, believe that children are
better at leaning second languages than adults. Penfield (1953) argued that the
human brain loses its plasticity after puberty. He stressed that children relearn their
language after injury or disease. Lenneberg (1968) suggested that laterlization made
the brain functions become specialized in the carly teens. He suggests that there is a
critical period (between two years and puberty) for effective language acquisition.
After that, while it is possible to acquire another language, it is done in a
physiologically different and more difficult way. Another explanation for this
apparent decline in adult language acquisition was that the adult's abstract mode of
thinking interfered with natural language learning process. Yet another explanation
for the decline in adult learners is that they generally do not have the sanie peer group
pressure, the intensity of motivation and attitude towards the target language and
culture that children have. Adults are also much less willing to give up their well-
established social identity. Seliger (1978) points out that there is much evidence to
show that children acquire the phonological system of another language much better
than adults, and proposes the concept of 'multiple critical periods' correlating with
localization and gradual loss of plasticity. It appears that language acquisition
abilities are not lost at once. There is only a gradual reduction of such abilities.
Whitaker (1978) points out that though there is evidence that under ~lnusual
circumstances language acquisition may occur after puberty, possibly through the
right hemisphere of the brain, it is neither as rapid nor as successful as normal
acquisition.

However, several researchers have shown that adults are actually better learners than
children. Cook (1991) refers to the research carried out on the English-speaking
adults and children who had gone to live in Holland. He reports that Snow &
Hoefnagel-Hohle (1978) found at the end of three months that the older learners were
better at all aspects of Dutch except pronunciation.
To quote Cook (1991)

The sum up, if children and adults are compared who

are learning a second language in exactly the same
way, whether as immigrants to Holland, or by the
same method in the Classroom, adults are better.
The apparent superiority of'adults in such controlled
research may mean that the typical situations in
which children find themselves are better suited to
L2 learning than those adults encounter. Age itself
is not so important as the different interaction
that learners of different ages have with the
situations and with other people.

(Cook, 1991: 84)

Language in use-2 He further adds

Adults start more quickly and then slow down. Though children startmore
slowly, they finish up at a higher level.
(Cook, 1991: 85)

Thus, the researchers working on the importance of age in second language learning
have shown,that age is an important learner characteristic and therefore it cannot be
ignored in deciding when to start teaching a second language. It is equally important
Y
to find o 4what materials and teaching stylelstrategies would be suitable for a
particular age group in a specific learning situation.

Several studies of firstkecond language acquisition have shown girls to be better

learners than boys. Trudgill(1974) showed that women used the prestige linguistic
forms more frequently than men, and related this phenomenon to female social
insecurity. Trudgill argued that women are socially and economically less secure
than men and compensate for it linguistically. Society expects women to be more
correct, discreet, quiet and polite and increases the pressure on them to use more
'correct' and prestigious linguistic forms than men. In a study of Panjabi migrant
children in England learning English as a second language, Agnihotri (1979) showed
that girls assimilated the prestige linguistic forms faster than the boys while resisting
the stigrnatised forms. Another researcher, Satyanath (1982) found that Kannad~ga
women in Delhi showed a higher percentage of assimilation of linguistic features
associated with Hindi (the language of the host society) and a higher degree of usage
than men. He found that younger women assimilated the host society's language and
culture maximally. Unlike Trudgill(1974) who considered so~ialinsecurity to be
responsible for higher use of prestige forms, Satyanath explained this in terms of the
sociocultural aspects of the Kannadiga community in which women negotiate a
greater part of the interaction with the host society.

However, in the field'of formal foreign langauge learning there are only a few studies
investigating sex as a variable. Even in these studies, several investigators generally
found girls to be better learners. Burstall (1975) pointed to an interesting possible
relationship between sex differences and socioeconomic status. NFER study revealed
thft the most marked sex differences occurred in the secondary schools where the
stu,dents were predominantly from the lower socioeconomic strata,

4.4 INTELLIGENCE
What is Intelligence?

Intelligence is usually conceived of as the ability to understand, to learn qnd think I

things out quickly, especially compared with other people, and consists of verbal I 1
I
ability, reasoning ability, concept formation ability, etc, Carroll (1965) conceived of
intelligence as the learner's capacity to understand instructions, and to understand I
I
what is required of him/her in the learning situation. It is a talent for not getting I
sidetracked or wasting one's efforts. 1
C
/I
Intelligenci Tests

~ d soft the intelligence tests measure a number of abilities simultane&sly. The

most commonly used individual intelligence tests include Stanford-Binet test,
Wechsler Adult intelligence Scale (WAIS), Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Learner Factors in
(WISC). Some of the group tests of intelligence are Army Beta Test, Army Alpha Second Languages
Test, Army General Classification Test (AGCT), etc. The Stanford-Binet test puts - Acquisition-1
heavy stress upon verbal ability. It can't be used with children who are illiterate.
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WNS) consists of the following verbal and \

performance (non-verbal) subtests.

Verbal Subtests Performance (non-verbal) Subtests

Information Picture arrangement

General Comprehension Picture Completion

Memory Span Block design

Arithmetic reasoning Object assembly

Similarities Digit symbol

Vocabulary

The group test, The Army Beta Test, meant mainly for illiterates and foreigners not
proficient in English, emphasizes non-verbal problems for which simple instructions
can be given orally.

The Army Alpha Test designated for the typical individual who can read and write,
include some of the problems like the following:-

A If 5 % tons of bark cost $ 3 3 , what will 3 !4 cost? ( )

B. A train is harder to stop than an automobile because

( ) it is longer, ( ) it is heavier,
,t ( ) the brakes are not so good.

C. If the two words of a pair mean the same or nearly the same thing, draw a
line under same. If they mean the opposite or nearly the opposite, draw a line
. under opposite.

comprehensive restricted same opposite

allure attract same opposite
talent hidden same opposite
deride ridicule same opposite

D. If, when you have arranged the following words to make a sentence, the
sentence is true, underline true; if it is false, underline false. .

People enemies arrogant many make true false

Never who needless those stumble are d e false
Never man the show the deeds true false

Underline which

The pitcher has an important place in tennis fooTball

baseball ' handball
F: Underline which-

* Dismal is to dark
as cheerfbl is to laughx ,bright house gloomy
All these tests may be useful as measures of mental ability of either an indiv~dualor a
group of individuals. But these scores cannot be treated as sure predictors of success
in a foreigdsecond language. Nor can they be considered as a reflection of abilities
to acquire language. Pi~nsleuret a1 (1962) reported on a large number of studies
examining the relationship of intelligence with foreign language leaming. Though
some of the studies gave evidence for the positive relationship between intelligence
and success in a foreign langauge, most of the studies were slceptical of such a
relationship. Carroll and Sapon (1959) noted that very few of the abilities measured
in an intelligence test were found relevant to foreign language learning, and it was for
this reason t h a t there was a very insignificant relationship between the scores on
an intelligence test and a foreign language test. More research is needed to
identify those abilities that match significantly with foreign language scores.
Incidentally, these abilities have been called by many researchers as language
aptitude abilities. We shall look into these abilities in the next section.

What is Aptitude?

Aptitude for a particular job or skill is the ability to learn it quiclcly and easily and to
do it well. What people generally call a 'knack for languages' is nothing but aptitude
for languages. But it is very difficult to determine what this knack is. It is certainly
more than 'having an ear' 'for languages because everyone learns hislher first
language.

It is popularly believed that some people have more aptitude for learning a second
language than others. This observation has generally been made in coi~nectionwith
classroom leaming, and not learning in real-life situations.

Aptitude Measures

The two best known measures of FL (foreign language) aptitude for native speakers
of English are the ~ o d k r Language
n Aptitude Test (MLAT) developed by Carroll
and Sapon (1 959) and the Pimsleur Language Aptitude Battery (LAB) (1966).
MLAT incorporates four factors that predict a student's success in the classroom.
This consists o f :

i. phonemic coding ability: student's ability to use phonetic scripts to

distinguish phonemes in the languages.
..
11. grammatical sensitivity: student's ability to pick out grammatical functions in
... a sentence.
111. inductive language learning ability: student's ability to generalise patterns
from one sentence to another.
iv. rote leaming: student's ability to remember vocabulary lists of foreign words
paired with translations.
I
These components were eventually measured in the following five sub-test of MLAT: I

Part one: Number Learning: The respondent is taught, on tape, the Kurdish number
system from 1 to 4 plus the 'tens' and 'hundreds' forms of these numbers, then tested
by hearing numbers which are combinations of these elements, e.g. 312, 122, 41, etc.
The test aims at measuring associative memory. Subjects hear a new language for
numbers, and, after some practice in using these numbers, are required to translate
from a new language to English.
 Part Two: Phonetic Script: This sub-test measures phonetic coding zbility. The Learner actors in I
respondent learns a system of phonetic notation for some English phonemes. S h e is Second Languages I

then tested on this, e..g. 'Underline the word you hear: Tik; Tiyk; Tis; Tiys'. Acquisition-1

Part Three: spklling Clues: This is a speed test that measures both native language
vocabulary and phonemic coding ability. The respondent is given clues to the
pronunciation of a word, e.g. 'luv' for 'love' and is then asked to choose a synomym
fiom a list of alternatives

A. carry
B. exist
rr
b. affection
D. wash
E. SPY

In this case C. affection correspondmost nearly in meaning to 'luv'.

Part Four: Words in Sentences: This tests grammatical sensitivity. The respondent
is given pairs of sentences. In the first sentence (key sentence) iq each air a certain
word or phrase is underlined, and the respondent is asked to tick (>) one of the
five underlined words or phrases in the second sentence that functions most nearly
like the word or phrase in the key sentence in the pair. As you can see, in the
following pairs of sentence:

London is the capital of England,

--
He liked to go fishing in Maine

. The word 'he' in the second sentence performs the same function as 'London' in the
key sentence.

Part V: Paired Associates: The respondent studies a written Kurdish - English

vocabulary list, practices the stimulus - response pairs seen,and is then tested by
means of multiple-choice items. This is a test of associa.dve memory. For instance,
the respondent is asked to decide which word of English has the same meaning as the .
Kurdish word roo. ,

Example:

a. art
b. dtaw
C. run
d. ask
e. camel

The currect choice is 3,

There are several slightly different forms of avai available. The MLAT itself is for
use with people of 14 years of age &d above. There is also an elementary form '
(EMLAT) for use with children between the ages of eight and eleven. There is also a
short form of the test for use when the time is limited.
i
Pimsleur Languagd Aptitude Battery (LAB) idappropriate for children aged 13 to 19. i
It emphasises inductive language learning capaci$ and auditory ability. It consists of
six sections, the fint two depending simply on verbal report. Part one, grade point
average, requins that subjects report their most recent year-end grades in English,
1
Mathematics, Science and History (or social science) and Part two is based on the 55
students' self-ratings on a five point scale of their interest in studying a foreign/ I

L
1
--- -
..-. -
L~~~~~~~in usc-t language, Part three consists of a vocabulary test. Part four is the langauge analysis
test. In this test, subjects are presented with a list of words and phrases in Kabardian
(a fictitious language) and their English equivalents. From these, subjects must
deduce how to say other things in Karbardian and select the correct answer from the
alternatives provided. In part five, sound discrimination, subjects are taught, by
means of a tape recording, three similar-sounding words in a foreign language. They
then hear sentences, spoken in the language and must indicate which of the three
words each sentence contains. Part six is the sound symbol test. Subjects hear a two
or three syllable nonsense word and must indicate which of the four printed
alternatives it was. Pimsleur et. a1 (1966) suggested that 20 to 30 per cent of children
under-achieve in foreign language learning because they have poor auditoly ability.

Review of Research on Aptitude

Most research in language aptitude since then has been either in validation of the
existing tests, or developing aptitude batteries for use in particular countries. For
instance, the York Language Analysis Test has been developed and has been widely
used in Britain. The most important research aimed at the production of a new test
battery has been carried out by the American Armed Forces. This was the result of
dissatisfaction felt with MLAT for not being able to discriminate at higher levels.
Another type of research has examined the component for aptitude in greater depth.
Skehan (1980-1982) examined the memory component in detail. He hypothesized
that an ability to analyse text, to extract its propositional content and remember such
content would be related to greater foreign language learning success (Skehan
1989:31). Jakobovits (1970) suggested that sub-contents of FL aptitude may be
exploited usefully in foreign language teaching. The teacher who has the information
about the aptitude of hidher students can modify hisher instructional materials
accordingly. This information can also be used to stream students into different
classes with different goals. It can also help to advise students whether s h e should
set a particular target in a given time frame.

4.6 . LET US SUM UP .

In this unit we have looked at some of the personal and cognitive leamet-
characteristics which have a bearing on second language acquisition. We have also
cited some research conducted in these areas. These factors include personal factors
such as age, sex and cognitive factors such as intelligence and aptitude.

4.7 KEYWORDS

aptitude The natural ability to learn a language which does

not include intelligence, motivation, interest, etc.
Language aptitude is thought to be a combination of
various abilities, such as the ability to recogilize the
different grammatical function of words in
sentences, the ability to recognize sound patterns in a
new language, the ability to infer language rules. A
person with a high language aptitude can learn a
secondlforeign language more quickly and easily
than a person with a low language aptitude, all other
factors being equal.

auditory related to hearing

behaviourist theory a theory of psychology which states that human Learner Factors in
behaviour should be studied in terms of physical Second Languages
processes ovly. It led to theories of learning which Acquisition-'1
explained hdw an external event (a stimulus) caused
a change in the individual (a response). This theory
had a tremendous impact on language learning.

cognitive the particular way in which a learner tries to learn

something. In second or foreign language learning,
different leamers may prefer different solutions to
learning problems. For example, some leamers may
want explanations for grammatical rules, others may
not need them.

interlanguageltransitional the type of language produced by second/foreign

competence/approximate language learners who &e in the process of
system learning a language.

critical period the theory in child development that says that there
is a period during which language can be acquired
with greater case than at any other time.

inductive language learning learners are not taught grammatical or other types of
rules directly but are left to discover or induce rules
from their experience of using the language.

the development of control over different functions

in different parts of the brain.

phonetic notation special symbols which express the sounds of an

actual spoken utterance. A transcription of such an
utterance in phonetic symbols is said to be in
phonetic notation or phonetic script.

4.8 SUGGESTED READING

Burstall, C. 1975. 'Factors affecting foreign language learning: a consideration of

some recent research findings'. Language Teaching and Linguistics: Abstracts 8.1 :
5-21.

Chomsky, N. 1959. 'Review of Skinner's verbal behaviour'. In Jakobovits, K.A.

and Miron, M.S. eds. 1967. Readings in the Psychology oflanguage. New Jersey:
Prentice Hall (originally published in Language 35 : 26-58).

Cook, V. 1991. Second Language Learning and Language teaching. London:

Edward Arnold.

Jakobovits, L.A. 1970. Foreign language Learning: a Psycholinguistic Analysis of

the Issues, Rowley, Mass: Newbury' House.

Lenneberg, E.H. 1967. q e Biological Foundation oflanguage. New York: Wiley.

 L~~~~~~ in use-2 Seliger, H.W. 1978. 'Implication of multiple critical hypothesis for second language
learning'. In Ritchie, W.C. ed. SecondLanguage Acquisition Research. New York:
Academic Press.

Skehan, P. 1 989. Individual Dzfferences in Second-language Learning. London:

Edward Arnold.
i

Whitaker, H.A. 1978. 'Bilingualism: A neuro-lingustic perspective'. In Ritchie,

W.C. ed. SecondLanguage Acquisition Research: Issues and Implications. New
York : Academic Press. / I