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Introduction. Cognitive individual differences in second language learning and processing

  • Gisela Granena , Daniel O. Jackson and Yucel Yilmaz
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Cognitive Individual Differences in Second Language Processing and Acquisition
This chapter is in the book Cognitive Individual Differences in Second Language Processing and Acquisition

Abstract

In this introductory chapter, we first describe the rationale for this volume, linking cognitive individual differences (IDs) to previous research in second language acquisition (SLA), and other, related fields. Next, we present a definition of cognitive abilities and illustrate how differences in these abilities may have important implications for several strands of research, including those dealing with second language aptitude, instructed SLA, comprehension and production, novel SLA, bilingualism, cognitive training, and measurement. This collective volume contains 14 additional chapters offering multiple, interdisciplinary perspectives on how individuals process and acquire languages, which incorporate theoretical, methodological, and empirical advances in the study of cognitive IDs. In the last section of this chapter, we summarize these contributions and draw explicit connections between them. The chapter concludes with some thoughts on the practical significance of this volume, in terms of researching cognitive IDs and understanding their implications.

Abstract

In this introductory chapter, we first describe the rationale for this volume, linking cognitive individual differences (IDs) to previous research in second language acquisition (SLA), and other, related fields. Next, we present a definition of cognitive abilities and illustrate how differences in these abilities may have important implications for several strands of research, including those dealing with second language aptitude, instructed SLA, comprehension and production, novel SLA, bilingualism, cognitive training, and measurement. This collective volume contains 14 additional chapters offering multiple, interdisciplinary perspectives on how individuals process and acquire languages, which incorporate theoretical, methodological, and empirical advances in the study of cognitive IDs. In the last section of this chapter, we summarize these contributions and draw explicit connections between them. The chapter concludes with some thoughts on the practical significance of this volume, in terms of researching cognitive IDs and understanding their implications.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction
  4. Introduction. Cognitive individual differences in second language learning and processing 1
  5. Part 1. Theoretical and methodological issues
  6. Foreign language aptitude, acquisitional sequences, and psycholinguistic processes 17
  7. Miniature natural language learning in L2 acquisition research 41
  8. Working memory, language processing, and implications of malleability for second language acquisition 69
  9. Methodological implications of working memory tasks for L2 processing research 89
  10. Analyzing individual differences in second language research 105
  11. Part 2. Empirical studies
  12. Music, song and speech 131
  13. An empirical study of working memory, personality, and second language construction learning 157
  14. Elicited imitation as a measure of implicit L2 knowledge 185
  15. Working memory and L2 English speakers’ primed and subsequent production of passives 205
  16. Interrelationships among L2 linguistic knowledge, working memory functions, and L2 reading 223
  17. Executive control and phonological processing in language acquisition 249
  18. Corrective feedback and working memory capacity 279
  19. The interaction between feedback exposure condition and phonetic coding ability 303
  20. The role of explicit language aptitude in implicit, explicit, and mixed feedback conditions 327
  21. Index 351
https://doi.org/10.1075/bpa.3.01int

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction
  4. Introduction. Cognitive individual differences in second language learning and processing 1
  5. Part 1. Theoretical and methodological issues
  6. Foreign language aptitude, acquisitional sequences, and psycholinguistic processes 17
  7. Miniature natural language learning in L2 acquisition research 41
  8. Working memory, language processing, and implications of malleability for second language acquisition 69
  9. Methodological implications of working memory tasks for L2 processing research 89
  10. Analyzing individual differences in second language research 105
  11. Part 2. Empirical studies
  12. Music, song and speech 131
  13. An empirical study of working memory, personality, and second language construction learning 157
  14. Elicited imitation as a measure of implicit L2 knowledge 185
  15. Working memory and L2 English speakers’ primed and subsequent production of passives 205
  16. Interrelationships among L2 linguistic knowledge, working memory functions, and L2 reading 223
  17. Executive control and phonological processing in language acquisition 249
  18. Corrective feedback and working memory capacity 279
  19. The interaction between feedback exposure condition and phonetic coding ability 303
  20. The role of explicit language aptitude in implicit, explicit, and mixed feedback conditions 327
  21. Index 351
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