Analyzing individual differences in second language research
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Jared A. Linck
Abstract
Second language (L2) learners differ on myriad attributes, ranging from cognitive abilities (e.g. auditory perceptual acuity, working memory) to linguistic abilities like L2 proficiency to personality or motivational factors. For decades, scholars have been interested in understanding the impact of these individual differences on L2 outcomes as well as on the learner’s responsiveness to instructional treatments. In contrast to categorical factors like gender, when the attribute of interest varies along a continuum, there are various approaches for analyzing the individual difference variable. Simpler approaches involve reducing the complexity of the analysis by binning or splitting a sample into categorical groups (e.g. by performing a median split) then conducting traditional analyses such as t-tests and ANOVAs. But the concomitant loss of information in the individual difference measure can greatly reduce statistical power, thereby rendering it much more difficult to detect true effects — particularly when the effects are small, as they typically are in L2 research. Moreover, the resulting inferences may no longer map cleanly onto the research questions that originally motivated the research. Mixed effects models — a variant of regression — provide flexibility in the analysis of individual differences that can maintain the observed variability in the data so that scholars can directly test the hypotheses motivating their research. In this chapter, through a series of example models worked out in the R statistical software, I demonstrate the feasibility and ease of using mixed effects models to examine individual differences in L2 research. The examples focus on a scenario requiring the analysis of individual differences while also modeling the main and interactive effects of multiple factors (i.e. experimental design manipulations).
Abstract
Second language (L2) learners differ on myriad attributes, ranging from cognitive abilities (e.g. auditory perceptual acuity, working memory) to linguistic abilities like L2 proficiency to personality or motivational factors. For decades, scholars have been interested in understanding the impact of these individual differences on L2 outcomes as well as on the learner’s responsiveness to instructional treatments. In contrast to categorical factors like gender, when the attribute of interest varies along a continuum, there are various approaches for analyzing the individual difference variable. Simpler approaches involve reducing the complexity of the analysis by binning or splitting a sample into categorical groups (e.g. by performing a median split) then conducting traditional analyses such as t-tests and ANOVAs. But the concomitant loss of information in the individual difference measure can greatly reduce statistical power, thereby rendering it much more difficult to detect true effects — particularly when the effects are small, as they typically are in L2 research. Moreover, the resulting inferences may no longer map cleanly onto the research questions that originally motivated the research. Mixed effects models — a variant of regression — provide flexibility in the analysis of individual differences that can maintain the observed variability in the data so that scholars can directly test the hypotheses motivating their research. In this chapter, through a series of example models worked out in the R statistical software, I demonstrate the feasibility and ease of using mixed effects models to examine individual differences in L2 research. The examples focus on a scenario requiring the analysis of individual differences while also modeling the main and interactive effects of multiple factors (i.e. experimental design manipulations).
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
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Introduction
- Introduction. Cognitive individual differences in second language learning and processing 1
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Part 1. Theoretical and methodological issues
- Foreign language aptitude, acquisitional sequences, and psycholinguistic processes 17
- Miniature natural language learning in L2 acquisition research 41
- Working memory, language processing, and implications of malleability for second language acquisition 69
- Methodological implications of working memory tasks for L2 processing research 89
- Analyzing individual differences in second language research 105
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Part 2. Empirical studies
- Music, song and speech 131
- An empirical study of working memory, personality, and second language construction learning 157
- Elicited imitation as a measure of implicit L2 knowledge 185
- Working memory and L2 English speakers’ primed and subsequent production of passives 205
- Interrelationships among L2 linguistic knowledge, working memory functions, and L2 reading 223
- Executive control and phonological processing in language acquisition 249
- Corrective feedback and working memory capacity 279
- The interaction between feedback exposure condition and phonetic coding ability 303
- The role of explicit language aptitude in implicit, explicit, and mixed feedback conditions 327
- Index 351
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
-
Introduction
- Introduction. Cognitive individual differences in second language learning and processing 1
-
Part 1. Theoretical and methodological issues
- Foreign language aptitude, acquisitional sequences, and psycholinguistic processes 17
- Miniature natural language learning in L2 acquisition research 41
- Working memory, language processing, and implications of malleability for second language acquisition 69
- Methodological implications of working memory tasks for L2 processing research 89
- Analyzing individual differences in second language research 105
-
Part 2. Empirical studies
- Music, song and speech 131
- An empirical study of working memory, personality, and second language construction learning 157
- Elicited imitation as a measure of implicit L2 knowledge 185
- Working memory and L2 English speakers’ primed and subsequent production of passives 205
- Interrelationships among L2 linguistic knowledge, working memory functions, and L2 reading 223
- Executive control and phonological processing in language acquisition 249
- Corrective feedback and working memory capacity 279
- The interaction between feedback exposure condition and phonetic coding ability 303
- The role of explicit language aptitude in implicit, explicit, and mixed feedback conditions 327
- Index 351
