JUNTILLA, JONIEVA T.

Tuesday, 16 August 2022

Individual Differences in Second Language Learning

The ways in which people differ from each other. Every member of an organization has its
own way of behavior.
The following Individual Differences in Second Language Learning; Intelligence,
Aptitude, learning styles, Personality, Motivation and Attitudes, Identify and ethnic group
affiliation, Learner beliefs, Age of acquisition.
Intelligence is the ability to acquire knowledge and skills. According to Ellis (2008)
“Intelligence is the general set of cognitive abilities involved in performing a wide range of
learning tasks”.
Aptitude is a natural ability to do something. According to Carroll and Sapon (2002),
language of aptitude refers to a set of cognitive abilities that are ‘predictive of how well,
relative to other individuals, an individual can learn a foreign language in a given amount of
time and under given conditions”. However, based on what I have read a learner with high
aptitude may learn withy greater ease and speed.
Learning Styles refer to a range of theories that aim to account for differences in
individuals’ learning. There are types of learning styles related to L2; Perceptual Learning
styles: visual, aural/ auditory, and haptic. Cognitive Learning style; field-independence vs.
field-dependent, right-brain dominance vs. left-brain dominance.
Personality is the characteristics sets of behaviors, cognitions, and emotional
patterns that are formed from biological and environmental factors, and which change over
time. (Wikipedia). Some of the personality characteristics affects L2 learning, some studies
have found that learners’ success in language learning is associated with extroversion but
some research does not always support this conclusion. Inhibitions discourage risk-taking, it
is considered to be a particular problem for adolescents who are more self-conscious than
younger learners. Anxiety can play an important role in L2 learning if it interferes with the
learning process. There are harmful and helpful anxiety: not all anxiety is bad and a certain
amount of tension, it can have a positive effect in learning.
Motivation and Attitudes learners’ attitudes have an impact on the level of
language proficiency achieved by individual learners. Thus, learners with positive attitudes
will experience success. Similarly, learners with negative attitudes will not experience
success rather than failure (Ellis,1994). There are two types of Motivation, the Integrative
(personal growth) and Instrumental(career). Research found out that both are related to
success in L2 learning.
Identity and Ethnic Affiliation. Identities are not static and can change over time.
Feelings of ethnic affiliation and L2 learners’ mastery of pronunciation can be complex.
Learner Beliefs. I believe that language can be learned through experiences,
practice and perseverance.
Age of Acquisition. refer to the age at which a word is typically learned.
 Therefore, we have different capabilities as an individual. We are unique, we excel in
different ways as we exist in this world that no one can ever steal it from you.