Language aptitude and its relationship to instructional effectiveness in second language acquisition

• Published in: Language teaching research : LTR Vol. 9; no. 2; pp. 147 - 171
• Main Author: Erlam, Rosemary
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thousand Oaks, CA SAGE Publications 01.04.2005; Turpin; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Aptitude Tests; Coding; Cognitive psychology; Curriculum subjects: programmes and methods; Educational sciences; Foreign Countries; Form Classes (Languages); French; French as a second language; French as a Second Language Instruction; French as a second language learning; Individual differences; Information processing; Instructional design; Instructional Effectiveness; Language acquisition; Language Aptitude; Language instruction; Language Research; Language Teaching Methods; Linguistic Input; Logic; Logical Thinking; Measures (Individuals); Memory; Modern language; New Zealand; Phonemes; Phonemics; Phonology; Pronouns; Reading Skills; Second Language Instruction; Second Language Learning; Secondary Education; Secondary school students; Secondary schools; Short term; Short Term Memory; Student Evaluation; Students; Studies; Teaching; Teaching Methods; Vocabulary Development; New Zealand; New York; United States > US; Language Teaching; Language ability; French; Secondary School; Efficiency; Teaching method; Language Skill
• ISSN: 1362-1688; 1477-0954
• DOI: 10.1191/1362168805lr161oa

Experimental second language acquisition research typically investigates the effectiveness of instruction in terms of overall group gains. A particular instructional method may not, however, benefit all learners uniformly. This study, conducted in a New Zealand secondary school, establishes whether there is any relationship between the effectiveness of three instructional methods, and learner aptitude. Students (n = 60) were assigned to one of three groups (deductive instruction group, inductive instruction group, structured input instruction group) and received instruction that targeted direct object pronouns in L2 French. All students were assessed on the following three measures of language aptitude: (a) language analytic ability, (b) phonemic coding ability and (c) working memory. Results indicate that deductive instruction that gives students opportunities to produce language output may neutralize individual differences in language aptitude.