2015-08-21
301
Discuss the following statements in your peer group and mark them as true (T), false (F) or debatable (D).
| Statements | T F D |
| 1. High level of language aptitude means that a learner invests much effort into learning | |
| 2. High level of language aptitude means that a learner has exceptional gift for abstract thinking | |
| 3. High level of language aptitude means that a learner quickly fulfils a novel task | |
| 4. High level of language aptitude means that a learner has a high level of general intelligence | |
| 5. High level of language aptitude means that a learner always gets a stable high level of achievement | |
| 6. High level of language aptitude means that learner acquires vast vocabulary | |
| 7. High level of language aptitude means that a learner has a good capacity for analysing the language grammar |
Language aptitude (Carroll) is an important factor in language acquisition. Studies show the importance of language aptitude as an explanatory factor in learning both L1 and L2 (Skehan, P. 1998. A Cognitive Approach to Language Learning. OPU. P. 190-206). The concept of “language aptitude ” is often related to the concept of “general intelligence. The research shows that intelligence is strongly related to the development of academic language skills in reading and writing, acquiring grammar and semantic vocabulary processing, but unrelated to ratings of oral productive ability and fluency. Fluent speech can be accompanied by average and even poor intellectual functions. (Carroll, J. cited in Ellis, R. 1996. The Study of Second Language Acquisition. OUP. P. 494-499). There are several propositions concerning language aptitudes. They can be summed up as follows: aptitude is separate from achievement, aptitude is separate from motivation, aptitude is an innate factor, aptitude enhances for rate of learning, aptitude enhances the easiness of learning, aptitude is distinct from general intelligence. Language aptitude is seen in a capability of fulfilling a novel task, rate and easiness of acquiring a language. Several indications of language aptitude have been intensely studied and appear to be important in defining language aptitude: phonemic coding ability, grammatical sensitivity (the highest correlation was found between use of auxiliaries and language aptitude), inductive language learning ability (ability to formulate the rules from examples), rote learning ability, transforming abstract grammar structures, memory capacity and language analytic ability (Skehan, P. 1998. A Cognitive Approach to Language Learning. OPU. P. 190-206). Exceptional language learners are keen on building up their vocabulary and vast vocabulary stock is their marked distinctive feature (Ellis, R. 1996. The Study of Second Language Acquisition. OUP. P. 494-499).
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