“Foreign” language aptitude predicts individual differences in native grammatical proficiency
Language aptitude is known to be a strong predictor of success in late second-language (L2) learning in instructional settings but is generally assumed to be irrelevant for native language (L1) acquisition. We investigated the relationship between language aptitude and L1 grammatical proficiency in...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
De Gruyter
2023-09-01
|
| Series: | Linguistics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1515/ling-2022-0009 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832570435443621888 |
|---|---|
| author | Llompart Miquel Dąbrowska Ewa |
| author_facet | Llompart Miquel Dąbrowska Ewa |
| author_sort | Llompart Miquel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Language aptitude is known to be a strong predictor of success in late second-language (L2) learning in instructional settings but is generally assumed to be irrelevant for native language (L1) acquisition. We investigated the relationship between language aptitude and L1 grammatical proficiency in the two studies reported here. Language aptitude was measured by means of a newly-developed test of grammatical sensitivity (Studies 1 and 2) and the Language Analysis subtest of the Pimsleur Language Aptitude Battery (Study 1), whereas grammatical proficiency was assessed by a grammaticality judgment task in Study 1 and a picture selection task in Study 2. The results of the two studies reveal a robust relationship between language aptitude and L1 grammatical proficiency that is remarkably consistent across different measures for both variables and appears to hold across the board for a variety of grammatical structures. These results fit well with the proposal that explicit learning may play an important role not only in adult L2 learning but also in L1 acquisition and raises questions about the validity of arguments for a fundamental difference between L1 and L2 acquisition based on the premise that only the latter is related to aptitude. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-70de9a22724045b293b0d4c5561e19ff |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0024-3949 1613-396X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | De Gruyter |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Linguistics |
| spelling | doaj-art-70de9a22724045b293b0d4c5561e19ff2025-02-02T15:46:00ZengDe GruyterLinguistics0024-39491613-396X2023-09-016151165119310.1515/ling-2022-0009“Foreign” language aptitude predicts individual differences in native grammatical proficiencyLlompart Miquel0Dąbrowska Ewa1Department of Translation and Language Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, SpainDepartment of English and American Studies, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, GermanyLanguage aptitude is known to be a strong predictor of success in late second-language (L2) learning in instructional settings but is generally assumed to be irrelevant for native language (L1) acquisition. We investigated the relationship between language aptitude and L1 grammatical proficiency in the two studies reported here. Language aptitude was measured by means of a newly-developed test of grammatical sensitivity (Studies 1 and 2) and the Language Analysis subtest of the Pimsleur Language Aptitude Battery (Study 1), whereas grammatical proficiency was assessed by a grammaticality judgment task in Study 1 and a picture selection task in Study 2. The results of the two studies reveal a robust relationship between language aptitude and L1 grammatical proficiency that is remarkably consistent across different measures for both variables and appears to hold across the board for a variety of grammatical structures. These results fit well with the proposal that explicit learning may play an important role not only in adult L2 learning but also in L1 acquisition and raises questions about the validity of arguments for a fundamental difference between L1 and L2 acquisition based on the premise that only the latter is related to aptitude.https://doi.org/10.1515/ling-2022-0009grammargrammatical proficiencyindividual differenceslanguage aptitudeultimate attainment |
| spellingShingle | Llompart Miquel Dąbrowska Ewa “Foreign” language aptitude predicts individual differences in native grammatical proficiency Linguistics grammar grammatical proficiency individual differences language aptitude ultimate attainment |
| title | “Foreign” language aptitude predicts individual differences in native grammatical proficiency |
| title_full | “Foreign” language aptitude predicts individual differences in native grammatical proficiency |
| title_fullStr | “Foreign” language aptitude predicts individual differences in native grammatical proficiency |
| title_full_unstemmed | “Foreign” language aptitude predicts individual differences in native grammatical proficiency |
| title_short | “Foreign” language aptitude predicts individual differences in native grammatical proficiency |
| title_sort | foreign language aptitude predicts individual differences in native grammatical proficiency |
| topic | grammar grammatical proficiency individual differences language aptitude ultimate attainment |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1515/ling-2022-0009 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT llompartmiquel foreignlanguageaptitudepredictsindividualdifferencesinnativegrammaticalproficiency AT dabrowskaewa foreignlanguageaptitudepredictsindividualdifferencesinnativegrammaticalproficiency |