Individual differences in foreign language aptitude and its relation to fluid and crystallized intelligence

 
Audio is AI-generated
825

Abstract

This article presents the empirical results of the study on the interaction between fluid and crystallized intelligence and individual differences in foreign language aptitude. The three-factor model of cognitive abilities was constructed and showed a suitable fit to empirical data. According to the model the latent factor of foreign language aptitude demonstrated strong positive correlations with the factors of both fluid and crystallized intelligence. Another important empirical result supports the existence of different patterns of relationships which disclose the variables under study as depending on the level of productivity in the language sphere. Namely, it was shown that on the high level of foreign language test performance there were no significant interactions between foreign language aptitude and different parameters of fluid and crystallized intelligence assessments. We discuss our findings in terms of contemporary approaches to understanding of differential impact of certain cognitive factors on foreign language aptitude

General Information

Keywords: foreign language aptitude, fluid and crystallized intelligence

Journal rubric: General Psychology

OpenAlex citations: 3

OpenAlex trends: Foreign Language Teaching Methods, Educational and Psychological Assessments, Second Language Learning and Teaching

Information about the work in OpenAlex

Number of citations: 3

Topics

Foreign Language Teaching Methods

This cluster of papers explores the impact of distance education, online learning, and educational technology on student engagement, cognitive abilities, and pedagogical management. It also delves into the development of digital competence, remote teaching methods, and the use of interactive learning methods in higher education.

Number of works: 66324  |  Total number of citations: 48394

Topic detailsв OpenAlex

Educational and Psychological Assessments

This cluster of papers focuses on the application of dynamic assessment in educational psychology, emphasizing Vygotskian praxis, mediated learning experience, and the zone of proximal development. It explores the use of dynamic assessment for language development, cognitive modifiability, and the effectiveness of nurture groups and peer mediation. The papers also discuss assessment practices and the role of educational psychologists in promoting learning potential.

Number of works: 88848  |  Total number of citations: 952482

Topic detailsв OpenAlex

Second Language Learning and Teaching

This cluster of papers focuses on the implementation, impact, challenges, and benefits of English-medium instruction (EMI) and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in higher education. It explores topics such as language policy, teacher training, academic language development, student perceptions, and the effects of EMI on content learning. The cluster also delves into the complexities of multilingualism and the globalization of higher education.

Number of works: 143412  |  Total number of citations: 949508

Topic detailsв OpenAlex

Work details in OpenAlex

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/jmfp.2018070202

Published

For citation: Gavrilova, E.V. (2018). Individual differences in foreign language aptitude and its relation to fluid and crystallized intelligence. Journal of Modern Foreign Psychology, 7(2), 16–27. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17759/jmfp.2018070202

© Gavrilova E.V., 2018

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

References

  1. Gavrilova E.V., Belova S.S. Verbal'nye sposobnosti: psikholingvisticheskii i differentsial'no-psikhologicheskii podkhody [Verbal abilities: psycholinguistic and differential-psychological approaches]. Voprosy psikholingvistiki [Questions of psycholinguistics], 2012, no. 2, pp. 98–105. (In Russ.; Abstr. in Engl.).
  2. Gal'skova N.D. Sovremennaya metodika obucheniya inostrannym yazykam: pos. dlya uchitelya. 3-e izd., pererab. i dop [Modern methods of teaching foreign languages: a manual for teachers. 3rd ed., Revised. and additional]. Moscow: ARKTI, 2004. 192 p.
  3. Igna O.N. Podkhody k vyyavleniyu lingvisticheskoi odarennosti i sposobnostei k inostrannym yazykam [Approaches to the identification of linguistic endowments and abilities for foreign languages]. Aktual'nye problemy lingvodidaktiki. Vestnik TGPU (TSPU Bulletin) [Actual problems of linguodidactics. Bulletin of TSPU (TSPU Bulletin)], 2013, no. 3 (131), pp. 115–119. (In Russ.; Abstr. in Engl.).
  4. Kabardov M.K. Kommunikativnye i kognitivnye sostavlyayushchie yazykovykh sposobnostei (individual'no-tipologicheskii podkhod). Dis. dokt. psikhol. nauk [Communicative and cognitive components of language abilities (individual-typological approach). Dr. Sci. (Psychology) diss.]. Moscow, 2001. 354 p.
  5. Kochkina O.M., Voronin A.N. Diskursivnye sposobnosti v protsesse intensivnogo izucheniya inostrannogo yazyka [Discursive abilities in the process of intensive study of a foreign language]. In Barabanshchikova V.A., Samoilenko E.S. (eds.) Poznanie v strukture obshcheniya [Cognition in the structure of communication]. Moscow: Institut psikhologii RAN, 2009, pp. 262–270.
  6. Senin I.G., Sorokina O.V., Chirkov V.I. Test umstvennykh sposobnostei (TUS) [The test of mental abilities (TUS)]. Yaroslavl': Nauchno-proizvodstvennyi tsentr «Psikhodiagnostika» [Yaroslavl: Research and Production Center "Psychodiagnostics"], 1993.
  7. Sidorenkova L.I. Vozrastnye razlichiya v strukture yazykovykh sposobnostei i vozmozhnosti ikh ucheta v protsesse obucheniya inostrannomu yazyku [Age differences in the structure of language abilities and the possibility of their accounting in the process of teaching a foreign language]. Psikhologiya obucheniya [Psychology of education], 2008, no. 10, pp. 14–28. (In Russ.).
  8. Baddeley A.D., Hitch G.J. Working memory. Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 1974, vol. 8, pp. 47–90. doi:10.1016/S0079-7421(08)60452-1
  9. Carroll J.B., Sapon S.M. The modern language aptitude test. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation, 1959. 27 p.
  10. Cattell R.B. Theory of fluid and crystallized intelligence: A critical experiment. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1963, vol. 54, no. 1, pp. 1−22. doi:10.1037/h0046743
  11. Chan E., Skehan P., Gong G. Working memory, phonemic coding ability and foreign language aptitude: Potential for construction of specific language aptitude tests – the case of Cantonese. A Journal of English Language, Literatures and Cultural Studies, 2011, vol. 60, no. 1, pp. 45–73. doi:10.5007/2175-8026.2011n60p045
  12. Horn J.L., Noll J. Human cognitive capabilities: Gf–Gc theory. In Flanagan D.P., Genshaft J.L., Harrison P.L. (eds.) Contemporary intellectual assessment: Theories, tests, and issues. New York: Guilford Press, 1997, pp. 53–91.
  13. Kormos J., Sáfár A. Phonological short term-memory, working memory and foreign language performance in intensive language learning. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 2008, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 261–271. doi:10.1017/ s1366728908003416
  14. Kormos J., Trebits A. The role of task complexity, modality and aptitude in narrative task performance. Language Learning, 2012, vol. 62, no. 2, pp. 439–472. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9922.2012.00695.x
  15. Mackey A., Sachs R. Older learners in SLA research: A first look at working memory, feedback, and L2 development. Language Learning, 2012, vol. 62, no. 3, pp. 704–740. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9922.2011.00649.x
  16. McGrew K.S. CHC theory and the human cognitive abilities project: Standing on the shoulders of the giants of psychometric intelligence research. Intelligence, 2009, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 1–10. doi:10.1016/j.intell.2008.08.004
  17. Miyake A., Friedman N.P. Individual differences in second language proficiency: Working memory as language aptitude. In Healy A.F., Bourne L.E. (eds.) Foreign language learning: Psycholinguistic studies on training and retention. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1998, pp. 339–364.
  18. Robinson P. Attention and memory during SLA. In Davies A., Elder C. (eds.) The handbook of applied linguistics. Oxford: Blackwell, 2003, pp. 631–678.
  19. Robinson P. Individual differences, cognitive abilities, aptitude complexes and learning conditions in second language acquisition. Second Language Research, 2001, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 368–392. doi:10.1177/026765830101700405
  20. Sáfár A., Kormos J. Revisiting problems with foreign language aptitude. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 2008, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 113–136. doi:10.1515/IRAL.2008.005
  21. Schneider W.J., McGrew K.S. The Cattell-Horn-Carroll model of intelligence. In Flanagan D., Harrison P. Contemporary intellectual assessment: Theories, tests, and issues. New York: Guilford, 2012, pp. 99–144.
  22. Serafini E.J., Sanz C. Evidence for the decreasing impact of cognitive ability on second language development as efficiency increases. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 2016, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 607–646. doi:10.1017/S0272263115000327
  23. Skehan P. A cognitive approach to language learning. Oxford: OUP Oxford, 1998. 324 p.
  24. Sparks R., Ganschow L. The impact of native language learning problems on foreign language learning: Case study illustrations of the linguistic coding deficit hypothesis. Modern Language Journal, 1993, vol. 77, pp. 58–74. doi:10.2307/329559
  25. Zalbidea J. ‘One Task Fits All’? The Roles of Task Complexity, Modality, and Working Memory Capacity in L2 Performance. The modern language journal, 2017, vol. 2, no. 101, pp. 335–352. doi:10.1111/modl.12389

Information About the Authors

Evgeniya V. Gavrilova, Candidate of Science (Psychology), Research Fellow, Centre of Applied Researches in Psychology and Education, Moscow State University of psychology and education (MSUPE), Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0848-3839, e-mail: gavrilovaev@mgppu.ru

Metrics

 Web Views

Whole time: 1809
Previous month: 18
Current month: 19

 PDF Downloads

Whole time: 825
Previous month: 6
Current month: 6

 Total

Whole time: 2634
Previous month: 24
Current month: 25