Language Aptitude

Aptitude means “ a natural ability to do something”

A lot of questions have been raised regarding a person’s ability to grasp languages.

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Is there an ability or talent that we can call foreign language aptitude?

If so, what is is and is it innate or environmentally “nurtured”?

Is it a distinct ability or is it an aspect of general cognitive abilities?

Anecdotal evidence would say that for various reasons, some people are indeed able to learn languages faster and more efficiently than others. One way of looking at aptitude is the identification of a number of characteristics of successful language learners.

The variables listed are

-Risk taking behavior

-Memory efficiency

-Intelligent guessing

-Ambiguity tolerance

Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT)

Introduced by John Caroll in 1958

Before they learn another language they need to perform several activities.

It requires learners to perform tasks such as

-Learning numbers

-Discriminating sounds

-Detecting spelling clues and grammatical patterns

-Memorizing word meanings

This test was reasonably well accepted by foreign language teachers.

However, their popularity slowly waned.

The factor accounted for this decline.

Even though MLAT claimed to measure language aptitude, it became apparent that they only reflected the general intelligence or academic ability of a student in any instructional setting

They did not even touch into the kinds of learning strategies and styles which are crucial in the acquisition of communicative competence.

Finally, Peter Robinson continued work on aptitude issues probes other questions about language aptitude. He suggested that aptitude is a complex of abilities that include, among others,

-Processing speed

-Short- and long term memory

-Rote memory

-Planning time

-Pragmatic abilities

-Interactional intelligence

-Emotional Intelligence

-Self- Efficacy.

Here's a video on how Andy Graham talks about Language Aptitude test