Early conceptions of aptitude were concerned with explicit learning abilities in formal learning settings, which according to MLAT (Modern Language Aptitude Test) were measurable based on a phonemic coding ability, an inductive learning ability, an associative memory, and a grammatical sensitivity (Carroll, 1962). However, recent understanding on…

This study investigated fast mapping in late-talking (LT) toddlers and toddlers with normal language (NL) development matched on age, nonverbal cognition, and maternal education. The fast-mapping task included novel object labels and familiar words. The LT group scored significantly lower than the NL group on novel word comprehension and…

The presence or absence of clinically delayed language development prior to 3 years of age is a key, but contentious, clinical feature distinguishing autism from Asperger's disorder. The aim of this study was to examine language processing in children with high-functioning autism (HFA) and Asperger's disorder (AD) using a task which taps lexical…

Fifty-four students were followed over 10 years beginning in first grade to determine best predictors of oral and written second language (L2) proficiency. Predictor variables included measures of first language (L1) skill administered in first through fifth grades, L1 academic aptitude, L2 aptitude (Modern Language Aptitude Test), and L2 affect…

Explores the requirements for a general theory of second language learning that accounts both for the fact that people can learn more than one language and for the generalizable individual differences that occur in such learning, and considers the formalization and testing of such a theoretical model. (Author/CB)

An information-processing approach to language learning is examined; language aptitude is factored into the approach, and the role of working memory is discussed. The process of learning includes two processes that make heavy use of working memory is: automatization and restructuring. At first, learners must make a conscious effort to remember and…

A discussion of language testing looks at the relationship between the processes of language learning and language testing, particularly from the point of view of pragmatics theory. It outlines some of the theory of Charles Sanders Pierce and its role in the evolution of linguistic theory, as well as the work of other theorists concerning the…

This paper reports replications of studies of implicit artificial grammar (AG) learning and explicit series-solution learning with experienced second language learners in order to examine their population and content generalizability. As found by Reber, Walkenfeld, and Hernstadt (1991), there was significantly greater variance in explicit compared…

Methods and approaches used at the U.S. Army Research Institute to investigate intelligent computer-assisted foreign language instruction are discussed. The research described explores the use of hypertext and natural language processing for improving language training by articulating student knowledge structures and for providing, incidentally, a…