Discusses cognitive, affective, and linguistic influences on foreign language learning. It proposes the Linguistic Coding Differences Hypothesis (LCDH) model for understanding foreign language learning problems. The empirical support for the LCDH model is reviewed. Diagnostic, pedagogical, and policy implications are addressed. (Author/DB)

Fifty-four students were tested at specific time intervals over 10 years to determine best native language (NL) predictors of oral and written foreign language (FL) proficiency and FL aptitude. All participants completed two years of Spanish, French, or German. Each was administered measures of NL literacy, oral language, and cognitive ability in…

Colleges and universities often permit students classified as learning disabled (LD) and other students not classified as LD to substitute courses for or waive the foreign language requirement. The Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) has become an increasingly popular assessment tool to determine which students can or cannot pass foreign language…

Two studies that included high school students classified as at risk for learning a foreign language are described. The first compared at-risk students classified as learning disabled with at-risk students not classified as LD. The second investigated only students classified as LD, comparing them with and without discrepancies between their…