Past studies on aptitude for interpreting have investigated the correlation between personal traits and achievement, yet relatively few have singled out students' emotional state as an important aptitude constituent or tracked its developmental patterns. To address this gap, the present study followed 116 Chinese students of interpreting for five…

Individual differences (IDs) play an important role in the second language learning process and explain the varied experiences of the L2 learner. The two major IDs, language aptitude and motivation, can be primary factors in one's ultimate proficiency. While language aptitude is largely fixed, motivation is malleable and can aid in overcoming…

Adult second language (L2) learning often exhibits great variability in its rate and outcome. Although research shows that learning trajectories are partly shaped by social and contextual factors (e.g. Larson-Hall, 2008), certain learner factors play an important role in enhancing L2 pronunciation learning by helping L2 learners notice and process…

This qualitative research aims at exploring the language policy in Dubai's schools and highlight the areas that can be improved from theory to practice. There was the use of a Survey, Semi-Structured Interviews, and Secondary Data (Policy Documents). Purposive sampling was used to choose research participants with Survey Participants being taken…

The present study compared L2 and L3 learners of the same additional language in two parallel case studies framed within a Vygotskyan SCT perspective to examine how foreign language learners' background knowledge impacts on the path of their development. Interactive data were collected on the development of interrogative formation by four Persian…

The central question in this study is whether the language and math delays of the different socio-economic and ethnic minority groups targeted by Dutch educational disadvantage policy have diminished or not. Data are from the years 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2008. Information from a total of 90,000 pupils in Grades 2 and 8 was selected to represent the…

The present study investigates the interaction between two types of explicit instructional approaches, deduction and explicit-induction, and the level of foreign language aptitude in the learning of grammar rules. Results indicate that on the whole the two equally explicit instructional approaches did not differentially affect learning…

This paper describes student-level findings of the first large-scale comprehensive school effectiveness study of the primary education in Serbia. Twenty-five student-level variables were examined in a three-level HLM model using a study sample of almost 5000 students, over 250 classrooms and over 100 schools. Differences between the students were…

Educational policies that impact second language (L2) learners--a rapidly-growing group--are often enacted without consulting relevant research. This review synthesized research regarding optimal conditions for L2 acquisition, facilitative L2 learner and teacher characteristics, and speed of L2 acquisition, from four bodies of work--foreign…

This article is based on a case study of a white American graduate student, Mark, who achieved "Superior" oral proficiency in Arabic according to the ACTFIi Oral Proficiency Scale. Based on multiple data sources (e.g., interviews, observation, document analysis), the study highlights Mark's multiple identities as a language learner, language…

Teacher rating scales have been used widely throughout the United States as part of a comprehensive plan for identifying potentially gifted and talented students. The Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics for Superior Students (SRBCSS) are among the most frequently used teacher rating scales to assess the characteristics of and nominate…

The native oral and written language and foreign language aptitude of students with different levels of anxiety were examined using the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale. One finding was that "language variables" discriminate high- from low-anxiety students despite similarities in cognitive ability and overall academic achievement…

Two studies explore the relationship between foreign language teachers' perceptions of their students' academic skills and affective characteristics and their native language skills, foreign language aptitude, and oral and written foreign language proficiency. In Study I (replication), students who scored significantly lower on native language and…

This study addresses the effects of secondary schools and classes on language achievement in Flanders, Belgium. The results of a three-level analysis (students within classes within schools) indicate that the group composition at the class level is very important. In classes with a high average initial cognitive ability or a large proportion of…

A study examined variability in learner progress through a pre-university intensive English-as-a-Second-Language program as it relates to 36 language learning background variables (e.g., formal English training and exposure, motivation, etc.) and four entry-level proficiency variables. Subjects were 201 Indiana University students. Success was…