Investigates how four bilingual writers from one culture attend to audience in persuasive writing in Malay and English, and the relationship between audience awareness, culture, and quality of their written products. Findings suggests individual differences between bilingual writer's use of audience strategies when composing were intertwined with…

Addresses one aspect of individual differences and how socially learned cues may radically influence the verbal learning tasks performed by university students taking a foreign language. The nonuniversity studies reviewed provide the backdrop for a more in-depth study on four memorization modes and how these strategies are largely dependent on…

Investigated fourth-year university students perceptions of vocabulary learning strategies as affected by individual difference variables such as sex, Tawijihi grades, and accumulative average. The study consisted of English majors at Yarmouk University in Jordan. (Author/VWL)

Using both proficiency tests and self-assessment measures, this study investigated (a) whether 3 subgroups of Japanese heritage language (JHL) learners would demonstrate language behaviors distinctively different from those of traditional Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) learners, and (b) which domains of language use and skills would…

This paper is concerned with factors affecting Chinese English-as-Second-Language (ESL) learner's acquisition in the Department of Foreign Languages at Tianjin Institute of Technology. These factors, which include language shock, culture differences, culture background knowledge, motivation, and ego permeability, create psychological distance…

The bibliography contains 64 annotated references to journal articles and other sources of information about individual difference correlates of second language achievement. The journal articles appeared between 1984 and 1987. Where available, abstracts contained in the original articles are used; these are marked with asterisks. Entries are coded…

The effects of elaboration instructions and imagery characteristics of verbal material on learning of Malay--English word pairs were investigated, as well as the moderating effects of individual differences. Results reflect aptitude X treatment interactions and the importance of individual differences in planning instructional methods. (Author/JAC)

Foreign language learning/acquisition is a highly complex intellectual-psychic/physical-social integration process that is different for each individual. Cognitive and affective emphases for language acquisition are discussed, along with changes in the student-teacher relationship and implications for teacher education. (Authors/PP)

Analyzes the incorporation patterns of well-educated, but low proficiency, Chinese immigrants (n=4) to Spain and of high-proficiency Chinese university students (n=4) with extensive formal training in Spanish. Findings reveal that whereas the university students showed awareness of error and successfully incorporated native speakers' corrections,…

Many South African students who enroll in higher education are underprepared and have low reading ability. Outlines the reading strategic component of an English for professional purposes course offered for such students in a technology-enhanced environment. Results indicate that students who received strategic reading instruction received higher…

Examines claims that unconscious second language learning under implicit and incidental conditions is insensitive to measures of individual differences in cognitive abilities, in contrast to learning under conscious rule-search and instructed conditions. Findings revealed that only in the incidental condition was the extent of learning and…

The present study on second language (L2) reading and individual difference variables (IDVs) examines learners' self-assessed ability level and enjoyment and the effects of these factors on two different measures of comprehension. The investigation controls for topic familiarity differences by gender and the study utilizes the authentic short…

Based on results of a project undertaken in Finland over many years, this definition of transfer is offered: Transfer is both a facilitating and limiting factor which provides one basis for the learner to form and test hypotheses about the second language he or she is learning. Theory and research on transfer are discussed as they relate to item…

Summarizes the important workshops of the 1996 Language Teachers Association of the Northern Territory, Australia. One workshop suggests that every individual possesses a unique blend of seven intelligences. Three others focus on catering to a range of learners through the provision of multimedia tasks, by self-directed learning and through…

A comparative study examined the influence of overseas experience on how learners put their second-language knowledge to use during communication, and how they compensate for gaps in their knowledge. Results do not suggest a strong dichotomy between language learning in the classroom and abroad or between grammar and oral proficiency. (20…