Language Aptitude Theory and Practice

Zhisheng (Edward) Wen is a Full Professor of Applied Linguistics in the Department of English Language and Literature at the Hong Kong ShueYan University. He has 20 years of tertiary-level teaching and research experience in applied linguistics, second language acquisition (SLA) and translation studies, with world recognized expertise and publications in working memory and language aptitude research. Peter Skehan is Research Fellow at Institute of Education, University College London (UCL). He is interested in second language acquisition, foreign language aptitude and language testing, and is a recipient of the International Association of Task-Based Language Teaching Distinguished Achievement award and the Samuel J. Messick Memorial Lecture Award. Richard L. Sparks is Professor Emeritus in Mount St. Joseph University's Department of Graduate Education. His research interests and expertise include foreign language learning; reading, learning, and language disabilities; and language aptitude. He has published extensively in foreign language, learning disability, reading, and psychology journals.

• Preface and acknowledgements; 1. Language aptitude research: from testing to theory and practice Zhisheng Wen, Peter Skehan and Richard Sparks; Part I. Revisiting and Refining Aptitude Tests: 2. The MLAT-Elementary: history, adaptations and current uses Daniel Reed and Charles Stansfield; 3. Testing language aptitude: LLAMA evolution and refinement Vivienne Rogers, Paul Meara and Brian Rogers; 4. The High-Level Language Aptitude Test Battery (Hi-LAB): development, validation and use Meredith Hughes, Ewa Golonka, Alison Tseng and Susan Campbell; 5. Exploring the predictive validity of the LLAMA language aptitude tests: a research synthesis Lars Bokander; Part II. Aptitude Testing of Diverse Groups: 6. Testing language aptitude for Chinese learners of foreign languages: FLAT-C vs. LLAMA Zhao Haiyong, Luo Shaoqian and Fu Ailan; 7. Testing language aptitude for recently arrived parent-child immigrant dyads Amelia Lambelet; 8. Is language aptitude immune to experience? Divergent evidence from bilingualism vs. blindness Niclas Abrahamsson and Helena Smeds; 9. Testing language aptitude: reanalysis of batteries and constructs Peter Skehan; Part III. Innovative Perspectives and Paradigms: 10. The neurobiology of language aptitude, musicality and working memory Sabrina Turker and Susanne Reiterer, 11. The Linguistic Coding Differences Hypothesis (LCDH) and L2 learning: a thirty-year retrospective Richard Sparks; 12. Variability of language aptitude and working memory in EFL learners' listening development Pengyun Chang and Lawrence Jun Zhang; 13. An aptitude model for translation and interpreting: insights from translanguaging theory Lili Han, Zhisheng (Edward) Wen, Zi-yu Lin and Wei Li; Part IV. Aptitude Treatment Interactions (ATI): 14. Language aptitude and timing of form-focused instruction in TBLT Gabriel Michaud and Ahlem Ammar; 15. Implicit (not explicit) learning aptitude predicts the acquisition of difficult (not easy) structure: a visual-world eye-tracking study Yuichi Suzuki, Robert DeKeyser and Yi Ting Huang; 16. Implicit/statistical learning and second language outcomes: a Bayesian meta-analysis Daniel Jackson and Ryo Maie; Part V. Final Commentaries: 17. Reflections on language aptitude: theory, research and measurement Peter Skehan; 18. Epilogue: the nature and measurement of language aptitude – what are the important questions? Michael Bunting; Index.

'Theoretically motivated research into aptitude for second language acquisition (SLA) under different conditions of exposure, and at different stages of development and levels of proficiency, is essential for aptitude test development, and for matching learners to optimal conditions of instruction. This book provides the most thorough, up-to-date summaries of these important cognitive, developmental, and educational issues available and is essential reading for all language educators and SLA researchers! Most highly recommended!' Peter Robinson, Professor of Second Language Acquisition, Aoyama Gakuin University