Language Aptitude Reconsidered

ERIC Educational Reports, Dec 01, 1989 by Charles W. Stansfield

This Digest is based on a monograph in the Language in Education series, "Language Aptitude Reconsidered," edited by T.S. Parry and C.W. Stansfield (forthcoming). The monograph can be ordered from Prentice Hall Regents, Mail Order Processing, 200 Old Tappan Road, NJ 07675, or by calling 1-201-767-5937.WHAT IS FOREIGN LANGUAGE APTITUDE?This basic question is difficult to answer. Foreign language aptitude was the subject of much research during the 1950s and has been the subject of intermittent research during the last 30 years.

Aptitude for learning anything can be defined for operational purposes as "the amount of time it takes an individual to learn the task in question." Thus, individuals typically differ not in whether they can learn a task or not learn it, but rather in the length of time it takes them to learn it or to reach a given degree of competency. This is also true of foreign language aptitude.

Is foreign language aptitude actually different from general aptitude or intelligence? The answer, based on a number of studies (Carroll, 1962; Gardner & Lambert, 1965; Wesche, Edwards & Wells, 1982), seems to be "Yes." Indeed, one index of the quality of a foreign language aptitude test is the degree to which it exceeds a general intelligence test in the prediction of success in learning a foreign language. A number of foreign language aptitude tests, although not all of those that have been developed, have demonstrated the ability to do so.

Carroll (1962) demonstrated that foreign language aptitude is comprised of four cognitive abilities. These abilities are reflected, to one extent or another, in the foreign language aptitude tests that have been developed subsequent to Carroll's research. The first of these abilities is phonetic coding, which is the ability to segment and identify distinct sounds, to form associations between those sounds and symbols representing them, and to retain these associations. This is a rather unique auditory component of foreign language aptitude. It is especially important in classes that emphasize spoken language.

The second component is grammatical sensitivity, the ability to recognize the grammatical function of words or other linguistic structures in sentences. This component may be especially important in classes that emphasize an analytical approach to learning a foreign language.

The third component is rote learning ability as it applies to foreign language learning situations (Carroll, 1990). Rote learning ability is a kind of general memory, but individuals seem to differ in their ability to apply their memory to the foreign language situation.

The fourth component is inductive language learning ability. This is the ability to infer the rules that govern the use of language. Again, this component is probably like general inductive learning ability, but individuals may vary in their ability to apply it to the foreign language learning situation.FOREIGN LANGUAGE APTITUDE TESTS AND THEIR USESSeveral tests of foreign language aptitude are in use today. The "Pimsleur Language Aptitude Battery" (PLAB) (Pimsleur, 1965) was developed for students in grades 7 to 12. The "Modern Language Aptitude Test" (MLAT) was developed by Carroll and Sapon (1959) for adults and high school students. Carroll and Sapon (1967) also developed an elementary version, the "EMLAT," for use with children in grades 3 to 6. These tests are available to teachers, although they are not frequently used in public schools. This is unfortunate, because research suggests that these tests may be useful in the academic context for placing and counseling students, and for understanding and appropriately tailoring instruction to the aptitudes, motivations, and learning styles of individuals and groups (Stansfield, 1989).

The MLAT is used extensively by government agencies in the United States and Canada. In addition, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has developed the "Army Language Aptitude Test" (ALAT) (a short language aptitude test), the VORD (Parry and Child, 1990), and the "Defense Language Aptitude Battery" (DLAB) (Peterson & Al-Haik, 1976). These tests are used in different ways by different agencies. In the DOD, the DLAB is used to select individuals from all the armed services for study at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California. The U.S. Government has grouped languages into four categories according to their difficulty for English speakers. A certain minimum DLAB score is associated with qualification for studying the languages in each category of difficulty. Thus, at the DLI, DLAB scores are used for selection and placement (Lett and O'Mara, forthcoming). The government's intelligence agencies normally use either the MLAT or the ALAT for selection and placement. The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) participated in the original validation studies of the MLAT and has continued to use it ever since. The FBI uses the DLAB score and the government's four-category system to determine whether its agents would be successful if sent to receive full-time language training.