Individual Differences in Second Language Learning: Introduction

The topic of the workshop from which this volume comes, “Individual Differences in Second Language Learning,” is timely and important for both practical and theoretical reasons. The practical reasons are obvious: While many people have some knowledge of a second or further language, there is enormous variability in how well they know these languages. Much of this variability is, of course, likely to be due to differences in the time spent studying or being immersed in the language, but even in similar learning environments learners differ greatly in how quickly they pick up a language and in their ultimate level of proficiency. For purposes of selecting and advising learners, and for identifying those who may require specific types of intervention, it would be extremely useful to be able to predict how quickly and how well an individual learner will acquire a new language and which type of instruction would suit them best. To offer such guidance we need suitable ways of assessing proficiency and we need tests that predict an individual’s speed and learning success. During the workshop much of the discussion centered on these questions: how factors such as proficiency and language aptitude can be best defined and assessed; what assessable precursors of good second language learning might be; and how assessment tools can be developed, improved, and validated. These discussions are reflected in many of the articles in this volume (Dale, Harlaar, & Plomin; Andringa, Olsthoorn, van Beuningen, Schoonen, & Hulstijn; Sparks;