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Erlam (2005) found that learners with high grammatical sensitivity (a subcomponent of aptitude) performed better after explicit deductive instruction, whereas learners with high rote memory skills benefited equally from inductive instruction. More recently, Vatz et al. (2013) showed that high-analytic learners excel with explicit corrective feedback, while learners with strong phonetic coding ability benefit more from recasts. twenty-five years of research on foreign language aptitude
Using idiodynamic methods (moment-to-moment ratings), Suzuki (2021) showed that learners’ effective WM capacity fluctuates depending on perceived task difficulty and state anxiety. A learner who appears “low aptitude” on a timed grammaticality judgment test may perform as “high aptitude” on a self-paced narrative retell task. Learners with high WM capacity can handle the
Researchers linked ATIs to cognitive load theory. Learners with high WM capacity can handle the demands of implicit, input-rich environments, whereas learners with lower WM but strong analytical skills require explicit rule presentation to reduce cognitive load (Kormos, 2017). This has direct pedagogical implications: differentiated instruction based on aptitude profiles is not just desirable but potentially necessary. 4. The Implicit-Explicit Debate and Age Effects (2015–2022) A major theoretical fault line in SLA concerns whether aptitude operates similarly for implicit (unconscious, incidental) versus explicit (rule-based, conscious) learning. The past decade has seen a surge in studies using artificial grammar learning and semi-artificial language paradigms. incidental) versus explicit (rule-based
This research effectively expanded the aptitude construct. Aptitude was no longer just “learning ability” but included the online cognitive machinery necessary for real-time language processing. 3. Aptitude-Treatment Interactions (ATIs): Matching Learner to Method (2010–2018) If aptitude is multidimensional, then different learners should thrive under different instructional conditions. This led to a resurgence of Aptitude-Treatment Interaction (ATI) research. The classic hypothesis—that high-analytic learners benefit from explicit grammar instruction while high-memory learners benefit from immersion—was refined.
The past twenty-five years have witnessed a remarkable renaissance. Researchers have moved beyond simple prediction to ask deeper questions: How does aptitude interact with instructional conditions? Is aptitude a unitary construct or a constellation of flexible resources? Can it be developed? This paper synthesizes the key empirical and theoretical contributions to FLA research from 1999 to 2024, organizing the literature into four thematic waves. The first major shift was the integration of working memory (WM) into the aptitude framework. While traditional aptitude tests emphasized crystallized knowledge and analytical reasoning, WM—the ability to simultaneously store and process information—offered a process-oriented explanation for individual differences.