Aptitude for languages

At Dyslexia Learning and Development, we use tools (measuring auditory, linguistic and memory skills; Skehan, 1998; Dörnyei and Skehan, 2003) that will identify your aptitude for modern / foreign language learning, and overall level of underlying ability and memory skills.

After undertaking an aptitude for modern / foreign language learning assessment, in our report we shall provide information on your strengths and weaknesses, so that suitable strategies can be explored to meet your needs and enhance your learning potential. But, first of all, let’s have a look at what speaking more than one language entails.

Please use the buttons below to find out more about aptitude for languages:

References

• Abutalebi, J. (2008), 'Neutral aspects of second language representation and language control', Science Direct, Acta Psychologica, No. 128, pp. 466-478

• Bak, T. H., Nissan, J. J., Allerhand, M. M. and Deary, I. J. (2014), ‘Does bilingualism influence cognitive aging?’ Annals of Neurology, Vol. 75, No. 6, pp. 959–963

• Dewaele, J. M. and Van Oudenhoven, J. P. (2010), ‘The effect of multilingualism / multiculturalism on personality: no gain without pain for Third Culture Kids?’ International Journal of Multilingualism, Vol. 6, No. 4, pp. 443-459

• Dörnyei, Z. (2005), The Psychology of the Language Learner: Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition (Second Language Acquisition Research Series), Abingdon Oxon: Routledge

• Dörnyei, Z. and Skehan, P. (2003), ‘Individual Differences In Second Language Learning’ in Doughty, C.J. and Long, M.H. The Handbook of Second Language Acquisition, Oxford: Blackwell, Ch. 18, pp. 589-630

• Grigorenko, E., Sternberg, R., and Ehrman, M. (2000) A Theory-Based Approach to the Measurement of Foreign Language Learning Ablity: The Canal-F Theory and Test. The Modern Language Journal 84, iii, pp. 390-405

• Gow, A. J., Bastin, M. E., Muñoz Maniega, S., Valdés Hernández, M. C., Morris, Z., Murray, C., Royle, N. A., Starr, J. M., Deary, I. J., & Wardlaw, J. M. (2012), Neuroprotective lifestyles and the aging brain: activity, atrophy and white matter integrity. Neurology, 79, pp. 1802-1808

• Keysar, B., Hayakawa, S. L. and Gyu An, S. (2012), ‘The Foreign-Language Effect - Thinking in a Foreign Tongue Reduces Decision Biases’, Psychological Science, Vol. 23, No. 6, pp. 661-668

• Kroll, J. F. and Bialystok, E. (2013), ‘What bilinguals tell us about cognitive control - Understanding the consequences of bilingualism for language processing and cognition’, Journal of Cognitive Psychology, Vol. 25, No. 5, pp. 497-514

• Pinker, S. (1995), The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language: The New Science of Language and Mind, New York: Harper Collins

• Skehan, P. (1998), A Cognitive Approach to Language Learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press

• Sparks, R.L., Patton, J., Ganschow, E., Humback, N. and Jaorsky, J. (2006), 'Native language predictors of foreign language proficiency and foreign language aptitude', Annals of Dyslexia, 56(1), pp. 129-160