Cover not available
Part of
Advancedness in Second Language Spanish: Definitions, challenges, and possibilities
Edited by Mandy R. Menke and Paul A. Malovrh
[Issues in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics 31] 2021
► pp. 469–488

Chapter 20
Language aptitude and foreign accent in advanced L2 speakers of Spanish

ORCID logo | Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
This chapter reports on the results of a follow-up analysis of Granena and Long (2013), which found a significant relationship between language aptitude and pronunciation ratings on a read-aloud task in late L2 learners with ages of onset 16+. Granena and Long argued that the relationship could have been due to task effects, specifically to the fact that high-aptitude learners could have monitored their performance while reading aloud. The present study included speech samples from four tasks, two read-aloud and two spontaneous production tasks. The results showed that ratings on word list reading were the highest and that late L2 learners’ ratings on the two read-aloud tasks were significantly related to aptitude, after controlling for age of onset and length of residence.
Keywords: language aptitude, task effects, L2 pronunciation, advanced L2 Spanish
Article outline
  • Research background
  • Explicit language aptitude
  • The present study
  • Methodology
    • Participants
    • Instruments
      • Pronunciation ability
      • Explicit language aptitude
    • Raters
    • Data analysis
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 8 February 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.31.20gra
References (45)
References
Abrahamsson, N., & Hyltenstam, K. (2008). The robustness of aptitude effects in near-native second language acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 30, 481–509. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2009). Age of onset and nativelikeness in a second language: Listener perception versus linguistic scrutiny. Language Learning, 59, 249–306. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Acock, A. C. (2014). A gentle introduction to Stata (4th ed.). College Station, TX: Stata Press.Google Scholar
Bongaerts, T. (1999). Ultimate attainment in L2 pronunciation: The case of very advanced L2 learners. In D. Birdsong (Ed.), Second language acquisition and the critical period hypothesis (pp. 133–159). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Bongaerts, T., Planken, B., & Schils, E. (1995). Can late learners attain a native accent in a foreign language? A test of the critical period hypothesis. In D. Singleton & Z. Lengyel (Eds.), The age factor in second language acquisition (pp. 30–50). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Bongaerts, T., van Summeren, C., Planken, B., & Schils, E. (1997). Age and ultimate attainment in the pronunciation of a foreign language. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 19, 447–466. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bongaerts, T., Mennen, S., & van der Slik, F. (2000). Authenticity of pronunciation in naturalistic second language acquisition: The case of very advanced late learners of Dutch as a second language. Studia Linguistica, 54, 298–308. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Carroll, J. B. (1958). A factor analysis of two foreign language aptitude batteries. Journal of General Psychology, 59, 3–19. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(1962). The prediction of success in intensive foreign language training. In R. Glaser (Ed.), Training, research and education (pp. 87–136). Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.Google Scholar
(1981). Twenty-five years of research in foreign language aptitude. In K. Diller (Ed.), Individual differences and universals in language learning aptitude (pp. 83–118). Rowley, MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar
Carroll, J. B., & Sapon, S. (1959). Modern language aptitude test: Form A. New York, NY: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Conway, A. R. A., Jarrold, C., Kane, M. J., Miyake, A., & Towse, J. N. (2007). Variation in working memory. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
DeKeyser, R. M. (2000). The robustness of critical period effects in second language acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 22, 499–533. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
DeKeyser, R. M., & Larson-Hall, J. (2005). What does the critical period really mean? In J. F. Kroll & A. M. B. de Groot (Eds.), Handbook of bilingualism: Psycholinguistic approaches (pp. 89–108). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
DeKeyser, R. M., Alfi-Shabtay, I., & Ravid, D. (2010). Cross-linguistic evidence for the nature of age-effects in second language acquisition. Applied Psycholinguistics, 31, 413–438. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dickerson, L. (1974). Internal and external patterning of phonological variability in the speech of Japanese learners of English (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL.Google Scholar
(1975). The learner’s interlanguage as a system of variable rules. TESOL Quarterly, 9, 401–407. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dickerson, W. (1987). Explicit rules and the developing interlanguage phonology. In A. James & J. Leather (Eds.), Sound patterns in second language acquisition (pp. 121–140). Dordrecht, Netherlands: Foris.Google Scholar
Dickerson, L., & Dickerson, W. (1977). Interlanguage phonology: Current research and future directions. In S. P. Corder & E. Roulet (Eds.), The notions of simplification, interlanguages, and Pidgins: Actes du 5ème colloque de linguistique appliquée de Neuchâtel [Proceedings of the 5th colloquium on applied linguistics in Neuchâtel] (pp. 18–29). Neuchâtel, Switzerland: Faculté de Lettres.Google Scholar
Engle, R. W., & Kane, M. J. (2004). Executive attention, working memory capacity, and a two-factor theory of cognitive control. In B. Ross (Ed.), The psychology of learning and motivation: Advances in research and theory, (pp. 145–199). New York, NY: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Flege, J., Munro, M., & MacKay, I. (1995). Factors affecting degree of perceived foreign accent in a second language. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 97, 3125–3134. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Flege, J., Yeni-Komshian, G., & Liu, H. (1999). Age constraints on second language acquisition. Journal of Memory and Language, 41, 78–104. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gatbonton, E. (1978). Patterned phonetic variability in second-language speech: A gradual diffusion model. Canadian Modern Language Review, 34, 335–347. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Granena, G. (2013a). Cognitive aptitudes for second language learning and the LLAMA Language Aptitude Test. In G. Granena & M. H. Long (Eds.), Sensitive periods, language aptitude, and ultimate L2 attainment (pp. 105–129). Amsterdam, Netherlands: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2013b). Reexamining the robustness of aptitude in second language acquisition. In G. Granena & M. H. Long (Eds.), Sensitive periods, language aptitude, and ultimate L2 attainment (pp. 174–204). Amsterdam, Netherlands: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2016). Cognitive aptitudes for implicit and explicit learning and information-processing styles: An individual differences study. Applied Psycholinguistics, 37, 577–600. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Granena, G., & Long, M. H. (2013). Age of onset, length of residence, aptitude and ultimate L2 attainment in three linguistic domains. Second Language Research, 29, 311–343. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Harley, B., & Hart, D. (2002). Age, aptitude, and second language learning on a bilingual exchange. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Individual differences and instructed language learning (pp. 302–330). Amsterdam, Netherlands: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Heitz, R. P., Unsworth, N., & Engle, R. W. (2004). Working memory capacity, attention control, and fluid intelligence. In I. O. Wilhelm, & R. Engle (Eds.), Handbook of understanding and measuring intelligence (pp. 61–77). New York, NY: Sage.Google Scholar
Hyltenstam, K. (1992). Non-native features of non-native speakers: On the ultimate attainment of childhood L2 learners. In R. J. Harris (Ed.), Cognitive processing in bilinguals (pp. 351–368). New York, NY: Elsevier. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hyltenstam, K., & Abrahamsson, N. (2003). Maturational constraints in SLA. In C. J. Doughty & M. H. Long (Eds.), The handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 539–588). Oxford, UK: Blackwell. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Levelt, W. J. M. (1989). Speaking: From intention to articulation. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.Google Scholar
Long, M. H. (1990). Maturational constraints on language development. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 12, 251–285. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2007). Problems in SLA. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Meara, P. (2005). LLAMA language aptitude tests. Swansea, UK: Lognostics.Google Scholar
Meisel, J. M. (2009). Second language acquisition in early childhood. Zeitschrift für Sprachwissenschaft, 28, 5–34.Google Scholar
Morford, J. P., & Mayberry, R. I. (2000). A reexamination of ‘early exposure’ and its implications for language acquisition by eye. In C. Chamberlain, J. P. Morford, & R. I. Mayberry (Eds.), Language acquisition by eye (pp. 111–127). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Moyer, A. (1999). Ultimate attainment in L2 phonology. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 21, 81–108. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2004). Age, accent, and experience in second language acquisition: An integrated approach to critical period inquiry. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Munro, J. (1998). Phonological and phonemic awareness. Australian Journal of Learning Disabilities, 3, 15–21. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Oyama, S. (1976). A sensitive period for the acquisition of a nonnative phonological system. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 5, 261–283. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Palmen, M. J., Bongaerts, T., & Schils, E. (1997). L’authenticité de la prononciation dans l’acquisition d’une langage étrangère au-delà de la période critique: Des apprenants néerlandais parvenus à un niveau trés avancé en français [The authenticity of pronunciation in the acquisition of a foreign language beyond the critical period: Dutch learners reached a very advanced level in French]. Acquisition et Interaction en Langage Etrangère, 9, 173–191. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Patkowski, M. (1994). The critical age hypothesis and interlanguage phonology. In M. Yavas (Ed.), First and second language phonology (pp. 205–221). San Diego, CA: Singular.Google Scholar
Piske, T., MacKay, I., & Flege, J. E. (2001). Factors affecting degree of foreign accent in an L2: A review. Journal of Phonetics, 29, 191–215. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Scovel, T. (1988). A time to speak: A psycholinguistic inquiry into the critical period for human speech. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar