Article published in:
Language, Interaction and Acquisition
Vol. 12:2 (2021) ► pp. 284–305

Language aptitude, language interaction and age of language learning

One researcher’s recent perspective

| Trinity College Dublin
| Dublin City University
This article reviews David Singleton’s books and articles published during the period 2014–2020. The first section concerns a popular book which he co-authored with Vivian Cook; the second gives an account of articles covering questions about the concept of language aptitude; the third deals with articles on the manner in which a learner’s competencies in different languages interact; the fourth section then summarizes his recent age-related work on second language learning in childhood, adolescence and midlife; and the fifth deals with his contributions on language learning in senior adulthood.
Keywords: aptitude, interaction, age, childhood, adolescence, midlife, senior adulthood
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.All kinds of everything – not quite
  • 3.On language aptitude
  • 4.On interlingual influence/interaction
  • 5.On the age factor in second language learning in childhood, adolescence and midlife
  • 6.On the age factor in second language learning in the third age
  • 7.Conclusion
  • References
Published online: 31 January 2022
https://doi.org/10.1075/lia.21013.sin
References
Abrahamsson, N. & Hyltenstam, K.
(2008) The robustness of aptitude effects in near-native second language acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 30(4), 481–509. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Andrew, P.
(2012) The social construction of age: Adult foreign language learners. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Athanasoupoulos, P.
(2016) Cognitive consequences of multi-competence. In V. Cook & Li Wei (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of linguistic multi-competence (pp. 355–375). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Bak, T. H., Nissan, J. J., Allerhand, M. M., & Deary, I. J.
(2014) Does bilingualism influence cognitive aging? Annals of Neurology, 75(6), 959–963. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Bialystok, E., & Craik, F. I. M.
(2010) Cognitive and linguistic processing in the bilingual mind. Psychological Science, 19(1), 19–23.Google Scholar
Bialystok, E., Craik, F. I. M., Klein, R., & Viswanathan, M.
(2004) Bilingualism, aging, and cognitive control: Evidence from the Simon Task. Psychology and Aging, 19(2), 290–303. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Brändle, M.
(1986) Language teaching for the ‘young-old’. Babel, 21(1), 17–21.Google Scholar
Bryant, F. B., & Veroff, J.
(2007) Savoring: A new model of positive experience. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Carroll, J. B.
(1981) Twenty-five years of research on foreign language aptitude. In K. C. Diller (Ed.), Individual differences and universals in language learning aptitude (pp. 83–118). Rowley, MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar
Carroll, J. B., & Sapon, S. M.
(1959) Modern Language Aptitude Test: MLAT. Manual. New York: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Cook, V.
(2003) Introduction: The changing L1 in the L2 user’s mind. In V. Cook (Ed.), Effects of the second language on the first (pp. 1–18). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Cook, V., & Singleton, D.
(2014) Key topics in second language acquisition. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Costa, A.
(2005) Lexical access in bilingual production. In J. F. Kroll & A. M. B. de Groot (Eds.), Handbook of bilingualism: Psycholinguistic approaches (pp. 308–325). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Creswell, J. W.
(2009) Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.Google Scholar
Daulton, F. E.
(2008) Japan’s built-in lexicon of English-based loanwords. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
De Groot, A. M. B.
(1992) Bilingual lexical representation: A closer look at conceptual representations. In R. Frost & L. Katz (Eds.), Orthography, phonology, morphology and meaning (pp. 389–412). Amsterdam: North Holland. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Dewaele, J.-M.
(2018) Why the dichotomy ‘L1 versus LX user’ is better than ‘native versus non-native speaker’. Applied Linguistics, 39(2), 236–240.Google Scholar
Eisenstein, M.
(1980) Childhood bilingualism and adult language learning aptitude. International Review of Applied Psychology, 29(1–2), 159–174. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, R., & Shintani, N.
(2014) Exploring language pedagogy through second language acquisition research. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Eysenck, M.
(2012) Fundamentals of cognition. Hove: Psychology Press.Google Scholar
Fabbro, F.
(2002) The neurolinguistics of L2 users. In V. Cook (Ed.), Portraits of the L2 user (pp. 167–195). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Gass, S., & Lee, J.
(2011) Working memory capacity, Stroop interference, and proficiency in a second language. In M. Schmid & W. Lowie (Eds.), From structure to chaos: Twenty years of modeling bilingualism (pp. 59–84). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Granena, G.
(2013) Cognitive attitudes for second language learning and the LLAMA Language Aptitude Test. In G. Granena & M. Long (Eds.), Sensitive periods, language aptitude and ultimate attainment (pp. 3–41). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Hakuta, K.
(1987) The second language learner in the context of the study of language acquisition. In P. Homel, M. Palij & D. Aaronson (Eds.), Childhood bilingualism: Aspects of cognitive, social and emotional development (pp. 31–55). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Harris, R.
(1998) Introduction to integrational linguistics. Oxford: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Hillage, J., Uden, T., Aldridge, F., & Eccles, J.
(2000) Adult learning in England: A review. Brighton: Institute for Employment Studies.Google Scholar
Holmes, J., Gathercole, S. E., & Dunning, D. L.
(2009) Adaptive training leads to sustained enhancement of poor working memory in children. Developmental Science, 12(4), F9–F15. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Jarvis, S., & Pavlenko, A.
(2008) Crosslinguistic influence in language and cognition. New York: Routledge. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Jessner, U.
(2006) Linguistic awareness in multilinguals: English as a third language. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kinsella, C., & Singleton, D.
(2014) Much more than age. Applied Linguistics, 35(4), 441–462. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Klingberg, T.
(2010) Training and plasticity of working memory. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 14(7), 317–324. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kormos, J.
(2013) New conceptualizations of language aptitude in second language attainment. In G. Granena & M. Long (Eds.), Sensitive periods, language aptitude and ultimate attainment (pp. 131–152). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kroll, J. F., & Stewart, E.
(1994) Category interference in translation and picture naming: Evidence for asymmetric connections between bilingual memory representations. Journal of Memory and Language, 33(2), 149–174. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Lapkin, S., Swain, M., & Shapson, S.
(1990) French immersion research agenda for the 90’s. Canadian Modern Language Review, 46(4), 638–667. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Lövden, M., Bäckman, L., Lindenberger, U., Schaefer, S., & Schmiedek, F.
(2010) A theoretical framework for the study of adult cognitive plasticity. Psychological Bulletin, 136(4), 659–676. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
MacDonald, M. C., & Christiansen, M. H.
(2002) Reassessing working memory: Comment on Just and Carpenter (1992) and Waters and Caplan (1996). Psychological Review, 109(1), 35–54. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Meara, P.
(2005) LLAMA Language Aptitude Tests. Swansea: Lognostics.Google Scholar
Mitchell, R., Myles, F., & Marsden, E.
(2013) Second language learning theories (3rd ed.). London: Routledge. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Morales, J., Calvo, A., & Bialystok, E.
(2013) Working memory development in monolingual and bilingual children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 114(2), 187–202. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Moyer, A.
(2013) Foreign accent. The phenomenon of non-native speech. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Muñoz, C.
(2014) The association between aptitude components and language skills in young learners. In M. Pawlak & L. Aronin (Eds.), Essential topics in applied linguistics and multilingualism (pp. 51–68). Heidelberg: Springer. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Muñoz, C., & Singleton, D.
(2011) A critical review of age-related research on L2 ultimate attainment. Language Teaching, 44(1), 1–35. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2019) Age and multilingualism. In D. Singleton & L. Aronin (Eds.), Twelve lectures on multilingualism (pp. 213–230). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Nam, N.
(2009) Exploring Konglish: Cross-linguistic lexical issues with reference to Korean learners of English. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis. Trinity College Dublin.
Neufeld, G. G.
(1978) A theoretical perspective on the nature of language aptitude. International Review of Applied Linguistics, 16(1), 16–26. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Nicoladis, E.
(1998) First clues to the existence of two input languages: Pragmatic and lexical differentiation in a bilingual child. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 1(2), 105–116. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Nijakowska, J.
(2010) Dyslexia in the foreign language classroom. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Ó Laoire, M., & Singleton, D.
(2009) The role of prior knowledge in L3 learning and use: Further evidence of psychotypological dimensions. In L. Aronin & B. Hufeisen (Eds.), The exploration of multilingualism: Development of research on L3, multilingualism and multiple language acquisition (pp. 79–102). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Paradis, M., & Goldblum, M. C.
(1989) Selective crossed aphasia in a trilingual aphasic patient followed by reciprocal antagonism. Brain and Language, 36(1), 62–75. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Pfenninger, S. E., & Singleton, D.
(2016a) Affect trumps age: A person-in-context relational view of age and motivation in SLA. Second Language Research, 32(3), 311–345. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Pfenninger, S. E., & & Singleton, D.
(2016b) Age of onset, socio-affect and cross-linguistic influence: A long-term classroom study. Vigo International Journal of Applied Linguistics (VIAL), 131, 147–179.Google Scholar
Pfenninger, S. E., & Singleton, D.
(2016c) Reading for remembering: On the long-term impact of starting age on retention and recall of target language input. In D. Galajda, P. Zakrajewski & M. Pawlak (Eds.), Researching second language learning and teaching from a psycholinguistic perspective. Studies in honor of Danuta Gabryś-Barker (pp. 71–86). Berlin: Springer. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2016d) The age factor in the foreign language class: What do learners think? Theory and Practice of Second Language Acquisition, 2(1), 7–23.Google Scholar
(2017a) Beyond age effects in instructional L2 learning: Revisiting the age factor. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
(2017b) Recent advances in quantitative methods in age-related research. In S. E. Pfenninger and J. Navracsics (Eds.), Future research directions for applied linguistics (pp. 101–119). Bristol: Multilingual Matters. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2017c) Second language acquisition and age effects: The research conundrum. In K. Cergol Kovačević, Kristina & S. L. Udier (Eds), Applied linguistic research and methodology: Proceedings from the CALS Conference 2015 (pp. 15–36). Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
(2018) The ‘earlier = better’ assumption through the ages: On the origin and history of a myth in SLA and its pedagogical consequences. In A. Ubermann (Ed.), The ambivalence of age: Divergent age effects in different language-learning environments (pp. 41–61). Bern: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
(2019a) Starting age overshadowed: The primacy of differential environmental and family support effects on L2 attainment in an instructional context. Language Learning, 69(S1), 207–234. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2019b) Making the most of an early L2 starting age. Journal of Language Teaching for Young Learners, 1(2), 111–138. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2019c) A critical review of research relating to the learning, use and effects of additional and multiple languages in later life. Language Teaching, 52(4), 419–449. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Piller, I.
(2001) Linguistic intermarriage: Language choice and negotiation of identity. In A. Pavlenko, A. Blackledge, I. Piller, & M. Teutsch-Dwyer (Eds.), Multilingualism, second language learning and gender (pp. 199–230). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2002a) Bilingual couples talk: The discursive construction of hybridity. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2002b) Passing for a native speaker: Identity and success in second language learning. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 6(2), 179–206. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Quay, S.
(1995) The bilingual lexicon: Implications for studies of language choice. Journal of Child Language, 22(2), 369–387. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Ramírez Gómez, D.
(2016) Language teaching and the older adult: The significance of experience. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Ratté, E. R.
(1968) Foreign language and the elementary school language arts program. The French Review, 42(1), 80–85.Google Scholar
Rosenthal, J.
(1996) Teaching science to language minority students: Theory and practice. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Ryan, S., & Dörnyei, Z.
(2013) The long-term evolution of language motivation and the L2 self. In A. Berndt (Ed.), Fremdsprachen in der Perspektive lebenslangen Lernens (pp. 89–100). Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Sáfár, A., & Kormos, J.
(2008) Revisiting problems with foreign language aptitude. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 46(2), 113–136. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Schmidt, R.
(2012) Attention, awareness, and individual differences in language learning. In W. M. Chan, K. N. Chin, S. Bhattm, & I. Walker (Eds.), Perspectives on individual characteristics and foreign language education (pp. 27–50). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Schwyter, J. R.
(2011) “Me talk funny”: A stroke patient’s personal account. English Today, 27(4), 49–52. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Singleton, D.
(1989) Language acquisition: The age factor. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
(1994) Defending notional-functional syllabuses. In C. Brumfit (Ed.), The work of the Council of Europe and second language teaching (pp. 75–80). London: Macmillan.Google Scholar
(1999) Exploring the second language mental lexicon. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2014) Apt to change: The problematic of language awareness and language aptitude in age-related research. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 4(3), 557–571. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2015a) Language awareness and language aptitude – kissing cousins. In S. Bátyi and M. Vígh-Szabó (Eds.), Studies in psycholinguistics 51 (pp. 267–276). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó.Google Scholar
(2015b) Cross-lexical interaction and the structure of the mental lexicon. In L. Yu & T. Odlin (Eds.), New perspectives on transfer in second language learning (pp. 89–103). Bristol: Multilingual Matters. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2016a) A critical reaction from second language acquisition research. In V. Cook & Li Wei (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of linguistic multicompetence (pp. 502–520). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2016b) CPH theory, early classroom instruction and age-related issues that are separable from age. In M. Pawlak (Ed.), Classroom-oriented research: Reconciling theory and practice (pp. 231–242). Berlin: Springer. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2017) Language aptitude: desirable trait or acquirable attribute? Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 7(1), 89–103. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2018a) Multilingualism, multi-competence and (limits to) the interaction between language systems. TEANGA: The Journal of the Irish Association for Applied Linguistics, 251, 1–14. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2018b) What is the best age to start learning an additional language? Babylonia, 31, 53–56.Google Scholar
(2018c) Really late learners: Some research contexts and some practical hints. In D. Gabryś-Barker (Ed.), Third age learners of foreign languages (pp.19–30). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
(2019) Bi-/multilingual communication, identity and the posited intermingling of language systems in the mind. Theory and Practice of Second Language Acquisition, 5(2), 25–38. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Singleton, D., & Aronin, L.
(Eds.) (2019) Twelve lectures on multilingualism. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Singleton, D., & Muñoz, C.
(2011) Around and beyond the Critical Period Hypothesis. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning. Volume II (pp. 407–425). London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Singleton, D., & Pfenninger, S. E.
(2016) Reporting on politically sensitive issues: The case of telling the truth about early L2 instruction. In H. Rose & J. McKinley (Eds.), Doing real research in applied linguistics (pp. 214–224). London: Routledge. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2018a) L2 Proficiency as a function of cultural identity in interlingual couples. Theory and Practice of Second Language Acquisition, 4(1), 7–22.Google Scholar
(2018b) The age debate: A critical overview. In S. Garton & F. Copland (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of teaching English to young learners. London: Routledge. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2018c) L2 acquisition in childhood, adulthood and old age: Misreported and under-researched dimensions of the age factor. Journal of Second Language Studies, 1(2), 254–275. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2019a) Exploring a poorly understood variable: An agenda for classroom research on the age factor. Language Teaching, 52(1), 111–127. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2019b) Bilingualism in midlife. In A. De Houwer & L. Ortega (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of bilingualism (pp. 76–100). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Singleton, D., & Ryan, L.
(2004) Language acquisition: The age factor. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Singleton, D., & Zaborska, D.
(2020) Adults learning additional languages in their later years: The pain, the profit and the pleasure. Journal of Multilingual Theories and Practices, 1(1), 112–124. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Sinka, I., Garman, M., & Schelleter, C.
(2000) Early verbs in bilingual acquisition. Reading Working Papers in Linguistics, 41, 175–187.Google Scholar
Sparks, R., Ganschow, L., Fluharty, K., & Little, S.
(1995) An exploratory study on the effects of Latin on the native language skills and foreign language aptitude of students with and without learning disabilities. The Classical Journal, 91(2), 165–184.Google Scholar
Stansfield, C. W.
(1989) Language aptitude reconsidered. ERIC Digest. ED318226.Google Scholar
Toolan, M.
(2008) Introduction: Language teaching and integrational linguistics. In M. Toolan (Ed.), Language teaching: Integrational linguistic approaches (pp. 1–23). London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Wen, Z.
(2016) Working memory and second language learning. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Wen, Z., & Skehan, P.
(2011) A new perspective on foreign language aptitude: Building and supporting a case for “working memory as language aptitude”. Ilha Do Desterro: A Journal of English Language, Literatures and Cultural studies, 601, 15–44.Google Scholar
Whitaker, H.
(1978) Bilingualism: A neurolinguistics perspective. In W. Ritchie (Ed.), Second language acquisition research: Issues and implications (pp. 21–32). New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Williams, J. N.
(2012) Working memory and SLA. In S. Gass & A. Mackey (Eds.), Handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 427–441). Oxford: Routledge.Google Scholar