6938

ISSN 1798-4769
Journal of Language Teaching and Research, Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 639-646, July 2012
© 2012 ACADEMY PUBLISHER Manufactured in Finland. doi:10.4304/jltr.3.4.639-646 Individual Learner Differences and Second
Language Acquisition: A Review
Shahila Zafar
School of Social Sciences and Languages, VIT University, Vellore-632014, TN, India
Email: [e-mail]

K. Meenakshi
School of Social Sciences and Languages, VIT University, Vellore-632014, TN, India
Email: [e-mail]
Abstract—The level of second language acquisition depends on many factors controlled by nature or shaped by nurture. The present paper studies the role of individual learner differences in second language acquisition
(SLA). The individual differences, viz., age, sex, aptitude, motivation, cognitive style, learning strategies, and personality are defined and classified. A detailed review of the studies conducted in relation to the seven individual differences follows. The paper concludes by emphasizing that a language teacher must recognize the individual differences in his/ her students in order to impart effective language learning.
Index Terms—second language acquisition, individual learner difference, personality, age, sex, aptitude, motivation, cognitive style, learning strategies

I. INTRODUCTION
Why do some people almost achieve the native speaker‟s levels of competence in a foreign language while others never seem to progress much beyond a beginner‟s level? Some second language learners make rapid and apparently effortless progress while others progress only very slowly and with great difficulty. The reason probably is that people are not homogenous! They have different personalities and styles. Thus, each individual is different from the other.
These individual differences, according to Dörnyei, (2005) are, “enduring personal characteristics that are assumed to apply to everybody and on which people differ by degree.”
Humans differ from each other due to many

References: [2] Bailey, K. M. (1983). Competitiveness and anxiety in adult second language learning: Looking at and through the diary studies. [3] Beebe, L. (1983). Risk-taking and the language learner. In H. Seliger & M. Long (eds.), Classroom oriented research in second language acquisition [4] Boyle, J. (1987). Sex differences in listening vocabulary. Language Learning 37.2, 273- 284. [5] Brodkey, D., & H. Shore (1976). Student personality and success in an English language program. Language Learning 26, 153-159. [6] Brown, H. D. (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching. Englewood Cliffs, N, J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc. [7] Carroll, J. (1963). The prediction of success in intensive foreign language training. In R. Glazer (ed.), Training research and education [8] Cook, V. (2001). Second language learning and language teaching (3rd edn.). New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. [9] Coopersmith, S. (1967). The antecedents of self-esteem. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman & Company. [10] Dewaele, J., & A. Furnham (1999). Extraversion: The unloved variable in applied linguistic research. Language Learning 49.3, [11] Dufeu, B. (1994). Teaching Myself. London: Oxsford University Press. Dörnyei, Z. (2005). The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Ehrman, M.E. (1996). Understanding Second Language Learning Difficulties. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications. Ehrman, M. E., & R. L. Oxford (1995). Cognition plus: Correlates of language learning success. The Modern Language Journal, 79.1, 67–89. Gardner, R. C. (1985). Social psychology and second language learning: The role of attitudes and motivation. London: Edward Arnold. Gardner, R. C., & W. E. Lambert (1972). Attitudes and motivation in second-language learning. Rowley, MA: Newbury House. Heyde, A. (1979). The relationship between self-esteem and the oral production of a second language. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, MI. Kimura, D. (1992). Sex differences in the brain. Sci Am 267, 119 –125 Kim, H Knowles, M. (1972). Innovations in teaching styles and approaches based upon adult learning. Journal of Education for Social Work 8.2, 32-39. Krashen, S. (1985). The input hypothesis: Issues and implications. London: Longman. Larsen-Freeman, D., & M. H. Long (2000). An introduction to second language acquisition research. London: Longman. Lochart, C. & J. C. Richards (1994). Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classrooms. New York: Cambridge University Press. Lombaard, M. (2006). Task-based assessment for specific purpose Sesotho for personnel in the small business corporation (Doctoral dissertation, Stellenbosch: University of Stellenbosch). Long, M. (1990). Maturational constraints on language development. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 12, 251-285. MacIntyre, P. D., & R. C. Gardner (1991). Methods and results in the study of foreign language anxiety: A review of the literature MacIntyre, P. D., R. Clément, Z. Dörnyei, & K. A. Noels (1998). Conceptualizing willingness to communicate in a L2: A situational model of L2 confidence and affiliation McDonough, S. H. (1986). Psychology in foreign language teaching. London: George Allen & Unwin. O 'Malley, J. M., & A. U. Chamot (1990). Learning strategies in second language acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Oxford, R.L. (2003). Language learning styles and strategies: An overview. Oxford: GALA Oxford, R.L Oxford R. L., & M. Ehrman (1992). Second language research on individual differences. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 13, 188-205. Oxford, R. L., M. Nyikos & M. E. Ehrman (1988). Vive la différence? Reflections on sex differences in use of language learning strategies Rubin, J., & I. Thompson, (1994). How to be a more successful language learner, 2nd ed. Boston: Heinle & Heinle. Saville-Troike, M. (2006). Introducing second language acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Skehan, P. (1989). Individual differences in second language learning. London: Edward Arnold. Slobin, D. I. (1982). Universal and particular in the acquisition of language. In E. Wanner and L. Gleitman (Eds.), Language acquisition: State of the Art (pp Swain, M. (1985). Communicative competence: Some roles of comprehensible input and comprehensible output in its development