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Foreign language (FL) aptitude is a complex theoretical construct that encompasses a number of factors contributing to foreign language learning success, namely cognitive abilities, personality, motivation, learning experience, and learning environment. Thus, the purpose of this chapter is to critically examine various research related issues dealing with FL aptitude(s) changeability in children. Language aptitude is most often defined in terms of a purely cognitive factor, which constitutes a ceiling on ultimate attainment (Doughty, 2018). FL aptitude, conceived as comprising other cognitive abilities, has been traditionally presented as a stable, and, consequently, as an untrainable inborn capacity. Nevertheless, the discussion of trainability and instability of FL aptitude(s) has been recently high on the agenda of second language acquisition (SLA) research (Biedron & Birdsong, 2019; Doughty, 2018; Rogers et al., 2017). A major concern is, then, whether the learning of languages contributes to a possible increase in FL aptitude. Unfortunately, research into children’s FL aptitude is scarce and, consequently, our understanding of this problem is rather limited. For one thing, linguistic abilities in children have to be approached differently from the way it is done in adults largely due to the cognitive differences between these groups. One of those differences, for instance, deals with cognitive aptitudes for explicit versus implicit learning. Aptitude for explicit learning predicts ultimate attainment for adults, yet not for children, whereas aptitude for implicit learning predicts learning for both children and adults (DeKeyser, 2019; Granena, 2015). Another factor is developmental dynamics: aptitude in young children cannot be thought of as a fixed quality as it changes over time as children grow older and develop cognitively (Suarez & Munoz, 2011). Moreover, early bilingualism enhances cognitive abilities and the resulting benefits persist throughout the individual’s lifespan. This chapter focuses on the following problems related to language aptitude pliability in children: definitional issues of FL aptitude, FL aptitude dynamics, differences in cognitive abilities between children and adults, the effects of the critical period on language aptitude, the relationship between cognitive abilities and bilingualism in children, trainability of language aptitude, the role of working memory and intelligence in language aptitude, and research into cognitive factors in immigrant children. |
