In this paper, I first provide a brief review of how scholars have conceptualized, tested, and elaborated aptitude frameworks relevant to second language (L2) speech learning. Subsequently, I introduce an emerging paradigm that assigns a fundamental role to domain-general auditory processing (i.e., having a good ear) in L1 speech acquisition and…

The current study longitudinally examined the influence of aptitude on second language (L2) pronunciation development when 40 first-year Japanese university students engaged in practice activities inside and outside English-as-a-Foreign-Language classrooms over one academic year. Spontaneous speech samples were elicited at the beginning, middle,…

Investigates relationships among measures of second-language proficiency (SLP), foreign-language aptitude, verbal intelligence and reasoning in 160 Japanese college students studying English. The factor analysis of several different SLP test scores was examined, and the relationship between a general SLP factor and a hypothetical general cognitive…

This book presents 16 peer-reviewed papers from a 2000 conference on second language research. Part 1, "Formal Investigations of SLA," includes "L2 Acquisition of English Liquids: Evidence for Production Independent from Perception" (Laura Catharine Smith); "Is L2 Learning the Same as L1 Learning? Learning L2 Phonology in…

This study explores the nature of language anxiety from the perspective of five Japanese learners of English (ESL), especially in reference to their self-reflective accounts of emotional difficulties encountered in the U.S. college settings. Through the use of an in-depth qualitative interview format, this study attempts to identify potential…