Abstract
The role of intelligence in gifted L2 learners was investigated. The following instruments were used in the study: the Wechsler Intelligence Scale and the Modern Language Aptitude Test. Analysis revealed that intelligence in gifted L2 learners is higher than in the normal Polish population. The factor of memory has been found to provide a statistically significant contribution to foreign language aptitude. The conclusion is that intelligence and foreign language aptitude are moderately positively correlated and the correlation is primarily based on the shared feature representing the memory factor. Results might contribute to the understanding of the controversial role of the general cognitive factor (IQ) as well as other cognitive abilities in gifted L2 learners. A suggestion that memory, next to the reasoning ability, is a significant variable in determining the outcome of learning a foreign language is discussed.
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Notes
- 1.
Intelligence testing requires a clinically trained examiner. The test was administered, scored and interpreted by a trained psychologist.
- 2.
The American version of the MLAT was used for three reasons. Firstly, all the participants were highly advanced in English, secondly the MLAT is considered the best available predictor of language learning success and the best predictor of extremes, that is, extremely good and bad language learners (Ehrman 1998), and thirdly, there is no Polish version of MLAT, or its equivalent. Because all the subjects fall between the 95th and 99th percentile (mean 97th), raw scores are presented to illustrate the variety among them.
- 3.
A normal population is a population of values having normal distribution usually represented by a bell-shaped curve (Nęcka 2003). The normal Polish population represents the general population of adult Polish persons, that is the mean result in the society (norm) to which the results of an individual are compared.
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Acknowledgement
Preparation of this research project was supported by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education in 2009–2011.
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Biedroń, A. (2011). Intelligence in Gifted L2 Learners. In: Extending the Boundaries of Research on Second Language Learning and Teaching. Second Language Learning and Teaching. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20141-7_11
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