Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-84b7d79bbc-l82ql Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-29T19:43:29.170Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

3 - Testing Language Aptitude

LLAMA Evolution and Refinement

from Part I - Revisiting and Refining Aptitude Tests

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 May 2023

By
Vivienne Rogers ,
Paul Meara  and
Brian Rogers
Edited by
Zhisheng (Edward) Wen ,
Peter Skehan  and
Richard L. Sparks
Zhisheng (Edward) Wen
Affiliation:
Hong Kong Shue Yan University
Peter Skehan
Affiliation:
Institute of Education, University of London
Richard L. Sparks
Affiliation:
Mount St Joseph University
Get access

Summary

The chapter will first provide an overview of the developmental stages of the LLAMA aptitude test battery since its inception in 2005; then, more importantly, the chapter moves on to discuss the potential limitations of the current format in terms of internal and external validity. Towards the end, it will outline some new features and changes that have recently been brought to this increasingly popular language aptitude test battery. Data from the new online LLAMA tests will be reported (from LLAMA to ALPACAA and back again). The new LLAMA tests are now available online on Meara’s lognostics website: http://www.lognostics.co.uk/tools/LLAMA_3/index.htm.

Keywords

Language aptitudeLLAMAALPACAAworking memory
Type
Chapter
Information
Language Aptitude Theory and Practice , pp. 47 - 72
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abrahamsson, N., & Hyltenstam, K. (2008). The robustness of aptitude effects in near-native second language acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 30(04), 481–509.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ameringer, V. (2018). Cognitive abilities: Different memory functions and language aptitude. In Reiterer, S. (ed.), Exploring Language Aptitude: Views from Psychology, the Language Sciences, and Cognitive Neuroscience. Springer, pp. 19–42.Google Scholar
Artieda, G., & Muñoz, C. (2016). The LLAMA tests and the underlying structure of language aptitude at two levels of foreign language proficiency. Learning and Individual Differences, 50, 42–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2016.06.023CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bokander, L. (2020) Language aptitude and crosslinguistic influence in initial L2 learning. Journal of the European Second Language Association, 4(1), 35–44. http://doi.org/10.22599/jesla.69CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bokander, L., & Bylund, E. (2020). Probing the internal validity of the LLAMA language aptitude tests. Language Learning, 70(1), 11–47 https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12368Google Scholar
Bylund, E., Abrahamsson, N., & Hyltenstam, K. (2010). The role of language aptitude in first language attrition: The case of pre-pubescent attriters. Applied Linguistics, 31(3), 443–464. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amp059Google Scholar
Bylund, E., & Ramírez-Galán, P. (2016). Language aptitude in first language attrition: A study on late Spanish–Swedish bilinguals. Applied Linguistics, 37(5), 621–638. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amu055CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carroll, J. B., & Sapon, S. M. (1959). Modern Language Aptitude Test. Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Granena, G. (2013). Cognitive aptitudes for second language learning and the LLAMA language aptitude test. In Granena, G. & Long, M. H. (eds.), Sensitive Periods, Language Aptitude, and Ultimate L2 Attainment, vol. 35. John Benjamins Publishing, pp. 105–130.Google Scholar
Granena, G., Jackson, D. O., & Yilmaz, Y. (2016). Cognitive Individual Differences in Second Language Learning and Processing. John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Kourtali, N. E., & Révész, A. (2020). The roles of recasts, task complexity, and aptitude in child second language development. Language Learning, 70(1), 179–218 https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12374CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mathôt, S., Schreij, D., & Theeuwes, J. (2012). OpenSesame: An open-source, graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 44(2), 314–324. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-011-0168-7Google Scholar
Meara, P. (2005). LLAMA Language Aptitude Tests: The Manual. Lognostics.Google Scholar
Meara, P., & Miralpeix, I. (2016). Tools for researching vocabulary. In Tools for Researching Vocabulary. Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781783096473Google Scholar
Meara, P., & Rogers, V. (2021). The LLAMA Tests v.3.2. Cardiff: Lognostics.Google Scholar
Reiterer, S. (ed.). (2018). Exploring Language Aptitude: Views from Psychology, the Language Sciences, and Cognitive Neuroscience, vol. 16. Springer.Google Scholar
Rogers, V., Galvin, T., Cobner, A., et al. (2017). Investigating the relationship between working memory and language learning aptitude. In https://viviennerogers.info/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/EuroSLA-Poster.pdf. EUROSLA Conference, 30 August–2 September 2017, Reading, UK.Google Scholar
Rogers, V., & Meara, P. (2019). Turning a LLAMA into an ALPACAA and back again: An initial revised attempt at assessing aptitude. Language Aptitude Roundtable, 8–10 November 2019, Macau. https://viviennerogers.info/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/alpacaa_2019_macau.pdfGoogle Scholar
Rogers, V., Meara, P., Aspinall, R., et al. (2016). Testing aptitude. EUROSLA Yearbook, 16(1), 179–210. https://doi.org/10.1075/eurosla.16.07rogGoogle Scholar
Rogers, V., Meara, P., Barnett-Legh, T., Curry, C., & Davie, E. (2017). Examining the LLAMA aptitude tests. Journal of the European Second Language Association, 1(1), 49–60. https://doi.org/10.22599/jesla.24CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saito, K. (2015). The role of age of acquisition in late second language oral proficiency attainment. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 37(4), 713–743.Google Scholar
Saito, K. (2017). Effects of sound, vocabulary, and grammar learning aptitude on adult second language speech attainment in foreign language classrooms. Language Learning, 67(3), 665–693. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12244CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saito, K., Suzukida, Y., & Sun, H. (2019). Aptitude, experience, and second language pronunciation proficiency development in classroom settings. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 41(1), 201–225. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263117000432Google Scholar
Serrano, R., & Llanes, À. (2015). An exploratory study of the role of age and language learning aptitude in a short stay abroad. Vigo International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 12, 107–126.Google Scholar
Service, E., & Kohonen, V. (1995). Is the relation between phonological memory and foreign language learning accounted for by vocabulary acquisition? Applied Psycholinguistics, 16(02), 155–172.Google Scholar
Singleton, D. (2017). Language aptitude: Desirable trait or acquirable attribute? Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 7(1), 89. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2017.7.1.5Google Scholar
Skehan, P. (2016). Foreign language aptitude, acquisitional sequences, and psycholinguistic processes. In Granena, G., Jackson, D. O., & Yilmaz, Y. (eds.), Cognitive Individual Differences in L2 Processing and Acquisition. John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Speciale, G., Ellis, N. C., & Bywater, T. (2004). Phonological sequence learning and short-term store capacity determine second language vocabulary acquisition. Applied Psycholinguistics, 25(02), 293–321.Google Scholar
Suzuki, Y., & DeKeyser, R. (2017a). Exploratory research on second language practice distribution: An aptitude × treatment interaction. Applied Psycholinguistics, 38(1), 27–56. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716416000084CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Suzuki, Y., & DeKeyser, R. (2017b). The interface of explicit and implicit knowledge in a second language: Insights from individual differences in cognitive aptitudes. Language Learning, 67(4), 747–790. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12241Google Scholar
Wen, Z. (2016). Working Memory and Second Language Learning: Towards an Integrated Approach. Multilingual Matters.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wen, Z., Biedroń, A., & Skehan, P. (2017). Foreign language aptitude theory: Yesterday, today and tomorrow. Language Teaching, 50(1), 1–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wen, Z., Skehan, P., Biedroń, A., Li, S., & Sparks, R. L. (eds.). (2019). Language Aptitude: Advancing Theory, Testing, Research and Practice. Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yilmaz, Y. (2013). Relative effects of explicit and implicit feedback: The role of working memory capacity and language analytic ability. Applied Linguistics, 34(3), 344–368. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/ams044Google Scholar
Yilmaz, Y., & Granena, G. (2019). Cognitive Individual Differences as Predictors of Improvement and Awareness Under Implicit and Explicit Feedback Conditions. Modern Language Journal, 103(3), 686–702. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12587CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×