Volume 01 - Issue 1

Article New perspectives on the individual learner: Implications for research and teaching

Authors
Klee, Carol; Truman, Lauren
Volume
Volume 01 - Issue 1
Date Issued
2020-10-15
Keywords
individual differences; person-centeredness; language learning; language teaching
Publisher
University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center; (co-sponsored by American Association of University of Supervisors and Coordinators; Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition; Center for Educational Reources in Culture, Language, and Literacy; Center for Open Educational Resources and Language Learning; Open Language Resource Center; Second Language Teaching and Resource Center)
URI/DOI
10125/69839
PDF
Citation
Klee, C., & Truman, L. (2020). New perspectives on the individual learner: Implications for research and teaching. Second Language Research & Practice, 1(1), 10-24. http://hdl.handle.net/10125/69839
Record Details
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Abstract
Since the late 1960s, the individual learner has been the focus of research on the learning and, above all, on the teaching of languages. Given the importance of this topic to the field of language learning and teaching, two American Association of University Supervisors, Coordinators, and Directors of Language Programs (AAUSC) volumes, one in 1994 and another in 2013, have addressed issues related to the individual learner. This chapter explores the main trends in research on individual differences since the 2013 AAUSC volume. Given the proliferation of learner variables, we have chosen to focus on several key issues, specifically, the age of onset of acquisition, language aptitudes, motivation, emotion, and the willingness to communicate. After examining recent studies in each of these areas, we will turn our attention to current challenges related to research on individual differences and discuss the implications of a person-centered approach for language research and teaching.