The Forest and the Trees: Investigating Groups and Individuals in Longitudinal Second Language English Speaking Development

IF 3.5 1区文学 Q1 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

Language Learning Pub Date : 2024-12-13 DOI:10.1111/lang.12698

Vanessa De Wilde, Wander Lowie

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Studies looking into second language development have shown that findings about a group of learners cannot be transferred to individual learners. In this study, we explored ways to meaningfully group individuals starting from the data and investigated whether this grouping can give extra information about learning trajectories that goes beyond the individual learner. We followed 61 learners for 10 months, collected information about various individual difference variables at the start of the study, and investigated speaking development by collecting data on a weekly basis. We investigated whether it was possible to discern learner types through cluster analysis starting from five individual difference variables. This resulted in three learner types that differ from each other in their speaking development. Within each learner type, there are differences but also clear similarities across learners. The study shows that adopting a person‐centered approach to grouping learners can contribute to uncovering patterns in learners’ development.

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来源期刊

Language Learning Multiple-

CiteScore

9.10

自引率

15.90%

发文量

期刊介绍： Language Learning is a scientific journal dedicated to the understanding of language learning broadly defined. It publishes research articles that systematically apply methods of inquiry from disciplines including psychology, linguistics, cognitive science, educational inquiry, neuroscience, ethnography, sociolinguistics, sociology, and anthropology. It is concerned with fundamental theoretical issues in language learning such as child, second, and foreign language acquisition, language education, bilingualism, literacy, language representation in mind and brain, culture, cognition, pragmatics, and intergroup relations. A subscription includes one or two annual supplements, alternating among a volume from the Language Learning Cognitive Neuroscience Series, the Currents in Language Learning Series or the Language Learning Special Issue Series.