This paper examines evidence for relationships among individual differences (IDs) in L1 achievement, L2 aptitude, and L2 achievement. It begins by providing an overview of my academic journey from L1 educator to L2 researcher and explains the development of the Linguistic Coding Differences Hypothesis (LCDH). Next, I review Peter Skehan's…

In this article, I describe studies conducted over 25 years with secondary and post-secondary L2 learners in the United States. The evidence from these studies shows that there are important connections between students' early L1 skills and their L2 aptitude and L2 proficiency and that individual differences in students' L1 skills in elementary…

Responds to an earlier article that introduced the concept of foreign language reading anxiety and reported the results of a preliminary study of reading anxiety. Argues that the explanations for the study findings are misguided. (Author/VWL)

This article responds to MacIntyre's (1995) critique of the Linguistic Coding Differences Hypothesis (LCDH), which posits that language aptitude is the primary source of individual differences in foreign language (FL) achievement. It defends the LCDH and suggests that difficulties exist with theories that attribute affective and social context…

Discusses students classified as learning disabled in regard to foreign language requirements, since institutions are now obligated by the Americans with Disabilities Act to teach these students. Criteria on which these students are classified as learning disabled for foreign language study and granted waivers of course substitution to fulfill the…

Recently, talk of a new type of learning disability (LD)--a foreign language learning disability, or FLLD--has made its way into the LD and foreign language (FL) literature. However, no empirical evidence has been published to support the concept of a "disability" for FL learning by those professionals who use the term. In this article, the author…

The relationship between teachers' perceptions of students' foreign-language (FL) academic skills and affective characteristics and their performance on tests of native language skill and FL aptitude was examined. Comparisons of final grades and teachers' perceptions by skill level groups found significant overall effects when grouping students by…