Individual differences in task performance: Aptitude profiles, orientation to form, and second language production in the EFL classroom

Although research has addressed the roles of attention and cognitive resources in second language development through interaction (Egi, 2004; Gass & Alvarez Torres, 2005; Mackey, 2000; Mackey, Gass, & McDonough, 2000; Mackey, Philip, Egi, Fujii, & Tatsumi, 2002; Philip, 2003), there has been little investigation into how learners' second language production may be shaped by their allocation of attention or by individual differences in cognitive abilities.; The present study explored the relationship between three variables: foreign language aptitude; learners' orientation to form; and second language production. A descriptive classroom-based study was conducted in an EFL context, employing quantitative and qualitative analyses to investigate task-based learner-learner interactions. Aptitude measures included tests of language analytic ability, phonological short-term memory, and working memory. Learners' orientation to form was measured through learning journals, stimulated recall, interviews, and modified output during interaction. Second language production was analyzed in terms of accuracy, syntactic complexity; lexical variety, lexical sophistication, and fluency.; Findings indicate a relationship between specific aptitude components and two dimensions of task performance: accuracy and lexical sophistication. Orientation to form was associated with greater lexical variety. Orientation to form was also associated with low aptitude (in terms of language analytic ability and composite aptitude). Qualitative analysis suggests that learners with high working memory capacity may have been better able to prioritize multiple dimensions of second language production in complex tasks, and that orientation to form was often triggered by communicative difficulties.; Taken together, the results support a componential view of aptitude (DeKeyser & Juffs, 2005; Dorney & Skehan, 2003; Robinson, 2002b; Skehan, 1998, 2002) wherein specific aptitude components are related to specific second language learning stages or processes. This research contributes to our understanding of the relationship between aptitude profiles and instruction, and provides potential explanation for Ando et al.'s (1992) claim that communicative language teaching compensates for lower aptitude. In the current study, whereas high aptitude learners demonstrated a number of strengths in second language production, low aptitude learners encountered communicative difficulties during task-based interaction that opened doors to opportunities for orientation to form.