We all learn our first language (in your case, Japanese) without much effort. Individual differences in intelligence, motivation, personality, and learning strategies don't seem to matter much when it comes to first language learning, i.e., (almost) all Japanese learn and speak Japanese without difficulty. However, why do we suffer much when we learn a second language (e.g., English)? How come some people learn it faster and speak it better than others? Are those good English learners smarter, highly motivated, more positive/active (in personality), and well-equipped with good learning strategies? What about age? Is it really “the younger, the better” in language learning? Are these factors of individual differences really responsible for the success of second/foreign language (SL) learning? What are the research findings about the relationship between individual differences and success in SL learning? What do they tell us?
In this seminar, participants will explore the issues in individual differences and SL learning. They will develop the knowledge of the topic through reviews of prior studies, and further explore one or more topics that interest them most throughout the seminar. Participants will be expected to participate actively in discussions and to contribute extensively in presentations. They will also be required to complete a small-scale empirical study on a topic that they themselves find most interesting.
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