Focusing on learners’ individual differences (IDs) in SLA, this volume includes a collection of nearly 20 empirical research studies conducted by European researchers predominantly in a Polish English as a foreign language (EFL) context. Most of the studies included are primarily based on quantitative research methods. As the editors stress in the introduction, although not exhaustive in its scope, this book encompasses a wide array of issues for IDs in SLA, concerning such features as personality, aptitude, motivation, learning and cognitive styles, learning strategies, anxiety, and self-esteem, which are also covered in Dörnyei’s (Reference Dörnyei2005) seminal book. These ID variables are discussed individually or jointly in each chapter and are embedded within the empirical studies throughout the current volume.
In this book, chapters on similar themes are grouped under six different parts. Part 1 lays out some theoretical background, whereas the rest of the book is dedicated to presenting a series of research findings. The first chapter suggests teaching content subjects through a foreign language (FL) as an approach to accommodate learners’ IDs in institutionalized learning contexts. The second chapter continues with a discussion of major accomplishments, problems, future directions, and pedagogical implications for language learning strategy research. Part 2 deals with teachers’ roles in the development of learner autonomy. In the opening chapter, the author investigates EFL teachers’ perceptions of ID and the role of ID in learning and teaching English. The following chapter compares how the development of students’ learning autonomy is stimulated by FL teachers and teachers of non-FL subjects. The last chapter examines how personality traits and parenting styles predict self-regulation in FL learning. Part 3 is concerned with learners’ strategy application to language learning. The author of its first chapter compares the efficacy of reception-based and production-oriented grammar instruction in the development of implicit and explicit knowledge. The next chapter explores how cognate vocabulary, IDs, and bilingualism/multilingualism influence learners’ awareness raising and strategy training. Part 4 continues to discuss learners’ strategy application with a focus on experienced learners. The four chapters in this section explore the following topics, respectively: the interaction between gender and anxiety types during FL processing; teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs in relation to their teaching experience, job satisfaction, and willingness to stay in the teaching profession; interpreters’ gender differences in managing criticism and praise; and learners’ needs analyses. Part 5 focuses on learner variations in phonological attainment. The initial chapter investigates the patterns in learners’ wh-question suprasegmentals. The subsequent chapter probes learners’ phonemic and lexical knowledge through a time-limited verbal fluency task. The concluding chapter examines the effects of pronunciation teaching to learners of different ages. Part 6 pertains to IDs in reading and writing skills. The first three chapters involve the following subjects related to reading: the relationship among learners’ topic interest, gender, and FL levels in reading comprehension; learners’ strategic behaviors during reading tasks; and learners’ reading motivation. The last three chapters concern the following issues on writing: how learners transfer oral input (i.e., lectures) into written output (i.e., note taking), essay-type take-home exams as an alternative to traditional in-class writing exams, and the relationship between revision types and learners’ language skills during online revisions in FL writing.
On the whole, this book is readable and easy to follow, in part because, in each chapter, headings and subheadings in bold font along with key words in italicized font are shown in a clear and logical manner. Important points as well as tables and figures are also clearly summarized and visually well presented. However, in some chapters, results are discussed mainly based on the authors’ own interpretations without much or any reference to other existing research findings in SLA, which makes it difficult for readers to learn if and how the new research findings are related to prior research and further contribute to expanding our knowledge in SLA. This book should be of great use for teachers who intend to take individual learner features into consideration in language classrooms as well as researchers who pursue further empirical evidence on IDs. It is also a useful guide for novice researchers and graduate students who are seeking to learn about research on IDs and its relevant research methodology.
