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The Etiology of Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition in Australian School Students: A Behavior‐Genetic Study
Author(s) -
Coventry William,
AntónMéndez Inés,
Ellis Elizabeth M.,
Levisen Christina,
Byrne Brian,
van Daal Victor H. P.,
Ellis Nick C.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
language learning
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.882
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1467-9922
pISSN - 0023-8333
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9922.2012.00718.x
Subject(s) - psychology , active listening , twin study , reading (process) , class (philosophy) , developmental psychology , second language acquisition , linguistics , heritability , communication , genetics , philosophy , artificial intelligence , computer science , biology
We present one of the first behavior‐genetic studies of individual differences in school students’ levels of achievement in instructed second language acquisition (ISLA). We assessed these language abilities in Australian twin pairs (maximum N pairs = 251) by means of teacher ratings, class rankings, and self‐ratings of proficiency, and used the classic twin design to estimate the relative influences of genes, shared (family/school) environment, and unique environment. Achievement in ISLA was more influenced by additive genetic effects (72%, 68%, and 38% for teacher ratings, class rankings, and twin self‐ratings, respectively) than by shared environment effects, which were generally not substantial (20%, 07%, and 13%). Genetic effects distinct to speaking and listening, on the one hand, and reading and writing, on the other, were evident for the twin self‐ratings. We discuss the limitations and implications of these findings and point to research questions that could profitably be addressed in future studies.