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Cited by 33Neurobiology of Language and BilingualismEFL/ESL Teaching and LearningLanguage Development and Disorders

Examining Individual Differences in Language Learning: A Neurocognitive Model of Language Aptitude

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Turker, Sabrina, Seither-Preisler, Annemarie, Reiterer, Susanne Maria·2021·Neurobiology of Language
DOI 10.1162/nol_a_00042PMC PMC10158630
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Abstract

A common practice in the cognitive neurosciences is to investigate population-typical phenomena, treating individuals as equal except for a few outliers that are usually discarded from analyses or that disappear on group-level patterns. Only a few studies to date have captured the heterogeneity of language processing across individuals as so-called “individual differences;” fewer have explicitly researched language aptitude, which designates an individual’s ability for acquiring foreign languages. Existing studies show that, relative to average learners, very gifted language learners display different task-related patterns of functional activation and connectivity during linguistic tasks, and structural differences in white and grey matter morphology, and in white matter connectivity. Despite growing interest in language aptitude, there is no recent comprehensive review, nor a theoretical model to date that includes the neural level. To fill this gap, we review neuroscientific research on individual differences in language learning and language aptitude and present a first, preliminary neurocognitive model of language aptitude. We suggest that language aptitude could arise from an advantageous neuro-cognitive profile, which leads to high intrinsic motivation and proactive engagement in language learning activities. On the neural level, interindividual differences in the morphology of the bilateral auditory cortex constrain individual neural plasticity, as is evident in the speed and efficiency of language learning. We suggest that language learning success is further dependent upon highly efficient auditory-motor connections (speech-motor networks) and the structural characteristics of dorsal and ventral fibre tracts during language learning.

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  • Enhanced language aptitude would be linked to high willingness and intrinsic motivation to communicate and engage in language activities.

    “Finally, very recently Turker et al. (2021) have suggested that enhanced language aptitude would be linked to high willingness and intrinsic motivation to communicate and engage in language activities.”

    From The Role of Personality in Language Learning (2026) · cites this paper as Turker et al., 2021

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Turker, S., Seither-Preisler, A., & Reiterer, S. M.
Affiliations
  • Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (DE)
  • Centre for Systematic Musicology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
  • University of Vienna (AT)
Corresponding author
Turker, Sabrina
ORCID
Venue
Neurobiology of Language
Publisher
MIT Press
Published
2021-07-16
Volume
2
Issue
3
Pages
1-27
ISSN
2641-4368 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1162/nol_a_00042
PMC
PMC10158630
OpenAlex
W3171834947
Cited by
33
References
13
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2018: 1
FWCI
2.23
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Neurobiology of Language (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung (Postdoc Fellowship)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Language Development and Disorders
Keywords
language aptitude, individual differences, language learning, neurocognitive model, auditory cortex, neuroplasticity, white matter connectivity, intrinsic motivation, foreign language acquisition, brain structure

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