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11 - Factors in Variable Outcomes in Second Language Acquisition

from Part IVA - Building Cognitive Brain Reserve and the Importance of Proficiency

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 December 2025

By
David Birdsong
Edited by
Edna Andrews  and
Swathi Kiran
Edna Andrews
Affiliation:
Duke University, North Carolina
Swathi Kiran
Affiliation:
Boston University
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Summary

Variability in ultimate learning outcomes is a conspicuous trait of second language (L2) acquisition. After enumerating well-studied conditioning factors in L2 attainment, the present chapter identifies five for particular attention: working memory, attitudes, music background, genetic makeup, and age of acquisition. Along with detailing the factors’ individual roles in L2 attainment, we demonstrate inter-relationships between them. For example, the aptitude factor of working memory ability is subject to genetic variation and may decline over age of L2 learning. We examine variable outcomes from two distinct perspectives: magnitude (i.e., how the identified factors contribute to higher or lower levels of L2 attainment) and dispersion (i.e., how the factors contribute to greater or lesser variability of L2 attainment). Notably, later ages of L2 learning are associated with both lower L2 attainment levels and greater L2 attainment variability. In this vein, we consider the possibility that magnitudes and variability of L2 outcomes over age of learning may be isomorphic with working memory levels and dispersion over the lifespan. In addition, we underscore the transitory nature of individual-level L2 outcomes, which are subject to destabilization following shifts of dominance between the L1 (first language) and the L2.

Keywords

Second language attainmentSecond language acquisitionIndividual differencesFactors in second language attainmentVariability in learning outcomesCoefficient of variationAge of acquisitionCritical periodBilingualism effectsMusic backgroundGenetic makeupWorking memoryAttitudinal factorsMotivationNeurological factorsWhite matter integrityFractional anisotropyNeurotransmissionDopamineAcetylcholineGrammaticalityDominance in bilingualismLanguage attritionSecond language attainmentSecond language acquisitionIndividual differencesFactors in second language attainmentVariability in learning outcomesCoefficient of variationAge of acquisitionCritical periodBilingualism effectsMusic backgroundGenetic makeupWorking memoryAttitudinal factorsMotivationNeurological factorsWhite matter integrityFractional anisotropyNeurotransmissionDopamineAcetylcholineGrammaticalityDominance in bilingualismLanguage attrition

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The Cambridge Handbook of Language and Brain , pp. 262 - 309
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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