De La Salle University Manila

College of Education

Language transfer, motivation, language attitude and aptitude: Internal factors that
influence successful second language learning
RAMSEY S. FERRER
MAELED

In a multicultural context where multilingual speakers come in contact, learning

another language is possible. Theories about how people learn to speak a second (or third
or fourth) language are directly related to the first language acquisition theories. There
are two reasons why. First of all, because first language acquisition is a universal
achievement of children the world over, researchers and educators interested in second
language acquisition and teaching have often used first language acquisition as an ideal
model, one that may inform us about how a second language might be taught. Until
Chomsky, however, ideas about how a first language was acquired were not fully
developed and researched. Behaviorists, for example, did not analyze closely the speech
development of young children, but rather extended general learning theory principles to
language development. Indeed, learning a second language mirrors first language
acquisition which basically goes through a process which differs on its own gamut.
Different stages of language development in L2 determine how language learning
manifests language success which is one of the issues in SLA. This language issue has
been paid attention by several researchers who tried to explore the determiners and other
predictors of success such as language transfer, motivation, attitude and aptitude that
influence learning (Gardner & Lambert, 1972; Krashen, 1982; Dornyei, 2003). These

predictors of language success constitute what is said to be the internal factors that affect
second language learning. Even though SLA is clearly marked with universal tendencies
(e.g., developmental sequences, acquisition orders, Universal Grammar), it is clear that
SLA learners are not all alike nor do they attain similar degrees of knowledge or
proficiency over time (Patten & Benati, 2010). It is the study of individual differences
that attempts to address variation in language success over time. Individual differences
seem to play an important role in determining language success since it espouses that
learners have different phases in language development, learning strategies, and different
styles. This short paper deliberates how each internal factor affects the development and
how it influences language success.
The origins of individual differences as a field of study are found in classroombased research conducted in the late 1950s in which researchers wanted to know why
some people are better students of second languages compared to others. In this regard,
researcher studies have begun to investigate on what really accounts for these language
phenomena until after different variables (e.g. aptitude, motivation) were discovered and
explored that relate to SLA. This has led to investigate several areas that affect language
development. These are language aptitude and attitude, motivation, learning styles, and
learning strategies. Language aptitude can be defined as a learners propensity to learn an
L2, and is one of the many factors researched in the field of individual differences (Patten
& Benati, 2010). Such propensities include the following: (1) the ability for a learner to
handle and memorize new sounds in an L2; (2) the ability for a learner to recognize
grammatical function of words in an L2; (3) the ability for the learner to extrapolate
grammatical rules from L2 samples; and (4) the ability for the learner to memorize new

words in an L2. In addition, DeKeyser (2000) found a strong positive correlation between
their scores on the aptitude test and their scores on a test of the acquisition of various
aspects of English morphology and syntax. However, this correlation was only positive
for those who arrived after the age of 17; that means, the correlation between aptitude and
acquisition scores was not significant prior to that age. Another view on aptitude shows
that different learners with different aptitude clusters will respond to different
instructional treatments differentially (Robinson, 2001). It is therefore concluded that
individual differences largely affect language development vis--vis other factors that
influence success such as language aptitude. On the other hand, the birth of motivation
(what researchers also call individual differences) has been explored in the field of SLA.
The theory on individual motivation posits that integratively motivated learners succeed
because they are active learners (Gardner, 1985). Gardner and Lambert (1972) argued
that second language learners feelings about a foreign language and its cultural values
and living styles (attitudes) and their individual reasons for learning the language
(motivation) are related to overall learning success and achievement with learning that
foreign language. They found that the pragmatic purpose for learning a second language
is derived from a personal desire to know the native speakers of the target language.
Second language learners are interested in learning about native speakers of that language
and understanding the main purpose of the ways of life in the target language. This is
called instrumental motivation (Gardner & Lambert, 1972). Gardner (1985) and
Schumann (1978) pointed out that integrative, instrumental, and work avoidance
motivation help second language learners to learn the target language more easily.
However, it is seen that in the field of SLA, motivation moves from a static construct

related to sociopsychological variables (e.g., how the learner perceives the target
language and culture and the degree to which the learner wishes to interact with the
latter) to more cognitive-oriented constructs (e.g., the mental self of learners), to
constructs related to contemporary psychology on self-esteem, self-regulation, and other
advances in research on human personality (Patten & Benati, 2010). Since the 1970s, the
field of motivation research has become more complicated by including such things as
the possible and ideal selves, motivation as process, demotivation, and the evolution of
motivation over time, among other concepts. Indeed, all the reasons sprout from the
desires of the self which motivates an individual towards language learning and
determines language success depending upon the amount and the type of motivation that
an individual has shown.
Language transfer, on the other hand, is another factor that influences language
success. Through monitor hypothesis (Krashen, 1982) errors can be observed which
would serve as the basis for correction. Some errors may be due to transfer (also called
crosslinguistic influence). Transfer means using sounds, expressions or structures from
the L1 when performing in the L2 (Yule, 2006). If the L1 and L2 have similar features
(e.g. marking plural on the ends of nouns) then the learner may be able to benefit from
the positive transfer of L1 knowledge to the L2. On the other hand, transferring an L1
feature that is really different from the L2 (e.g. putting the adjective after the noun)
results in negative transfer and it may make the L2 expression difficult to understand. It is
important to remember that negative transfer (sometimes called interference) is more
common in the early stages of L2 learning and often decreases as the learner develops
familiarity with the L2. It is through monitoring which learners will be able to modify,

make alternatives, and correct their own mistakes. Thereby making themselves aware of
the errors they are committing and doing some language appropriations for that matter.
By this, learners chance for a language learning and language success is highly possible.
It is therefore concluded that internal factors such as language aptitude, attitude,
and motivation that constitute individual differences and language transfer are predictors
of language success aside from other factors mentioned in other empirical studies.

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