ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the important learner variables that are relatively stable at any given moment of instruction or learning experience, including age, proficiency, aptitude, personality, educational experience, cognitive or learning style, and working memory. The overarching finding from age-related effects on second language (L2) learning is that younger learners generally reach higher levels of ultimate attainment than older learners. A long-established research interest in second language acquisition has been the idea that certain individuals have a special capability or talent for language learning. A key component of language learning aptitude noted briefly is a differential memory capacity between individual language learners that manifests after adolescence. Memory appears to be one of the main predictive variables of adult L2 attainment. Like research on learning styles, personality in language acquisition research borrows theoretically from psychology. A number of observations have been made about how extroversion impacts language learning and use.
