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one Adult SLA: The Interaction between External and Internal Factors cristina sanz key words External and internal factors ■ individual differences ■ interactive approach ■ interlanguage ■ level of ultimate attainment ■ nativism ■ neurolinguistics ■ rate of acquisition ■ universals ■ variation. 1. Introduction Like their counterparts in the field of first language (L1) acquisition, scholars in the field of second language acquisition (SLA) need to explain both the nature of language and how it is acquired, that is, what is learned and how it is learned. Unlike researchers in the field of L1 acquisition, however, SLA researchers need to explain the enormous variation found both in the rate of acquisition and in the level of ultimate attainment that characterizes adult language learning. Their goal is to identify universals of adult SLA as well as to explain the role of individual differences (IDs) in the process of acquiring a second language (L2). Researchers agree that L2 learners follow a predictable path in their acquisition process irrespective of their L1, aptitude, and context of acquisition and that language learners vary in the efficiency with which they go through the stages. There is no doubt that the learning context is in part responsible for this situation: Graduates from immersion programs learn faster and attain higher proficiency levels than L2 learners in foreign language programs . In addition, IDs such as motivation, aptitude, and attitude account for differences among learners in the same contexts. It is the interaction between internal processing mechanisms and IDs on the one hand, and external factors , such as quality and quantity of input on the other, that explain why some adult language learners learn faster than others and get further ahead in the acquisition process. This volume is concerned with the adult L2 learner and the interaction between external and internal factors that determines and ultimately explains adult L2 learning processes. It therefore contributes to the general picture of 3 language acquisition in a context that is different from child bilingualism and skilled adult bilingualism (i.e., adults who started learning an L2 at a young age and who have reached a high level of proficiency). Given the fact that adult L2 acquisition takes place after cognitive development is basically complete , adult language learners need to make the most of their cognitive resources in order to compensate for the limitations that have been imposed both externally (linked to the nature of the input, generally poorer in quality and frequency than L1 input) and internally (related to depleted cognitive resources ). Key topics to be explored regard (a) the nature of the language, which is the input that feeds the learning process (Mackey and Abbuhl, this volume, chapter 7; Sanz and Morgan-Short, this volume, chapter 8), (b) the mechanisms that process information and the role of attention and awareness in explicit and implicit processing of information (Leow and Bowles, this volume , chapter 6), (c) how properties of the brain may account for differences in child and adult SLA (Ullman, this volume, chapter 5), and (d) how age, sex, and prior language experience interact with cognitive limitations to explain differential success in the acquisition of nonprimary languages (Bowden, Sanz, and Stafford, this volume, chapter 4). Although the volume takes a cognitive approach to L2 learning, it also accepts the importance of social context in both L1 and L2 acquisition. All knowledge, especially but not exclusively linguistic knowledge, is the result of learners’ interaction with their social context, and acquisition is thus both social and cognitive. Mackey and Abbuhl’s work on input and interaction as well as Bowden, Sanz, and Stafford’s discussion of bilingualism and the acquisition of nonprimary languages provide insights into these issues. The latter chapter in particular distinguishes between individual and societal bilingualism and defends the proposition that the first cannot be understood without the second. Psycholinguistics may explain the positive effects that the ability to read and write in two languages has on subsequent language learning (Sanz, 2000), but biliterate bilingualism results from specific external conditions, for example, language policies leading to bilingual education. The motivation behind adult SLA research is in large part theoretical. L2 learning is pervasive throughout the world today, as it has been throughout history. An understanding of SLA processes adds to a greater understanding of that which makes us human, our minds. Scholars will one day explain the cognitive processes underlying adult SLA and thus contribute to the larger understanding of human cognition. But the motivation behind SLA research is also practical. Practical applications of adult SLA research are...

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