View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching Department of English Studies, Faculty of Pedagogy and Fine Arts, Adam Mickiewicz University, Kalisz SSLLT 5 (1). 2015. 13-40 doi: 10.14746/ssllt.2015.5.1.2 http://www.ssllt.amu.edu.pl Neurology of foreign language aptitude Adriana Biedroń Pomeranian University, Słupsk, Poland
[email protected] Abstract This state-of-the art paper focuses on the poorly explored issue of foreign language aptitude, attempting to present the latest developments in this field and reconcep- tualizations of the construct from the perspective of neuroscience. In accordance with this goal, it first discusses general directions in neurolinguistic research on for- eign language aptitude, starting with the earliest attempts to define the neurological substrate for talent, sources of difficulties in the neurolinguistic research on foreign language aptitude and modern research methods. This is followed by the discussion of the research on the phonology of foreign language aptitude with emphasis on functional and structural studies as well as their consequences for the knowledge of the concept. The subsequent section presents the studies which focus on lexical and morphosyntactic aspects of foreign language aptitude. The paper ends with a dis- cussion of the limitations of contemporary research, the future directions of such research and selected methodological issues. Keywords: foreign language aptitude, neurology, neurolinguistics, individual differences 1. Introduction In the research on individual differences, foreign language aptitude (FL aptitude) has recently become one of the most often debated topics among scholars not 13 Adriana Biedroń only in the field of SLA and language education but also neurolinguistics.