Purdue University Purdue e-Pubs Open Access Dissertations Theses and Dissertations January 2015 Aptitude in L2 and L3 Learners of German Katharina Neema Kipp Purdue University Follow this and additional works at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_dissertations Recommended Citation Kipp, Katharina Neema, "Aptitude in L2 and L3 Learners of German" (2015). Open Access Dissertations. 1122. https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_dissertations/1122 This document has been made available through Purdue e-Pubs, a service of the Purdue University Libraries. Please contact [email protected] for additional information. Graduate School Form 30 Updated 1/15/2015 PURDUE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL Thesis/Dissertation Acceptance This is to certify that the thesis/dissertation prepared By Katharina Neema Kipp Entitled APTITUDE IN L2 AND L3 LEARNERS OF GERMAN For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Is approved by the final examining committee: John Sundquist Chair Mariko Wei Colleen Neary-Sundquist Tony Silva To the best of my knowledge and as understood by the student in the Thesis/Dissertation Agreement, Publication Delay, and Certification Disclaimer (Graduate School Form 32), this thesis/dissertation adheres to the provisions of Purdue University’s “Policy of Integrity in Research” and the use of copyright material. Approved by Major Professor(s): John Sundquist Approved by: Madeleine Henry 12/4/2015 Head of the Departmental Graduate Program Date i APTITUDE IN L2 AND L3 LEARNERS OF GERMAN A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Purdue University by Katharina Neema Kipp In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2015 Purdue University West Lafayette, Indiana ii Para las dos personas mas importantes en mi vida, mi hijo Alejandro y mi esposo Enrique. Los quiero mucho. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to thank my advisor, Professor John Sundquist for giving me the opportunity to present this thesis and his constant support during my years at Purdue. In addition, I would like to thank my committee members Dr. Mariko Wei, Dr. Tony Silva and Dr. Colleen Neary-Sundquist for their constructive comments and suggestions. My gratitude also goes to the external researchers that I have been in touch with during this project. I would like to thank Dr. Paula Winke for letting me use her motivation questionnaire, Dr. Amy Thompson for letting me adapt her concept of PPLI, Dr. Elvira Swender for providing me with insightful information on the ACTFL Can-Do statements and finally Dr. Charles Stansfield, who made the PLAB aptitude test available to me. I would also like to thank the German Department, the School of Languages and Cultures and the Purdue Research Foundation for providing me with a number of stipends to support my work. Many thanks also go to my participants, the teaching assistants and professors that allowed the project to happen in their classes and our coordinator Dr. Jason Baumer. Without everyone’s great participation and cooperation this project would have never been possible. iv Finally, there are no words to express my gratitude to my husband Enrique, who supported me every single minute of this project. Without his help and the help of my parents, Jürgen and Gabriele, I would have never been able to complete this journey v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................. viii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................... x ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................ xi CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 1 1.1 Language Learning Aptitude ............................................................................. 1 1.2 Aptitude and Multilingualism ........................................................................... 4 1.3 Research Questions .......................................................................................... 6 1.4 Dissertation Overview ...................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................... 10 2.1 Overview ......................................................................................................... 10 2.2 Multilingualism-Issues, Terminology, and Definitions ................................... 11 2.3 Terminology in this Study ............................................................................... 14 2.4 Models of Multilingualism .............................................................................. 17 2.5 Multilingualism and Aptitude ......................................................................... 22 2.6 Multilingualism and the Pimsleur Language Aptitude Battery (PLAB) ........... 27 2.7 Multilingualism, Aptitude, and Language Learning Strategies ....................... 30 2.8 Multilingualism and Motivation ..................................................................... 36 2.9 Aptitude and Proficiency ................................................................................ 40 2.10 Summary ......................................................................................................... 41 CHAPTER 3. RESEARCH DESIGN ................................................................................... 43 3.1 Overview ......................................................................................................... 43 3.2 Recruitment Process ....................................................................................... 43 vi Page 3.3 Timeline and Tasks ......................................................................................... 44 3.4 Participants ..................................................................................................... 48 3.5 Instruments .................................................................................................... 50 3.5.1 Pimsleur Language Aptitude Battery (PLAB) .............................................. 50 3.5.2 Motivation Questionnaire .......................................................................... 57 3.5.3 Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) ........................................ 59 3.5.4 Proficiency (ELPAC German Listening Proficiency Test) ............................. 65 3.5.5 ACTFL Can-Do Statements for Interpretive Listening ................................. 69 3.5.6 Language Experience Questionnaire .......................................................... 74 3.5.7 Semi-structured Interviews ........................................................................ 78 3.6 Summary ......................................................................................................... 80 CHAPTER 4. ANALYSIS AND RESULTS .......................................................................... 82 4.1 Overview ......................................................................................................... 82 4.2 Research Question 1: Analysis and Results .................................................... 82 4.3 Research Question 2: Analysis and Results .................................................... 96 4.4 Research Question 3: Analysis and Results .................................................. 102 4.5 Summary ....................................................................................................... 107 CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION ......................................................................................... 108 5.1 Overview ....................................................................................................... 108 5.2 Research Question 1 ..................................................................................... 108 5.3 Research Question 2 ..................................................................................... 114 5.4 Research Question 3 ..................................................................................... 118 5.5 Summary ....................................................................................................... 121 5.6 Future Research ............................................................................................ 126 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................ 128 APPENDICES Appendix A Survey 1 .................................................................................................. 139 vii Page Appendix B Survey 2 .................................................................................................. 148 Appendix C Survey 3 ................................................................................................... 154 VITA ................................................................................................................................. 166 viii LIST OF TABLES Table ...............................................................................................................................Page Table 3.1 Timeline and Tasks of the Study ...................................................................... 47 Table 3.2 Categorization of Language Learner Categories ............................................... 49 Table 3.3 Summary of Components