Sensitive periods, language aptitude, and ultimate L2 attainment -- Editorial page -- Title page -- LCC data -- Table of contents -- List of contributors -- Introduction and overview -- References -- Maturational constraints on child and adult SLA -- 1. Maturational constraints on language learning -- 2. What is meant by a sensitive period for language development? -- 3. Eight reasons for the lack of consensus on maturational constraints -- 3.1 Phonology -- 3.2 Lexis -- 3.3 Morpho-syntax -- 3.4 Language use -- 3.5 Background questionnaire -- 4. Positive developments over the past decade, and future research programs -- References -- Maturational constraints on lexical acquisition in a second language -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Method -- 2.1 Selection of NNS participants -- 2.2 Test materials -- 2.3 Coding data -- 2.4 Reliability and validity -- 3. Results -- 3.1 Word associations -- 3.2 Written test of lexical use -- 3.3 General trends in use of core vocabulary -- 3.4 General trends in use of multi-word units -- 4. Conclusions -- References -- Age of acquisition effects or effects of bilingualism in second language ultimate attainment? -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Review of the literature -- 2.1 Conceptual frameworks on bilingualism effects and supporting empirical research -- 2.2 Counter-evidence to bilingualism effects on L2 ultimate attainment? -- 3. Discussion -- 3.1 Assumptions about monolingualism among native controls and about bilingualism among L2 speakers -- 3.2 Bilingualism effects or different communicative contexts -- 3.3 Differential effects as a function of linguistic domain -- 4. Conclusions -- References -- Cognitive aptitudes for second language learning and the LLAMA Language Aptitude Test* -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The LLAMA aptitude test -- 2.1 LLAMA B: Vocabulary learning -- 2.2 LLAMA D: Sound recognition.

2.3 LLAMA E: Sound-symbol association -- 2.4 LLAMA F: Grammatical inferencing -- 3. The LLAMA aptitude test in SLA research: An overview -- 4. The LLAMA aptitude test: An exploratory validation study -- 4.1 Participants -- 4.2 Instruments and procedure -- 4.3 GAMA -- 4.4 Probabilistic SRT task -- 4.5 Operation span (OSPAN) test -- 4.6 Letter span test -- 4.7 Digit-symbol correspondence test -- 4.8 Simon task -- 4.9 Data analysis -- 4.10 Results -- 4.10.1 Reliability -- 4.10.2 Validity: An exploratory approach -- 4.11 Discussion -- 4.12 Conclusions and directions for further research -- References -- New conceptualizations of language aptitude in second language attainment -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Definitions and constructs of aptitude -- 3. Aptitude, working memory and phonological short-term memory -- 4. Aptitude in L1 and L2, and its role in ultimate attainment -- 5. Aptitude and language learning processes -- 6. The stability of language learning aptitude -- 7. Redefining aptitude in ultimate attainment -- References -- Optimizing post-critical-period language learning -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Defining language aptitude -- 3. Defining high-level attainment -- 4. Hi-LAB constructs -- 5. Hi-LAB measures -- 6. Validity studies -- 7. Aptitude-by-treatment interactions -- 7.1 Aptitude profiles -- 7.2 Active memory and processing -- 7.3 Foreign sounds -- 7.4 Implicit learning -- 7.5 Explicit Learning -- 7.6 Other -- 7.7 ATI pilot studies -- 8. Conclusion -- Refrences -- Reexamining the robustness of aptitude in second language acquisition -- 1. Research background -- 2. Purpose of the study -- 3. Research questions and Hypotheses -- 4. Methodology -- 4.1 Participants -- 4.2 Target structures -- 4.3 Instruments and procedures -- 5. Results -- 6. Discussion -- 7. Conclusion -- 8. Further research -- References -- Appendix.

Memory-based aptitude for nativelike selection -- 1. Background -- 1.1 Nativelike selection -- 1.2 Usage based models of language -- 1.3 Studies investigating the influence of exposure and pSTM on idiomaticity -- 2. The present study -- 2.1 Aims -- 2.2 Research questions -- 2.3 Participants -- 2.4 Tasks -- 2.4.1 Nativelike selection task -- 2.4.2 pSTM -- 2.5 Background questionnaire -- 2.6 Procedure -- 3. Results -- 3.1 Analyses -- 3.2 Correlational analyses -- 3.3 Hierarchical regression analyses -- 3.4 Individual case analyses -- 3.5 Summary of results -- 4. Discussion -- Acknowledgements -- References -- Appendix -- High-level proficiency in late L2 acquisition -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Collocations and high-level SLA -- 3. Social-psychological challenges for the adult L2 learner -- 3.1 Aptitude and SLA -- 3.2 Personality and SLA -- 3.3 Cognitive styles -- 3.4 Intuition and openness -- 3.5 Multicultural personality dimensions -- 4. Aims of the study -- 5. The empirical study -- 5.1 Research questions -- 6. Method -- 6.1 Participants -- 6.2 The aptitude tests -- 6.3 Personality measurement -- 6.4 The collocation test -- 6.5 The Written Grammatical Judgment test (GJT) -- 7. Results -- 8. Discussion -- 9. Concluding remarks -- References -- Part iv. Implications for educational policy and language teaching -- Some implications of research findings on sensitive periods in language learning for educational policy and practice -- 1. General policy considerations -- 2. Early research findings -- 3. Recent studies -- 4. An alternative interpretation -- 5. Needed research -- References -- Aptitude-treatment interaction studies in second language acquisition -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Terminology -- 3. Cognitive aptitude and instructed SLA treatment interactions -- 3.1 Aptitude-treatment interaction research design.

3.2 Aptitude-treatment interaction studies in SLA -- 4. Discussion -- 4.1 Strengths of research design -- 4.2 Weaknesses of research design -- 4.3 Interaction patterns and implications for instruction -- 5. Conclusion -- References -- Subject index.