As part of a professional development class on language teaching every week I have to reflect on one common idea or belief about the language acquisition process. Here are some of the discussion prompts and my personal take on them:
"People with high IQs are good language learners"
HAIKUs over IQs!
This statement is just as problematic and controversial and the concept of IQ itself. The IQ in fact, while still widely accepted and utilized, has been largely criticized as a very incomplete measure of human intelligence, since it focuses only on some cognitive functions, like short term memory and logic, and completely ignores other areas of intelligence related to creativity and social-emotional intelligence (which are essential to understanding and using a language in social situations).
Because of how this score is calculated, people with a high IQ might have a relative advantage in some phases of the language acquisition process, such as the memorization and recalling phases, but a high IQ score is not predictive of how the learner will perform in other phases of the acquisition process. As the story of Francois Gouin perfectly illustrates, for example, very smart people might be terrible language learners because they choose the wrong learning strategies, or because they’re too shy and/or their emotional filter is so high that it doesn’t allow them to relax and take risks.
To say it with an HAIKU:
Good Language Learners
Smarts, Hearts, Passion And Much More
Than An IQ Score :)
Because of how this score is calculated, people with a high IQ might have a relative advantage in some phases of the language acquisition process, such as the memorization and recalling phases, but a high IQ score is not predictive of how the learner will perform in other phases of the acquisition process. As the story of Francois Gouin perfectly illustrates, for example, very smart people might be terrible language learners because they choose the wrong learning strategies, or because they’re too shy and/or their emotional filter is so high that it doesn’t allow them to relax and take risks.
To say it with an HAIKU:
Good Language Learners
Smarts, Hearts, Passion And Much More
Than An IQ Score :)
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