This book traces and summarizes the author's theoretical insights and empirical findings in the field of foreign language education. The volume explores themes such as individual differences in L1 ability and their connection to L2 aptitude and L2 achievement, L2 anxiety as an affective or cognitive variable, and the relationship between L1 and L2 reading. The book includes the author's previously published works, presented together with newly written commentaries on those topics, as well as commentaries on new empirical work. It will be of interest to students and researchers in SLA, educational practitioners and language policymakers.

Richard L. Sparks is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Graduate Education at Mount St. Joseph University USA. His research interests include L2 aptitude, language and learning disabilities and foreign language anxiety, and he has published extensively in foreign language and learning disability journals.

Foreword: Edward Wen and Peter Skehan

Acknowledgements

Part I: Theoretical Insights into L1-L2 Relationships: IDs in L1 Attainment and the Linguistic Coding Differences Hypothesis (LCDH)

Richard L. Sparks and Leonore Ganschow: Searching for the Cognitive Locus of Foreign Language Learning Difficulties: Linking First and Second Language Learning

Richard L. Sparks and Leonore Ganschow: The Impact of Native Language Learning Problems on Foreign Language Learning: Case Study Illustrations of the Linguistic Coding Deficit Hypothesis

Richard L. Sparks: Examining the Linguistic Coding Differences Hypothesis to Explain Individual Differences in Foreign Language Learning

Part II: Empirical Support for L1-L2 Relationships and Cross-Linguistic Transfer

Richard L. Sparks, Jon Patton, Leonore Ganschow, Nancy Humbach and James Javorsky: Long-Term Crosslinguistic Transfer of Skills from L1 to L2

Richard L. Sparks, Jon Patton, Leonore Ganschow and Nancy Humbach: Do L1 Reading Achievement and L1 Print Exposure Contribute to the Prediction of L2 Proficiency?

Richard L. Sparks, Jon Patton and Julie Luebbers: Individual Differences in L2 Achievement Mirror Individual Differences in L1 Skills and L2 Aptitude: Crosslinguistic Transfer of L1 Skills to L2

Part III: Relationships Among IDs in L1 Attainment, L2 Aptitude, and L2 Proficiency

Richard L. Sparks, Jon Patton and Leonore Ganschow: Profiles of More and Less Successful L2 Learners: A Cluster Analysis Study

Richard L. Sparks, Jon Patton, Leonore Ganschow and Nancy Humbach: Subcomponents of Second-Language Aptitude and Second-Language Proficiency

Richard L. Sparks, Jon Patton, Leonore Ganschow and Nancy Humbach: Long-Term Relationships among Early L1 Skills, Second Language Aptitude, Second Language Affect and Second Language Proficiency

Part IV: L2 Anxiety: Affective Variable or Cognitive Variable?

Richard L. Sparks and Leonore Ganschow: Foreign Language Learning Difficulties: Affective or Native Language Aptitude Differences?

Richard L. Sparks and Leonore Ganschow: Is the Foreign Language Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) Measuring Anxiety or Language Skills?

Richard L. Sparks and Jon Patton: Relationship of L1 Skills and L2 Aptitude to L2 Anxiety on the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale

Part V: Relationships between L1 and L2 Reading Ability

Richard L. Sparks: Language Deficits in Poor L2 Comprehenders: The Simple View

Richard L. Sparks, Jon Patton and Julie Luebbers: L2 Reading Comprehension is Hard Because L2 Listening Comprehension is Hard, Too

Richard L. Sparks: Identification and Characteristics of Strong, Average, and Weak Foreign Language Readers: The Simple View of Reading Model

Part VI: Inter- and Intra-individual Differences Profiles of L2 Learners

Richard L. Sparks: Individual Differences in L1 Ability and their Relationship to L2 Aptitude and L2 Achievement

Part VII: Epilogue