Essay On Individual Differences

2.2. Individual Differences (IDs):

It is clear that people reply in a different way to the same situations. They use different approaches towards communicating with others and solving the problems they encounter. Individuals also behave differently in learning contexts; As stated by Brown (2000), each of them practices a special type of learning style. For example, some individuals learn better with pictures and illustrations, some learn better with repetition and some others get better results through participation.

Dörnyei (2005) defines individual differences (IDs) as: "characteristics or traits in respect of which individuals may be shown to differ from each other."(p.1). As a matter of fact, individual learner differences are the distinct

Accordingly, personality features and components are the main sources of differences in individuals. It has been always seen in previous studies of second language acquisition that some learners perform better than the others in a second or foreign language context. Individual differences can be one of the potential explanations for learners’ different behaviors in language learning context. Individual learner differences are acknowledged as important variables in SLA (Ellis, 1994; Larsen-Freeman & Long, 1991; Selinker, 1972; Skehan, 1989). As a matter of fact, individual differences can be among the predictive factors of educational success specifically in foreign or second language learning. Dörnyei and Skehan (2005) regard learners differences such as aptitude,styles and strategies as a sub-area of second language acquisition. Quoting from Oxford (1990) and Wenden (1991), they also claim that "language learning strategies" reflect learner's active contribution to enhancing the effectiveness of his or her learning. Individual differences consist of several factors such as age, gender,aptitude, motivation, personality, styles,etc among which personality will be discussed comprehensively in section