Cognitive and affective individual characteristics of foreign language learners. Polish students of German philology Cover Image

Kognitive und affektive individuelle Merkmale von Fremdsprachenlernenden. Fokus: Polnische Germanistikstudenten
Cognitive and affective individual characteristics of foreign language learners. Polish students of German philology

Author(s): Krystyna Janaszek
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Foreign languages learning, Applied Linguistics, Cognitive linguistics, Translation Studies
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego
Keywords: German philology students; individual characteristics; foreign language acquisition

Summary/Abstract: The survey research described in this paper was conducted in recent years among students of German philology at the University of Szczecin (55 individuals). The survey concerned the cognitive sphere of personality, taking into account the intellectual predispositions of the subjects, and the affective sphere related to the level of feelings and emotions accompanying the process of language education. The research shows that most of the individual characteristics of students are conducive to success in studying a foreign language. In the cognitive sphere, there are factors that support the development of spoken (e.g. linguistic intelligence) and written language (e.g. reflective style). German philology students are characterised by grammatical sensitivity as well as great independence in undertaking communication activities. In the affective sphere, studying the foreign language is supported by personality features (e.g. optimistic character) and positive, instrumental-integrating motivation. The only concern is the low assessment of one’s own language abilities related to the lack of auto-valorisation skills.

  • Issue Year: 2021
  • Issue No: 30
  • Page Range: 185-200
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: German