Who Are Our Students? A Synthesis of Foreign and Second Language Research on Individual Differences with Implications for Instructional Practice

Abstract

Teachers of second or foreign languages, to be most effective, must understand who their students really are. This means teachers must comprehend differences among their students in many individual characteristics, such as age, sex, motivation, anxiety, self-esteem, tolerance of ambiguity, risk-taking, cooperation, competition, and language learning strategies and styles. This article synthesizes previous and current research on these individual differences among students and provides implications for instructional practice. Researchers, teachers, and administrators should heed the article's message: we need to have keys for knowing our students better, and here are some of the most significant keys available.