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Predictors of Adolescent Second Language Learning: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Poster Session E, Friday, October 2, 11:00 am - 1:00 pm, Wangari Maathai
Lois Parri1, Tomos Parry2, Sara Les1, Justine Kwek1, Brechtje Post3, Mirjana Bozic1; 1Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, 2School of Modern Languages, The Open University, 3Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, University of Cambridge
Adolescence is a crucial period for second language learning, shaped by maturing cognitive abilities, educational experiences, and environmental influences. Although this has duly generated substantial research, evidence remains disjointed and dispersed across second-language acquisition, psychology, education, and cognitive neuroscience, with studies varying in predictors, outcomes, age ranges, and learning contexts. This fragmentation limits the extent to which all studied predictors of language attainment can be identified and compared coherently across adolescent learners. This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesises evidence on predictors of additional-language attainment in adolescence, with particular focus on neurocognitive predictors of additional-language proficiency. The review is preregistered on PROSPERO and follows PRISMA guidelines. Searches included PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, supplemented by hand-searching and Google Scholar. No date limits were applied. Eligible studies included adolescents or young adults aged 10 to 24 who were learning or had learned an additional language in instructional settings. Studies were included if they reported quantitative associations between at least one predictor and an externally assessed additional-language outcome. Each record was screened independently by at least two reviewers, a process supported by calibration and conflict resolution. Risk of bias was assessed using relevant JBI critical appraisal tools. Searches identified 9,222 records, of which 555 were assessed at full text, resulting in 136 studies suitable for extraction and synthesis. Extracted data included study design, participant characteristics, language background, learning context, predictor and outcome measures, reliability, effect sizes, test statistics, and model features. Predictors and outcomes were organised into hierarchical three-level categories for domain-level synthesis. Where appropriate, reported associations were standardised to a common effect-size metric and analysed using meta-analytic models that accounted for variation between studies and for multiple effects drawn from the same study or sample. Where sufficient data were available, moderator analyses examined whether associations differed by predictor and outcome categories, age, and study quality. Preliminary results show evidence that predictors are differentially associated with specific linguistic-feature outcomes, including morphosyntax, syntax, semantics, phonology, orthography, and pragmatics. Across most domains, including language-related cognitive abilities, language-learning context, extramural language exposure, motivation, and beliefs, these factors generally showed positive associations with additional-language outcomes, although the strength and precision of the effects varied across linguistic domains. Evidence density differed across predictor-outcome combinations, and estimates varied in precision, reflecting the diversity of study designs, measures, and learning contexts included in the review. These preliminary findings provide an initial domain-level map of predictors of adolescent additional-language attainment, which will be further refined. This review offers a structured synthesis of the relationships between learner-internal and environmental predictors and adolescent additional-language outcomes across specific linguistic domains and features. By examining predictors in relation to specific components of language, the review seeks to clarify the mechanisms that underlie individual differences in adolescent language learning. The findings should inform theoretical understanding in the neurobiology of language and support the development of targeted, evidence-based approaches for individualised assessment and intervention in language learning.
Topic Areas: Language Development/Acquisition,