Are individual differences in cognitive abilities and stylistic preferences related to multilingual adults’ performance in explicit learning conditions?

Research suggests that individual differences in additional language learning may play a more important role taxing situations when learners are confronted with unfamiliar or difficult tasks. However, studies to date have mostly focused on second (L2) learners/bilinguals, while within multilingual populations remain under-researched. Working university-level adults, we compared the effectiveness of traditional instruction (familiar) and concept-based (unfamiliar) teach past tense/aspect distinction Spanish. Learners were pre- post-tested their knowledge target structure assessed aptitude, working memory capacity, verbal-imagery cognitive style attitudes. While both treatment groups demonstrated significantly improved metalinguistic knowledge, found no statistical between two terms gained attitudes, ability not associated observed gains. This set results indicates measured seemingly longer played significant these multilinguals’ performance instructional conditions examined. In addition, neither experience nor typological closeness known languages had any impact. We propose extensive explicit led levelling effect, as previously L2 learners.