Language Learning ISSN 0023-8333
Individual Differences: Interplay of Learner
Characteristics and Learning Environment
Zolta´n Do¨rnyei
University of Nottingham
The notion of language as a complex adaptive system has been conceived within an
agent-based framework, which highlights the significance of individual-level variation
in the characteristics and contextual circumstances of the learner/speaker. Yet, in spite
of this emphasis, currently we know relatively little about the interplay among lan-
guage, agent, and environment in the language acquisition process, which highlights the
need for further research in this area. This article is intended to pursue this agenda by
discussing four key issues in this respect: (a) conceptualizing the agent, (b) conceptual-
izing the environment and its relationship to the agent, (c) operationalizing the dynamic
relationship among language, agent, and environment, and (d) researching dynamic
systems.
In their position paper, the “Five Graces Group” (this issue; henceforth FGG)
proposed that the complex adaptive system (CAS) of language should be con-
ceived within an agent-based framework, in which “different speakers may
exhibit different linguistic behavior and may interact with different members
of the community (as happens in reality).” This highlights the significance of
individual-level variation in the characteristics and contextual circumstances
of the learner/speaker. Accordingly, a key principle of the proposed approach
is that from the point of view of language acquisition and behavior, the inter-
action between the language learner/user and the environment matters. This,
of course, is in stark contrast to the traditional approach of generative linguis-
tics dominating the second half of the 20th century, for which the cognitive
system underlying language was conceptualized as largely context and user
independent.
I would like to thank Peter MacIntyre for his helpful comments on a previous version of this article.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Zolta´n Do¨rnyei, School of
English Studies, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK. Internet:
zoltan.dornyei@nottingham.ac.uk
Language Learning 59:Suppl. 1, December 2009, pp. 230–248 230
C©
2009 Language Learning Research Club, University of Michigan

Do¨rnyei Learner Characteristics and Learning Environment
In the light of the above, a curious feature of the FGG paper is that in spite
of the emphasis on the agent-based framework, there is very little said about
the agent, and even the discussion of the role of the environment is limited to
highlighting a few selected points only, such as social networks or the language
input generated by the learner’s social experience. It is clear that further research
is needed to elaborate on the interplay among language, agent, and environment,
and the current article is intended to pursue this agenda by discussing four key
areas in this respect: (a) conceptualizing the agent, (b) conceptualizing the
environment and its relationship to the agent, (c) operationalizing the dynamic
relationship among language, agent, and environment, and (d) researching
dynamic systems.
Conceptualizing the Agent
Learner characteristics in applied linguistics have traditionally been investi-
gated within the context of individual differences (IDs), which are conceived to
be attributes that mark a person as a distinct and unique human being. Of course,
people differ from each other in respect of a vast number of traits, of which ID
research has traditionally focused only on those personal characteristics that are
enduring, that are assumed to apply to everybody, and on which people differ
by degree. In other words, ID factors concern stable and systematic deviations
from a normative blueprint (Do¨rnyei, 2005).
Individual differences have been well established in SLA research as a rela-
tively straightforward concept: They have usually been seen as background
learner variables that modify and personalize the overall trajectory of the
language acquisition processes; thus, in many ways, IDs have been typically
thought of as the systematic part of the background “noise” in SLA. Particularly,
four ID factors have received special attention in past second language (L2)
research (see, e.g., Do¨rnyei, 2005; Do¨rnyei & Skehan, 2003; Robinson, 2002a;
Skehan, 1989): motivation, language aptitude, learning styles, and learning
strategies. Broadly speaking, motivation was seen to concern the affective
characteristics of the learner, referring to the direction and magnitude of learn-
ing behavior in terms of the learner’s choice, intensity, and duration of learning.
Language aptitude determines the cognitive dimension, referring to the capac-
ity and quality of learning. Learning styles refer to the manner of learning, and
learning strategies are somewhere in between motivation and learning styles by
referring to the learner’s proactiveness in selecting specific made-to-measure
learning routes. Thus, the composite of these variables has been seen to answer
231 Language Learning 59:Suppl. 1, December 2009, pp. 230–248