Trainee Characteristics and Achievement during Special Operations Forces Initial Acquisition Foreign Language Training.

摘要

This report evaluates the importance of trainee characteristics to learning in Special Operations Forces (SOF) initial acquisition foreign language training (IAT). The report focuses on trainees' general cognitive ability and motivation to learn as potential predictors of achievement during IAT. Specifically, the report attempts to answer the following questions: (1) Do trainees' general cognitive ability and motivation to learn predict their achievement during IAT, and (2) Do trainees' general cognitive ability and motivation to learn independently or jointly predict achievement during IAT. The sample consisted of 550 trainees who completed foreign language IAT at a U.S. Army base in the southeastern United States between 2005 and 2007. Trainees' general cognitive ability was found to predict achievement on assessments of both listening and reading skills. However, motivation to learn showed an inconsistent relationship with achievement. Trainees' cognitive ability and motivation to learn showed independent relationships with achievement. The authors conclude that trainee characteristics are predictive of learning performance during IAT. Specifically, trainees' cognitive ability, and to a lesser extent, motivation to learn are useful indicators of their performance on listening and reading skills assessments during training.