Test-taker characteristics (TTCs), or individual difference variables, are known to be a systematic source of variance in language test performance. Although previous research has documented the impact of a range of TTCs on second language (L2) learners’ test performance, few of these studies have involved young learners. Given that young L2 learners undergo rapid maturational changes in their cognitive abilities, are susceptible to affective factors in unique ways, and have little autonomy with respect to the context of L2 acquisition, the relationship between their personal attributes and their test performance merit separate research attention. To fill this gap, we investigated the extent to which sixth-grade, Korean-L1, EFL learners’ (n = 107) TTCs predicted their performance on tests of L2 listening and reading comprehension. The TTCs under investigation included three cognitive characteristics (aptitude, phonological working memory, L1 competence), one affective factor (motivation), and two demographic variables (socioeconomic status and gender). Results showed that aptitude and phonological working memory significantly predicted participants’ performance on both L2 listening and reading comprehension tests, whereas motivation predicted performance on the L2 listening comprehension test only. These findings suggest that higher aptitude, phonological working memory, and motivation contribute positively to young learners’ L2 outcomes.

考生特征（TTC）或个体差异变量是语言测试表现差异的系统性来源。尽管先前的研究已记录了各种TTC对第二语言（L2）学习者的考试成绩的影响，但这些研究中很少涉及年轻学习者。鉴于年轻的L2学习者的认知能力正在快速走向成熟，容易以独特的方式受到情感因素的影响，并且在L2习得的背景下几乎没有自主权，因此他们的个人属性与测试成绩之间的关系值得单独研究。为了填补这一空白，我们调查了六年级韩语L1级英语学习者（n= 107）TTC在第二级听力和阅读理解测试中预测了他们的表现。被调查的TTC包括三个认知特征（能力，语音工作记忆，L1能力），一个情感因素（动机）和两个人口统计学变量（社会经济地位和性别）。结果表明，能力和语音工作记忆能力显着预测了参与者在二语听力和阅读理解测试中的表现，而动机仅预测了二语听力理解测试的表现。这些发现表明，较高的才能，语音工作记忆和动机对年轻学习者的L2成绩有积极贡献。