This longitudinal study with time-serial data examines for the first time whether different types of intraindividual variation in second language (L2) performance and cognitive functioning are related, and how and when they influence L2 development longitudinally in older adulthood. We analyzed the L2 development of 26 German-speaking adults aged 62–79 who were taught L2 English for 2 × 90 minutes per week over 6 months. At each of the 15 measurements, the participants completed three L2 tasks and eight cognitive measures, and they answered open-ended questions about socioaffective variables such as L2 motivation. Results of generalized additive mixed models and qualitative content analyses showed, inter alia, that L2 variability—rather than inconsistency or dispersion—had a (nonlinear) effect on L2 growth, being especially large during periods of rapid development. The qualitative analyses revealed a blended operation of internal and external states being associated with periods of significant L2 growth.

这项利用时间序列数据的纵向研究首次检验了第二语言 (L2) 表现和认知功能的不同类型的个体差异是否相关，以及它们如何以及何时纵向影响老年人的 L2 发展。我们分析了 26 名 62-79 岁的德语成年人的第二语言发展情况，他们在 6 个月内每周接受 2 × 90 分钟的第二语言英语教学。在 15 项测量中，参与者分别完成了 3 项 L2 任务和 8 项认知测量，并回答了有关 L2 动机等社会情感变量的开放式问题。广义相加混合模型和定性内容分析的结果表明，L2 变异性（而不是不一致或分散）对 L2 增长具有（非线性）影响，在快速发展时期尤其大。定性分析揭示了内部和外部状态的混合操作与 L2 显着增长时期相关。