UMD Ph.D. Candidate Mireia Toda Cosi Wins Language Learning Dissertation Grant for Landmark Language “Aptitude” Study

Synthesizing data from nearly 450 studies, Toda Cosi’s research redefines how individual brain power—from memory to subconscious pattern detection—shapes second-language learning.

Mireia Toda Cosi, a Ph.D. candidate in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) at the University of Maryland’s School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (SLLC), has been awarded a prestigious dissertation grant from Language Learning. Awarded by the journal’s Board of Directors to just 10 doctoral researchers globally each year, the grant supports high-impact research across the language sciences. 

Toda Cosi’s dissertation, titled “Beyond Traditional Aptitude: A Meta-Analysis of Cognitive Aptitude Components and Their Influence on Second Language Outcomes,” tackles a long-standing question in education: why do some individuals acquire new languages more easily than others? 

For decades, language “aptitude” was measured almost exclusively through traditional paper-and-pencil tests that evaluated a student’s conscious, analytical ability to memorize grammar rules. However, modern cognitive science shows that language learning relies on a much broader range of mental abilities. 
Toda Cosi’s project brings these modern theories together into the largest known research synthesis on language aptitude in the field. By conducting a systematic meta-analysis of approximately 450 studies, the research combines data across decades of global findings to evaluate three distinct cognitive components:

• Explicit Aptitude: A learner’s conscious ability to analyze language rules and patterns logically.
• Implicit Aptitude: The brain’s unconscious ability to pick up on linguistic patterns and statistical structures naturally.
• Working Memory: The mental “processing space” available to hold and manipulate language information in real time.

In addition to mapping how these cognitive traits influence language outcomes, Toda Cosi’s project addresses a major quality-control issue in language research. By evaluating the reliability of measurement tools used across hundreds of previous experiments, the study aims to resolve decades of conflicting research results and determine which cognitive tests provide genuine, dependable results. 

The grant funding will directly support a second researcher to assist with coding and searching for unpublished literature, ensuring the synthesis captures a comprehensive and unbiased picture of the field. In alignment with open science standards, all project materials and data will be archived publicly on the Open Science Framework (OSF). 

Ultimately, Toda Cosi’s findings will provide language educators and curriculum designers with evidence-based insights to create personalized instruction tailored to individual learners’ unique cognitive strengths.

About Language Learning

Language Learning: A Journal of Research in Language Studies is a top-tier peer-reviewed academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Language Learning Research Club at the University of Michigan. The journal sponsors competitive international grant programs to support innovative research that advances theoretical understanding of language learning and processing.