Of the seven, motivation and verbal intelligence were the clearest factors contributing to success at learning a foreign language.
Subsequent research involving students learning French at the college level, taking several different tests and subjecting the resulting data to factor analysis and multiple correlation analysis also showed motivation and verbal intelligence to be primary factors in language learning success.
After field testing a preliminary version of the Aptitude Battery on secondary school students of French and Spanish, Pimsleur and his associates identified verbal intelligence, motivation and auditory ability as the three most significant factors in predicting success at learning a foreign language.
After testing the seven subtests, with the support of the Ohio State University Research Foundation, the PLAB was finalized by adding a part where the examinee indicates his or her grade point average in four core subjects.
Thus, Pimsleur used GPA as a measure of study habits, which can be very important in foreign language learning, and a good predictor of success.
The students' final grades in a beginning language course were used to calculate the validity of the PLAB and provide statistical norms and expectancy tables.
The final version of the PLAB contains six parts (Pimsleur, et al. 2004), each one testing different aspects of the four predictive factors (verbal ability, auditory ability, motivation and grade point average): Parts 1 and 2 are not aptitude measures.
This part exists because breadth of native language vocabulary is related to success in learning a FL.
She further notes that PLAB part 5 also measures the inductive learning of foreign language tones in different contexts.
She states that low PLAB scores on parts 5 and 6 are often reflective of hearing problems and that PLAB Part 6 (Sound-Symbol Association) measures the phonetic coding ability described by Carroll in his description of the components of foreign language aptitude.
Current users include private and public secondary schools and learning disabilities specialists.
[3] The PLAB can be used to identify students with a language learning disability when used in conjunction with other forms of evidence.
He also stated that looking at the individual's score on the different parts of the test can be of help in matching students' learning preferences with instructional techniques.
While language learning aptitude is relatively stable among adults, among adolescents it continues to grow as the child reaches adulthood.
Another point to take into account is the fact that the PLAB results could depend on the degree of English proficiency required by test tasks and items.