Learner differences

A good base for learning:

1. How important do you think motivation is for success in language learning, compare to, for example, language aptitude?

I think motivation is important because the people need to desired to learn and this facilities the learning process.  The person who has willingness to learn shows a clear motivation for what you want to learn looking for the tools necessary to do well. On the other hand there is the language skills you have people who already have the tools, ability and aptitude, as well as the potential to do even better yet, making it easy for learning and acquiring a second language. So I think that motivation is more important than language aptitude, because I can have a student with all the technological or natural facilities but if he or she doesn't want to learn we can't force him to do it.

2.- The urge to engage in learning activity for its own sake (intrinsic motivation) is distinguishable from the urge
to learn for the sake of some external reward (extrinsic motivation). Do you think there is any difference between children and adults in the degree of influence of these two kinds of motivation?

I think that intrinsic and extrinsic motivation can exist in the same degree in adults as in children because it depends of the goal that they have, if both want the language to communicate with people their intrinsic motivation will be the same or similar, and if they want language cause they want good grades or stuff like rewards it will be the same motivation.