1. What is the role of critical period in acquiring language?

(10m)
2. What is the role of critical period in acquiring second language? (10m)

(1)

Language can be defined as the method of human communication, either spoken or written,
consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way. It is also a system of
communication used by a particular country or a community to converse amongst them.
Language can then be divided into two types which are first language (L1) and second
language (L2). L1 is actually one’s native language or language that one learnt first and
speaks best while L2 can be defined as a language that is not the native language of the
speaker but that is used in the locale of that person.
According to Noam Chomsky, every human being is equipped with Language Acquisition
Device (LAD) that enables us to learn every language that we come across. The Language
Acquisition Devise (LAD), according to Chomsky, is an inborn mechanism facilitating the
learning of language, consisting of neural wirings and brain structures unique to human
beings. A child does not need to be taught language formally, but simply needs to be
exposed to adult speech. Therefore, it is not impossible to learn every language from all
around the globe!
In my case study, I have found out that the Feral-Child Phenomenon and Mowgli Girl
suits best to explain about the critical period in acquiring language. According to Noam
Chomsky, critical period can be defined as a set of period where the human mind is able to
learn language; before or after this period language cannot be acquired in a natural fashion.
Therefore, it is critical for the children to be exposed with a targeted language to enable
them to acquire as this is the time where they will absorb everything like a “sponge”.
Genie is one of the Feral-Child Phenomenon example. She was kept in appallingly
deprived conditions, with almost no social contact or exposure to language until she was
found at age thirteen. Attempts were made to teach her language, but although she
progressed to the two-word and three-word stages like most children, her lack of
morphology was never remedied. She only grasped simple grammatical concepts. Genie
demonstrates that after the critical period, pragmatic skills can still be developed but the
structural knowledge of language is lost. This implies that when a child has been left from
being exposed to a language, that child will have a difficult time to re-learn the language
itself. Next, another case with the same setting is the “Mowgli Girl” in India where she was
abandoned by her family in a forest due to her mental disability and being a “girl”. She was
left for years and was living with the monkeys in the jungle. This has also affect her ability to
speak and recognize letters.
Critical period is a vital period where every child should be exposed to languages by their
parents as this is where they will absorb everything and it will fossilised in their head. One of
the roles of critical period is where it helps the brain to learn to segregate the sounds, as it
stores more data in the language processor.
(2)

Second language acquisition, or SLA, has two meanings. In a general sense it is a

term to describe learning a second language. More specifically, it is the name of the theory
of the process by which we acquire - or pick up - a second language. This is mainly a
subconscious process which happens while we focus on communication. It can be compared
with second language learning, which describes how formal language education helps us
learn language through more conscious processes. There is a popular belief that children as
L2 learners are ‘superior’ to adults (Scovel 2000), that is, the younger the learner, the
quicker the learning process and the better the outcomes. Nevertheless, a closer
examination of the ways in which age combines with other variables reveals a more
complex picture, with both favourable and unfavourable age-related differences being
associated with early- and late-starting L2 learners (Johnstone 2002). Therefore, most
children who learns various languages at such a young age would master it easily compared
to adults who learns at later age.
Bella Devyatkina, a four year old Russian girl has been known as the prodigy of
language as she is able to speak 7 different languages at such a young age and Na Eun, a
Korean little girl who is able to speak 4 languages. The ‘critical period hypothesis’ (CPH) is a
particularly relevant case in point. This is the claim that there is, indeed, an optimal period
for language acquisition, ending at puberty. However, in its original formulation (Lenneberg
1967), evidence for its existence was based on the relearning of impaired L1 skills, rather
than the learning of a second language under normal circumstances. In these cases, both of
them are heavily affected by the accommodation theory where it can be explain that
learners may adapt their speech in multilingual settings. This theory suggests the way
learners adjust their way of interacting with people of different culture with different
languages in order to facilitate communication. It also states that: is the way the learner’s
social group (ingroup) identifies itself in the target language community (outgroup).
If these two groups do not have a positive effect on one another, or they do not
connect and identify themselves with each other, there will be a consequence in the
acquisition of the second language. When learning a new language, learners need to feel
that they belong in this outgroup, they need to feel that they are part of this new culture
and that they feel a cordial welcoming from this outgroup; but if none of these intentions
are met then learners will not have an effective and productive learning acquisition process.
We can see this from the way Bella’s and Na Eun’s parents expose them to the languages by
conversing with their children with the targeted language and make them feel accustom to
it.
In conclusion, numerous linguists believe that there is a ‘Critical Period’ in which
humans can acquire language. The theory proposed by Lenneberg about a limited time in
which language can be acquired is supported by large amounts of research. Many factors
such as; internal or external factors can modify the way learners acquire and learn the
target language; the above stated factors can obstruct second language acquisition
competence. However, learners can manipulate and be capable of attaining the knowledge
of the second language if their perspective of the target language is adjusted. Learners with
low motivation and low language confidence will have high filters which will obstruct the
achievement of second language acquisition.