sr6n019 ‘Age and the ertical period hypothesis [ELT Joumal | Oxford Academic kies to enhance your experience on our website. By clicking ‘continue’ or Continue use our website, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. You can Find out more change your cookie settings at any time QRR Qe= journal Age and the critical period hypothesis © Christian Abello-Contesse ELT Journal, Volume 63, Issue 2, April 2009, Pages 170-172, https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccn072 Published: 18 December 2008 Issue Section: Key concepts in ELT In the field of second language acquisition (SLA), how specific aspects of learning a non- native language (L2) may be affected by when the process begins is referred to as the ‘age factor’. Because of the way age intersects with a range of social, affective, educational, and experiential variables, clarifying its relationship with learning rate and/or success is a major challenge. ‘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 ‘sidjifferenaesbeing associated with early- and late-starting L2 learners (Johnstone 2002). ‘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, htpssacadenicoup conelartil/62170461108 1siz62019 ‘Age and the crtca period hypothesis | ELT Joumal | Oxford Academic Article Navigation circumstances. Furthermore, although the age factor is an uncontroversial research variable extending from birth to death (Cook 1995), and the CPH is a narrowly focused proposal subject to recurrent debate, ironically, it is the latter that tends to dominate SLA discussions (Garcia Lecumberri and Gallardo 2003), resulting in a number of competing conceptualizations. Thus, in the current literature on the subject (Bialystok 1997; Richards and Schmidt 2002; Abello- Contesse et al. 2006), references can be found to (i) multiple critical periods (each based on a specific language component, such as age six for L2 phonology), (ii) the non-existence of one or more critical periods for L2 versus La acquisition, (iii) a ‘sensitive’ yet not ‘critical’ period, and (iv) a gradual and continual decline from childhood to adulthood. It therefore needs to be recognized that there is a marked contrast between the CPH as an issue of continuing dispute in SLA, on the one hand, and, on the other, the popular view that itis an invariable ‘law’, equally applicable to any L2 acquisition context or situation. In fact, research indicates that age effects of all kinds depend largely on the actual opportunities for learning which are available within overall contexts of L2. acquisition and particular learning situations, notably the extent to which initial exposure is substantial and sustained (Lightbown 2000). ‘Thus, most classroom-based studies have shown not only a lack of direct correlation between an earlier start and more successful/rapid L2 development but also a strong. tendency for older children and teenagers to be more efficient learners. For example, in research conducted in the context of conventional school programmes, Cenoz (2003) and ‘Miufioz (2006) have shown that learners whose exposure to the L2 began at age 11 consistently displayed higher levels of proficiency than those for whom it began at 4 or 8. Furthermore, comparable limitations have been reported for young learners in school settings involving innovative, immersion-type programmes, where exposure to the target language is significantly increased through subject-matter teaching in the L2 (Genesee 1992; Abello-Contesse 2006). In sum, as Harley and Wang (1997) have argued, more mature learners are usually capable of making faster i and lexical components of an L2 due to their higher level of cognitive development and al progress in acquiring the grammatical greater analytical abilities. In terms of language pedagogy, it can therefore be concluded that (i) there is no single siimagicliagefonti2 learning, (ii) both older and younger learners are able to achieve advanced levels of proficiency in an L2, and (iii) the general and specific characteristics of the learning environment are also likely to be variables of equal or greater importance. hitpsiacademic.oup.corvlifartile/63211701441108, aTsr6n019 ‘Age and the ertical period hypothesis [ELT Joumal | Oxford Academic Article Navigation Abello-Contesse C. Abello-Contesse C, et al. ‘Does interaction help or hinder oral L2 development in early English immersion?’, 2006 Abello-Contesse C, Chacén Beltran R, Lépez-Jiménez MD, Torreblanca-Lopez MM. , Age in L2 Acquisition and Teaching , 2006Bern, SwitzerlandPeter Lang Bialystok E. ‘The structure of age: in search of barriers to second language acquisition’, Second Language Research , 1997, vol. 13/2 (pg. 116-37) Google Scholar Crossref Cenoz J, Garcia Mayo MP, Garcfa Lecumberri ML. ‘The influence of age on the acquisition of English: general proficiency, attitudes and code-mixing’, 2003 Cook V. Singleton D, Lengyel Z. ‘Multicompetence and effects of age’, The Age Factor in Second Language Acquisition , 1995Clevedon, UKMultilingual Matters Ltd Garcia Lecumberri ML, Gallardo F. Garcia Mayo MP, Garcia Lecumberri ML. ‘English FL sounds in school learners of different ages’, 2003 Garcia Mayo MP, Garcia Lecumberri ML. , Age and Acquisition of English as a Foreign Language , 2003Clevedon, UKMultilingual Matters Ltd Genesee F. Etxeberria F, Arzamendi J. ‘Pedagogical implications of second language immersion’, Bilingiiismo y Adquisicién de Segundas Lenguas , 1992Bilbao, SpainServicio Editorial de la Universidad del Pais Vasco Harley B, Wang W. de Groot AMB, Kroll JF. ‘The critical period hypothesis: where are we now?’, Tutorials in Bilingualism. Psycholinguistic Perspectives ,1997Mahwah, NJLawrence Erlbaum Associates Johnstone R, ‘Addressing “the age factor”: some implications for language policy’, 2002 Council of Europe, Strasbourg: Available at: http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/source/JohnstoneEN. pdf Skip to Main Content Lenneberg EH. , Biological Foundations of Language , 1967New YorkJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc hitpsiacademic.oup.corvlifartile/63211701441108, a7siz62019 ‘Age and the crtca period hypothesis | ELT Joumal | Oxford Academic Article Navigation GoogleScholar Crossref Mufioz C. Abello-Contesse C, et al. ‘The BAF project: research on the effects of age on foreign language acquisition’, 2006 Richards JC, Schmidt R. , Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics ,2002LondonLongman Scovel T. Gonzélez RD, Melis I.‘ “The younger, the better” myth and bilingual education’, Language Ideologies. Critical Perspectives on the Official English Movement , 2000Mahwah, NJLawrence Erlbaum Associates © The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press; all rights reserved. i View Metrics Email alerts Skip to Main Conteraly issue alert Advance article alerts Article activity alert hitps:academic.oup.convlifartle/63211701441108, ansrsn019 Article Navigation Related articles in Web of Science Google Scholar Citing articles via Web of Science (3) Google Scholar CrossRef Latest Most Read from Oxford Academic ‘Age ane the ertial period hypothesis [ELT Joumal | Oxford Academic Most Cited Emotions in Second Language Teaching, Theory, Research and Teacher Education Some key terms in ELT and why we need to disambiguate them Teacher Involvement in High-Stakes Language Testing Teacher Involvement in High-Stakes Language Testing Lexical Grammar: Activities for Teaching Chunks and Exploring Patterns Teaching Grammar. 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