THE STORY OF

M. A. ADUAN OKSANA MALA
J. D. BRADY
YA
(OR... 'KUNG OKSANA
MALAYA LANG AKO')
• Who is Oksana?
• What aspects of her upbringing differentiate her from other children?
• What kind of questions do we need to ask about Oksana?
• What is the critical period hypothesis?
• How can we relate the critical period hypothesis to Oksana?
• What does Oksana's experience tell us about language and the brain?

TABLE OF CONTENTS
 WHO IS OKSANA?
• NAME: OKSANA OLEKSANDRIVNA MALA
YA
• DOB: 04/11/83
• HOMETOWN:
NOVA BLAGOVISHCHENKA
Unlike the other feral children who have been raised in the wild or isolation, Oxana
Malaya had lived in a speech community where she was able to hear or absorb
something from being around adults who talked and interacted. Thus, when Oxana
was rescued, at some point, she was able to speak apparently.

WHAT ASPECTS OF
HER UPBRINGING
DIFFERENTIATE HER FROM
OTHER CHILDREN?
WHAT KIND OF
QUESTIONS DO WE NEED
TO ASK ABOUT OKSANA?

What linguistic input did she miss

out on?

How does her linguistic ability differ

from that of average people?

How does Oksana's unique childhood

relate to her language ability?
 According to the Critical Period Hypothesis,
during the critical period, a new skill or trait can
be formed given the proper life experience. If
WHAT IS the necessary experience is not available during
THE this time, it becomes much harder, less
successful or even impossible to acquire the skill
CRITICAL or trait after the window of opportunity closes.
PERIOD
HYPOTHE
SIS?
 The red section of the
graph represents the
linguistic
development Oksana
missed out on as a
result of her isolation.
As you can see, it
represents a very large
proportion of
HOW CAN WE RELATE THE C her potential learning.
RITICAL PERIOD
HYPOTHESIS TO OKSANA?
 WHAT
DOES
OKSANA'S
EXPERIEN Apparently, we can clearly see the importance of
language acquisition in the process of brain
CE TELL development. As evidently observed, failure to acquire
language during the critical period may also hamper the
US ABOUT cognitive development of a child as the child misses the
chance to acquire a language.
LANGUAG
E AND THE
BRAIN?
https://crime.fakty.ua/71455-u-geroini-publikacii-quot-
faktov-quot-oksany-maloj-kotoraya-vyrosla-v-sobache
j-konure-nashlis-rodnoj-brat-i-malenkaya-plemyannica
-tozhe-oksana
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxana_Malaya
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSifkl8WQQw REFEREN
Newport, E. L. (1990). Maturational constraints on
language learning. Cognitive Science. CES
Newport, E.L., & Supalla, T. (n.d.) Critical period
effects in the acquisition of a primary language: The
influence of maturational state on the acquisition of
complex morphology in American sign language. 
https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles
/293679-forbidden-experiment
https://www.parentingforbrain.com/critical-period/