Age And Second Language Acquisition

Many popular theories of second language acquisition have been analyzed throughout history. The socialization of L2 learners, their present emotional state that is present at time of acquisition, as well as the comprehensible input and output with the use of scaffolding play a major role in second language acquisition. Let us also not forget the importance of written expression as well as reading comprehension with these L2 learners. Each play a role in language development. However, I believe that in acquiring a language, one must use a variety of techniques that work together to create a balance within the learning environment. Furthermore, all L2 learners learn differently and so a variety of resources will need to be used based on the ability of each student. There are many theories that have been developed by highly qualified experts in the field on linguistics. However, I will address those areas that I agree with as I present my personal theories on second language acquisition.

Judie Haynes’ article, “Stages of Second Language Acquisition”, clearly states five stages that a new learner of English may go through. In Haynes’ theory, there are five stages in total, and they are pre-production, early production, speech emergence, intermediate fluency, and advanced fluency. According to Haynes, new learners of English acquire language by going through the same stages. However, how much time each student spends at a particular stage may be different. Despite the different time length, the stages of people acquiring new language are worth discussing.

The critical period hypothesis is a controversy in linguistics and acquiring language, in the extent if the language acquisition is related to age. Which this hypothesis states that there is a certain age which is the ideal time to acquire a fully command of language, and after this time it becomes much more harder and needs a lot of effort to acquire language whether it’s first or second language. In other words the childhood period is the perfect time to acquire language, which in adulthood it becomes more difficult to acquire language. This hypothesis raised the question if there is a real period for language acquisition. And this is what motivates the scholars to do studies and experiments on the critical period hypothesis. Moreover that most scholars

When its comes to language it shows that in our childhood our brains are more flexible in adapting to new types of information. When we're younger it's easier to pick up than we get older. Even when we get older learning a new language may not be easy but it's not impossible. It just interference between the new and old languages. Which makes it take time to learn a new language. Age has a part in learning a language the older we get the harder it is to remembering things. So critical period of language is when you are

Many second language acquisition theories have been developed over the years. These theories examine the avenues in which second language is acquired and the avenues in which they are

These cases firmly recommend a critical period for language acquisition (Hoff, 2005). Further aid for the possibility of a critical period of language learning is found among younger kids whose communication

“Less than 1 percent of American adults today are proficient in a foreign language that they studied in a U.S. classroom,” states Amelia Friedman in The Atlantic. “That’s noteworthy considering that in 2008 almost all high schools in the country – 93 percent – offered foreign languages” (Friedman). This has resulted in, as Brad Marshall, a teaching fellow of languages and literatures, notes, "[the] widespread belief that adults will inevitably have problems and will certainly never become fluent, while children are supposed to pick up languages with ease". However, study after study has shown the procedure of language learning of the infants. The essential elements of learning a language lie in your ears and the way you process into the language. Although there is a widespread myth in learning a language – children acquire a language much easier than adults do – the innate ability of adults’ language acquisition are basically as same as that of children’s.

Language carries the beauty and persona of our thought process and the study of Linguistics helps us develop insights, appreciate and analyze many aspects of this powerful medium of expression. My fascination with Second Language Acquisition (SLA) began with the course ‘Language Acquisition and Learning’ that I took while I was in the 4th year of my undergraduate program at the University of Dhaka. In that course, for the first time, I was introduced to various theories and hypotheses about how people acquire a second language, such as Stephen Krashen’s five main hypotheses on language acquisition (the acquisition-learning hypothesis, the monitor hypothesis, the natural order hypothesis, the input hypothesis, and the affective filter hypothesis), Larry Selinker’s Interlanguage theory, John Schumann’s Acculturation model, and Howard Giles’s Accommodation theory. These theories helped me realize the robustness and richness of SLA research and made a permanent impression on my mind about this field. Besides SLA, I was also acquainted with Psycholinguistics through this course. I have learned about several theories of first language acquisition, e.g. the Behaviorist theory, the Innatist theory, the Cognitive theory, and the Maturational theory. It is worth mentioning here that this course really helped me set my dream to become an academic as well as a researcher in the field of language acquisition and learning.

Learning a new language has many benefits; career advancement, bridging communication gaps, and strengthening life skills. “What theory implies, quite simply, is that language acquisition, first or second, occurs when comprehension of real messages occurs, and when the acquire is not ‘on the defensive’” wrote Steven D. Krashner (1981)

Children acquire language since they were born. They communicate with their parents. Furthermore, children and parents interact with each other using a language that we often call the first language or mother tongue. At an early age, children are only learning one language that is the mother tongue. By age and speech development, children improve to acquire a second language from the school or the environment around them. In terms of speed of langgauge acquisition, children are factorized by both the child and the child’s learning environment. Therefore, it is important to understand how children acquire second language. This paper is provided

What exactly is the relationship between age and language learning? There are numerous myths and misconceptions about the relative abilities or inabilities of language learners of different ages. Do children learn language faster? Is it impossible for adults to achieve fluency? In a word - no. These and other common beliefs are simply not true. Children do not necessarily learn faster than adults and, in fact, adults may learn more efficiently. Furthermore, there is no loss of language ability or language learning ability over time. Age is not a detriment to language learning, and by all accounts, learning a second (or third etc) language actually keeps the older language learners mind active. People of all

This term paper aims at reviewing various stages of language development in human being early life in regards to language development. The paper also analyzes various theoretical issues and hypothesis that contributes to change of speech and how human beings corporate the changes in their daily development as far as language is concerned. Adult language and child language are quite different especially because adults have more exposure to the society norms than the children. It will also take in to consideration various processes of learning, how children acquire linguistic inputs such as forms meanings and word use during their talking processes. This term paper will focus on the child development in terms of language and gender. It is a paper on how children under the age of 10, learn language adaptation to their first language during their early developmental stages. It will identify theories for learning of a language, childhood development as well as look into the societal norms of gender socialization.

Healthy aging has become an important field of research of the 21st century. Today, people aged 85 and older are the fastest growing demographics in the United States (Lock & Belza, 2017). Aging has been associated with decline in cognitive performance such as executive functioning, episodic memory, and attention (Memel, Bourassa, Woolverton, and Sbarra, 2016) as well decline in volume of such brain structures as grey and white matters (Sowell, Peterson, Thompson, Welcome, Henkenius & Toga, 2003). Therefore, it is important to understand mechanisms and processes that influence decline in cognitive abilities and brain structures with age to reduce its occurrence or at least to reduce the speed of its decline (Ska et al., 2009). It is hypothesized that bilingualism promotes healthy cognitive aging by enhancing the executive control functions, preserving grey matter volume, and contributing to the cognitive reserve that can delay the onset of dementia in older age.

Acquiring the first language is much easier than acquiring any second language as it comes “naturally” after birth. The child passes through different stages before acquiring the language till he masters it. Children follow a predictive language development through their language acquisition but it can vary from a child to another according to the external surroundings especially in the early stages.

Abstract: In second language acquisition, age factors has always been the study focus and one of the most controversial issues of linguistics. Based on the Brain Plasticity Theory and the Critical Period Hypothesis, the purpose is to prove such a hypothesis that the younger the leaner who begins to learn an second language,the greater the probability that he or she will achieve a native-like command of it.