Psicolinguistica

The Effect of Age on Acquisition of a Second Language for School

Page 1 of 11

Preamble
In this issue of New Focus, which examines the relationship of age to second language acquisition for school, two articles are presented. Virginia P. Collier reviews a number of studies, including her own recently completed one, that point to an advantage which children in middle childhood appear to haveover younger children and adolescents in formally acquiring a second language. In the second article, Charles William Twyford analyzes a number of factors --cognitive, sociocultural, affective, and linguistic-- that may account for age differences in second language acquisition. Together the two articles provide an overview for practitioners that can form the basis for reasoned decisions insetting objectives, designing curricula, and selecting instructional strategies for limited-English-proficient students.

The Effect of Age on Acquisition of a Second Language for School
Virginia P. Collier George Mason University

Introduction As the number of non-English- and limited-English-proficient students in our schools increases steadily, educators are looking for more efficient andcost-effective ways to improve these students' English skills so that they can participate fully in the curriculum of their schools. It is natural, then, for teachers, curriculum developers, administrators, and government officials to ask how long it should take for limited-English-proficient students to break through the language limitations that hinder their learning and advancement. The only simpleanswer to that question is "It depends." It depends on the learner's cognitive style, socioeconomic background, formal schooling in first language, and many other factors. A substantial amount of research, testing the old axiom that young learners learn best, also tells us that successful language acquisition depends on the learner's age. This article, recognizing the interaction of many variablesin second language acquisition, will examine what has been said about the effect of age on the amount of time students need to acquire a second language. The conclusions presented here, when considered with other research findings and specific student information, can guide planners and practitioners toward the implementation of more effective programs for limited-English-proficient students.Is There a Critical Period for Second Language Acquisition? Some of the earliest studies of the effect of age on the acquisition of a second language focused on proving or disproving Lenneberg's (1967) critical period hypothesis. Lenneberg theorized that the acquisition of language is an innate process determined by biological factors which limit the critical period for acquisition of a languagefrom roughly two years of age to puberty. Lenneberg believed that after lateralization (a process by which the two sides of the brain develop specialized functions), the brain loses plasticity. Lenneberg claimed that lateralization of the language function is normally completed at puberty, making post-adolescent language acquisition difficult. http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/pubs/classics/focus/02aage.htm7/28/2006

The Effect of Age on Acquisition of a Second Language for School

Page 2 of 11

Many studies have tested this hypothesis by comparing children to adults in the acquisition of pronunciation. Studies examining subjects' pronunciation after over five years of exposure to the second language consistently find that the large majority of adults retain their accent when the secondlanguage is acquired after puberty, whereas children initiating second language acquisition before puberty have little or no foreign accent (e.g., Asher and Garcia, 1969; Oyama, 1976; Seliger, Krashen and Ladefoged, 1975; Tahta, Wood and Loewenthal, 1981). Two studies assessing students' acquisition of pronunciation after three years of exposure to the second language found that younger students had...