The article examines recent evidence that has been offered to support the notion of a
sensitive period for second language acquisition. An analysis of that research
leaves several questions unresolved. Two small-scale studies are described which
attempt to explore some of these issues. In both cases, it is found that the
correspondence between language structures in the first and second language is the
most important factor affecting acquisition. The age at which second language
acquisitions begins is not a significant factor in either study, but the length of
residence, indicating the amount of time spent speaking the second language, is
significant in the second study. The conclusion is that there is insufficient
evidence to accept the claim that mastery of a second language is determined wholly,
or even primarily, by maturational factors. Some suggestions are made for an
alternative interpretation based on processing differences between older and younger
language learners.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Allen, R.E.
, editor, 1990:The concise Oxford dictionary of current
English.
Oxford: Clarendon Press
.
2.
Bialystok, E.
and
Hakuta, K.1994:In other words: the science and psychology of second language
acquisition.
New York: Basic Books
.
3.
Birdsong, D.1992:
Ultimate attainment in second language acquisition
. Language68,
706–755
.
4.
Bongaerts, T.
,
Planken, B.
and
Schils, E.1995: Can late learners attain a native accent in a foreign
language? A test of the critical period hypothesis. In
Singleton, D.
and
Lengyel, Z.
editors,The age factor in second language acquisition,
Clevedon: Multilingual Matters
, 30–50.
5.
Bornstein, M.H.1989:
Sensitive periods in development: structural characteristics and causal interpretations
.Psychological Bulletin105,
179–197
.
6.
Carey, S.1985:Conceptual change in childhood.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press
.
7.
Chomsky, N.1995:The minimalist program.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press
.
8.
Colombo, J.1982:
The critical period concept: research, methodology, and theoretical issues
.Psychological Bulletin91,
260–275
.
9.
Ellis, R.1994:The study of second language acquisition.
Oxford: Oxford University Press
.
10.
Flege, J.E.1992: Speech learning in a second language. In
Ferguson, C.A.
,
Menn, L.
and
Stoel-Gammon, C.
, editors,Phonological development: models, research, implications.
Timonium, MD: York Press
, 565–604.
11.
Ioup G.
,
Boustagui, E.
,
Tigi, M.E.
and
Moselle, M.1994:
Reexamining the critical period hypothesis: a case study of successful
adult SLA in a naturalistic environment
.Studies in Second Language Acquisition16,
73–98
.
12.
Johnson, J.S.1992:
Critical period effects in second language acquisition: the effect of
written versus auditory materials on the assessment of grammatical competence
.Language Learning42,
217–248
.
13.
Johnson, J.S.
and
Newport, E.L.1989:
Critical period effects in second language learning: the influence of
maturational state on the acquisition of English as a second language
.Cognitive Psychology21,
60–99
.
14.
Johnson, J.S.
and
Newport, E.L.1991:
Critical period effects on universal properties of language: the status of
subjacency in the acquisition of a second language
.Cognition39,
215–258
.
15.
Juffs, A.
, and
Harrington, M.1995:
Parsing effects in L2 sentence processing: subject and object asymmetries
in Wh-extraction
.Studies in Second-Language Acquisition17,
483–516
.
16.
Karmiloff-Smith,A.1979:A functional approach to child language: a study of determiner
and reference.
London: Cambridge University Press
.
17.
Keil, F.1989:Concepts, kinds, and cognitive development.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press
.
18.
Kellerman, E.1995: Age before beauty: Johnson and Newport revisited.
In
Eubank, L.
,
Selinker, L.
and
Sharwood Smith, M.
, editors,The current state of interlanguage: studies in honor of William
E. Rutherford,
Amsterdam: Benjamins
, 219–231.
19.
Kellerman, E.
and
Sharwood Smith, M.
, editors, 1986:Crosslinguistic influence in second language
acquisition.
Oxford: Pergamon Press
.
20.
Lado, R.1957:Linguistics across cultures.
Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press
.
21.
Long,M.1990:
Maturational constraints on language development
.Studies in second language acquisition12,
251–285
.
22.
Marinova-Todd, S. 1994: Critical period in second-language learning: the case
of gender. Honours thesis, York University.
23.
Newport, E.1990:
Maturational constraints on language learning
. Cognitive Science14,
11–28
.
24.
Patkowsky, M.1980:
The sensitive period for the acqusition of syntax in a second language
.Language Learning30,
449–472
.
25.
Patkowsky, M.1994: The critical age hypothesis and interlanguage
phonology. In
Yavas, M.
, editor,First and second language phonology,
San Diego: Singular Publishing Group
, 209–221.
26.
Perez-Pereira, M.1991:
Semantic vs formal theories of gender acquisition: a criticism of
Mulford's study
.Archieves de Psychologie59,
3–16
.
27.
Scovel, T.1988:A time to speak: a psycholinguistic inquiry into the critical
period for human speech.
New York: Newbury House
.
28.
Singleton, D.1989:Language acquisition: the age factor.
Clevedon: Multilingual Matters
.
29.
Singleton, D.1995: Introduction: a critical look at the critical period
hypothesis in second language acquisition research. In
Singleton, D.
and
Lengyel, Z.
, editors,The age factor in second language acquisition, Clevedon:
Multilingual Matters, 1–29.
30.
Singleton, D.
and
Lengyel, Z.
, editors, 1995:The age factor in second language
acquisition.
Clevedon: Multilingual Matters
.
31.
Snow, C.1987: Relevance of the notion of a critical period to language
acquisition. In
Bornstein, M.
, editor,Sensitive periods in development: interdisciplinary
perspectives,
Hilldale, NJ: Erlbaum
, 183–209.
32.
Werker, J.1995: Exploring developmental changes in cross-language speech
perception. In
Gleitman, L.R.
and
Liberman, M.
, editors. Language: an invitation to cognitive science, volume 1,
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press
, 87–106.
33.
White, L.
and
Genesee, F.1996:
How native is near-native? The issue of ultimate attainment in adult second
language acquisition
.Second Language Research12,
233–265
.
34.
Yew, E.K.K. 1995:Invesitgation of the critical period and second language
acquisition: Johnson and Newport refuted. Honours Thesis, York University.
