10. Ultimate Attainment and the Critical Period Hypothesis: Some Thorny Issues

2012 ◽  
pp. 188-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Singleton
Keyword(s):  
Critical Period ◽  
Critical Period Hypothesis ◽  
Ultimate Attainment

scholarly journals Effect of Age in Second Language Acquisition: A Critical Review from the Perspective of Critical Period Hypothesis and Ultimate Attainment

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Mosiur Rahman ◽  
Ambigapathy Pandian ◽  
Abdul Karim ◽  
Faheem Hasan Shahed
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Critical Period ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Critical Period Hypothesis ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Ultimate Attainment ◽  
Effect Of Age

This article addresses the effect of age in Second Language Acquisition (SLA), posing the relative question that whether the Critical Period hypothesis (CPH) exists in Second Language (SL), and if existing, how it is associated duly with SLA. The justification of comparing the achievement of L1 and L2 learners on the basis of Ultimate Attainment (UA) in the establishment of Critical Period Hypothesis, is also discussed. In the methodology, secondary data analysis was used to answer of research questions. To achieve a reliable result from the wide range of secondary data primarily from journal articles, a systemic search has been adopted. In conclusion, compare and contrast was made with earlier studies to show the findings of the study and to scope future research. 

AGE OF ONSET AND NATIVELIKE L2 ULTIMATE ATTAINMENT OF MORPHOSYNTACTIC AND PHONETIC INTUITION

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niclas Abrahamsson
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Negative Correlation ◽  
Critical Period ◽  
Age Of Onset ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Critical Period Hypothesis ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Ultimate Attainment ◽  
The Relationship

Research has consistently shown there is a negative correlation between age of onset (AO) of acquisition and ultimate attainment (UA) of either pronunciation or grammar in a second language (L2). A few studies have indeed reported nativelike behavior in some postpuberty learners with respect to either phonetics/phonology or morphosyntax, a result that has sometimes been taken as evidence against the critical period hypothesis (CPH). However, in the few studies that have employed a wide range of linguistic tests and tasks, adult learners have not exhibited nativelike L2 proficiency across the board of measures, which, according to some, suggests that the hypothesis still holds. The present study investigated the relationship between AO and UA and the incidence of nativelikeness when measures of phonetic and grammatical intuition are combined. An additional aim was to investigate whether children and adults develop the L2 through fundamentally different brain mechanisms—namely, whether children acquire the language (more) implicitly as an interdependent whole, whereas adults learn it (more) explicitly as independent parts of a whole.

scholarly journals The Role of Theory in SLA Empirical Research on the Critical Period Hypothesis

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paige Yi
Keyword(s):  
Critical Period ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Chronological Order ◽  
Critical Period Hypothesis ◽  
L2 Phonology ◽  
Naturalistic Environment ◽  
Ultimate Attainment

This paper sets out to peruse the role of various theories or more precisely, hypotheses invoked in SLA research by surveying three empirical studies pertaining to the critical period hypothesis in the SLA of phonetics and phonology. In particular, the three studies which will be reviewed in the next section are titled in chronological order as (1) A critical period for learning to pronounce foreign languages? (Flege, 1987); (2) Reexamining the critical period hypothesis: A case study of successful adult SLA in a naturalistic environment. (Ioup et al., 1994); (3) Ultimate attainment in L2 Phonology: The Critical Factors of Age, Motivation, and Instruction (Moyer, 1999).

scholarly journals The Reliability of Critical Period Hypothesis

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Zakaria Bziker
Keyword(s):  
Adult Learners ◽  
Critical Period ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Social Construct ◽  
Critical Period Hypothesis ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Ultimate Attainment

This article is an attempt to examine the reliability of the Critical Period Hypothesis (Note 1) in light of subsequent studies. The high improbability of successful L2 acquisition among adults is the main point of strength that CPH enjoys. However, we have incidents of nativelikeness with individuals that began L2 acquisition years past the critical period (Note 2) in addition to supporting studies that show ultimate attainment among L2 learners is still possible. In this case do we still talk about a reliable hypothesis? This opens us to ponder whether CPH is purely biological or there are other social construct factors at play that help some L2 adult learners to attain nativelikness despite the high unlikelihood of its occurrence.

scholarly journals The critical period hypothesis: A diamond in the rough

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 915-916 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROBERT DEKEYSER
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Critical Period ◽  
Age Effects ◽  
Learning Capacity ◽  
Signed Languages ◽  
Critical Period Hypothesis ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
Age Range

For several decades now, research on the acquisition of ASL and other signed languages has contributed to our understanding of language acquisition and of age effects in particular. A strong decline in learning capacity with age has been shown in numerous studies with ASL as L1, and the age range for this critical period phenomenon appears to be very similar to what has been observed in even more studies in L2 (for both spoken and signed languages). Mayberry and Kluender (Mayberry & Kluender) argue that the two phenomena are quite different, however, to such an extent that the concept of a critical period is not applicable to L2. Their two main arguments are that L2 learners are less affected by late acquisition than L1 learners and that some L2 studies have not shown the kind of discontinuity in the age-proficiency function that is predicted by the concept of a critical period. As space is very limited, I will limit my comments to these two issues.

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