Investigating the Influences of Starting Age on Pronunciation: a Comparative Study of Chinese Learners of English As a Second Language

This study aims to test the validity of Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) by investigating the influence of starting age on Chinese English learners’ pronunciation. The study compares the degree of foreign accent of native Chinese English learners with different starting ages in learning English, in an attempt to determine whether early Chinese English learners could outperform late ones in terms of English pronunciation when exposed to an English-speaking setting. Furthermore, this research also proposes to investigate other possible factors that affect Chinese English learners’ pronunciation. Participants were asked to provide spontaneous speech samples through semi-structured interviews conducted face-to-face or via Skype. In addition, an additional read-aloud task was required to ensure a more thorough and in-depth interpretation. The final results run counter to the Critical Period Hypothesis as there appeared to be late starters who also achieved native-like pronunciation, and there was no significant difference between early starters and late ones in terms of pronunciation. However, the study also yielded some results suggesting that greater efforts and stronger motivations were required for late starters in order to achieve the same pronunciation levels as early starters’, indicating that starting age can be a sensitive rather than critical factor for second language (L2) pronunciation acquisition.

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

International Journal of English Linguistics ◽

10.5539/ijel.v7n5p1 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 7 (5) ◽

pp. 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 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.

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

Studies in Second Language Acquisition ◽

10.1017/s0272263112000022 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 34 (2) ◽

pp. 187-214 ◽

Cited By ~ 50

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.

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EFL Learners' Lexico-grammatical Competence in Paper-based Vs. Computer-based in Genre Writing

10.31235/osf.io/ucbvk ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Sundus Ziad AlKadi ◽

Abeer Ahmed Madini

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Mixed Methods Research ◽

Second Language Writing ◽

Collaborative Writing ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Grammatical Competence ◽

Sentence Level ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Language Writing ◽

Computer Based

With new technology, writing became a skill that is being developed year after year. The present study questions whether there is a difference between paper-based and computer-based writing in terms of errors and lexico-grammar. It aims at exploring sentence-level errors and lexico-grammatical competence in two writing genres in a collaborative writing environment within paper-based and computer-based writing. A sample of 73 female intermediate level learners participated in the study at the University of Business and Technology (UBT), in Saudi Arabia. This mixed-methods research is significant in the literature of second language writing since it highlights genre awareness, lexico-grammatical competence, analyzing errors, and collaboration in two styles of writing. The reading-based writing tasks acted as a reflection of the learners' lexico-grammatical competence on paper and via Web 2.0 tool (Padlet). Statistically, the Mann-Whitney U-tests showed that there was no significant difference between paper-based and computer-based groups in the sentence-level errors in narrative genre, whereas there was a significant difference between the two different tools of writing groups in the sentence-level errors in opinion genre. However, there was no significant difference between paper-based and computer-based groups in the clauses (lexico-grammar) of the two groups. Immediate semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed through NVIVO to get more insights from the learners to explain the comparison between the paper-based and the computer-based writing. In light of the significant findings, implications are sought to create an equillibrium between paper-based and computer-based writing, along with enhancing collaboration in second language writing.

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