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Cited by 1,090Language Development and DisordersEFL/ESL Teaching and LearningNeurobiology of Language and Bilingualism

Maturational constraints on language development.

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Long, Michael H.·1990·Studies in Second Language Acquisition
DOI 10.1017/s0272263100009165
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Abstract

This article reviews the second language research on age-related differences, as well as first language work needed to disambiguate some of the findings. Five conclusions are drawn, (a) Both the initial rate of acquisition and the ultimate level of attainment depend in part on the age at which learning begins. (b) There are sensitive periods governing language development, first or second, during which the acquisition of different linguistic abilities is successful and after which it is irregular and incomplete. (c) The age-related loss in ability is cumulative (not a catastrophic one-time event), affecting first one linguistic domain and then another, and is not limited to phonology, (d) The deterioration in some individuals begins as early as age 6—not at puberty as is often claimed. (e) Affective, input, and current cognitive explanations for the reduced ability are inadequate. The capacity for language development is maturationally constrained, and its decline probably reflects a progressive loss of neural plasticity, itself possibly associated with increasing myelination.

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Research works printed but not linked: 24

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Authors
Long, M. H.
Affiliations
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (US)
Corresponding author
Long, Michael H.
ORCID
Long, Michael H.
Venue
Studies in Second Language Acquisition
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published
1990-09
Volume
12
Issue
3
Pages
251-285
ISSN
  • 0272-2631 (ISSN-L)
  • 1470-1545
DOI
10.1017/s0272263100009165
OpenAlex
W2034658764
Cited by
1,090
References
110
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 49 · 2023: 42 · 2022: 41 · 2021: 30 · 2020: 39 · 2019: 67 · 2018: 47 · 2017: 35 · 2016: 40 · 2015: 56 · 2014: 47 · 2013: 49 · 2012: 58
FWCI
13.99
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified, 6642 d)
Locations
Studies in Second Language Acquisition (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Language Development and Disorders
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
Keywords
critical period hypothesis, sensitive period, age of onset, second language acquisition, first language development, language loss, neuroplasticity, myelination, phonological development

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