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Cited by 31EFL/ESL Teaching and LearningLanguage Development and DisordersPhonetics and Phonology Research

Age of second language acquisition: Critical periods and social concerns.

Birdsong, David, Vanhove, Jan·2016·Bilingualism across the lifespan: Factors moderating language proficiency.
DOI 10.1037/14939-010
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Abstract

A classic topic in research on bilingualism across the lifespan is the relationship between the age at which learners start to acquire a second language (L2) and their ultimate level of proficiency in that language. Learning of an L2 that begins in infancy is typically associated with fluent speech, effortless language processing, and native accent. In contrast, late L2 learners tend to diverge from monolingual natives on measures of grammatical and lexical knowledge, processing speed, and acoustic properties of speech. Various classes of explanations for age effects in L2 acquisition – attitudinal, neurobiological, experiential, psycho-social, and cognitive – have been proposed in the literature. It is not the purpose of this chapter to examine these various accounts; for an overview, see Muñoz and Singleton (2011). Similarly, with the exception of a brief discussion in the section on social concerns, this chapter does not consider research on the efficiency of early foreign language teaching in schools; for an overview, see Lambelet and Berthele (2015). Rather, we are concerned with the hypothesis that L2 learning in naturalistic contexts is constrained by a critical period (CP). With its roots in the seminal works of Penfield and Roberts (1959) and Lenneberg (1967), the Critical Period Hypothesis for L2 acquisition (CPH/L2A) posits that nativelike attainment in the L2 from mere exposure is possible if learning begins within, but not after, a limited developmental span. Sev…

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  • By the logic of this position, for rejection of the nature-of-bilingualism account and for support of the critical period account, one would need evidence of across-the-board monolingual-likeness in the first-learned language of late bilinguals, or in either language of simultaneous bilinguals.

    “It was also noted that, by the logic of this position, for rejection of the nature-of-bilingualism account (and for support of the critical period account) one would need evidence of across-the-board monolingual-likeness in the first-learned language of late bilinguals, or in either language of simultaneous bilinguals (Birdsong and Vanhove, 2016).”

    From Plasticity, Variability and Age in Second Language Acquisition and Bilingualism (2018) · cites this paper as Birdsong and Vanhove, 2016

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Authors
Birdsong, D., & Vanhove, J.
Affiliations
  • The University of Texas at Austin (US)
  • University of Fribourg (CH)
ORCID
Venue
Bilingualism across the lifespan: Factors moderating language proficiency.
Publisher
American Psychological Association
Published
2016
Pages
163-181
DOI
10.1037/14939-010
OpenAlex
W2496653560
Cited by
31
References
24
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 3 · 2015: 1
FWCI
23.40
Type
book chapter
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • American Psychological Association eBooks (publishedVersion)
  • reroDoc Digital Library (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Language Development and Disorders
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Phonetics and Phonology Research
Keywords
critical period hypothesis, second language acquisition, age of onset, second language proficiency, language attitudes, language teaching

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