SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

How age might be a variable in second language acquisition

How age might be a variable in second language acquisition

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the age factor with regard to the acquisition of second language. The paper comprises of six major sections. The first section presents the general individual differences and goes on to emphasize on the age factor. The second section presents the consideration of the learning style of the learners. Section three presents the effect of age on the acquisition of second language while the fourth section reflects on the effect of age on the acquirement of native-like adeptness. The fifth section illustrates the effect of age on the achievement of second language by the learners. The sixth, and the last section, presents the concluding perceptions on the effect of age on the acquisition of second language.

What is Second Language Acquisition?

Second language acquisition deals with the study of the means by which a person becomes capable of using one or more languages other than their primary language. This procedure can occur in a natural milieu or by means of formal classroom instruction, and though the extent of adeptness which may be acquired is a contentious matter, it may begin at childhood or in duration of the adult age (Nikolov, pp. 234-260).

Age as a Variable in Second Language Acquisition

The age of the learner is one amongst the significant factors impacting the procedure of second language acquisition. It has been expressed in the research that effective acquisition of language is dependent on the age of the learner. In ine amongst the foremost researches on the acquisition of second language, a claim has been presented that there is a particular period in the second language acquisition (Hyltenstam & Abrahamsson, pp. 539-588). During this period that is recognized critical period hypothesis in the acquisition of language, it has been asserted that the language acquisition is an instinctive procedure decided by the biological features that constrain the crucial period for the learning of a language from approximately two years of age to teenage years (Bongaerts, pp. 259-267). It is believed that after a process called lateralization, wherein two parts of the brain build up specific functions, the brain loses the lateralization and plasticity of the language. Normally the function is completed by the teenage years making it difficult to acquire a second language in the post adolescent period.

Also, in many other researches regarding the pronunciation of the subjects after having exposed to the second language for approximately five years, it was established that the adults being in great majority maintain their accent, while the children starting the acquisition of second language prior to the teenage years have absolutely no or very little foreign accent (Flege, pp. 101-131). In a couple of distinct researches on evaluating the acquisition of pronunciation by the students after having exposed to the second language for three years, the researches established that the students of younger age had maintained a pronunciation that is ...