Explore The Relationship Between Age

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Critical Thinking & Research Skills (IFYP0002)

Contents

1. INTRODUCTION 1

2. SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION 1

2.1 First language and first language acquisition 1

2.2 Second language and second language acquisition 2

2.3 Bilingualism 2

3. THE AGE FACTOR IN SECOND LANGUAGE 3 ACQUISITION

3.1 The Critical Period Hypothesis 3

4. SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION IN CHILDREN 5

4.1 The comparison between adults and children 5

4.2 Is there any advantage for children? 7

5. CONCLUSION 8

References 10

INTRODUCTION

Second language acquisition has been an interesting research topic in both linguistics and psychology for several years. There has been a wide range of research papers published on this subject and researchers have tried to identify the differences between learners and factors which affect acquisition. It is true that there are factors which make some learners more successful, but categorization of these factors differs depending on the expertise of researchers (Gass & Selinker 2008, p.395). Psycholinguists may list these factors as personality factors, different learning strategies and motivation, whereas linguists could focus on the relationship between first language (L1) and second language (L2); sociolinguists could identify these factors such as social, economic and political differences and learner experiences whereas social psychologists may distinguish these factors regarding learners’ group identity and attitude towards second language (Saville-Troike 2006, p.5). A majority of people believe that children learn a second language more easily and quickly than adult learners (McLaughlin 1977, p.438; Gass & Selinker 2008, p.405; Singleton & Lengyel 1995, p.30; Bista, nd) and the age factor plays an important role in second language acquisition. However, Singleton (cited in Singleton & Lengyel 1995, p.2) claims that adults and adolescents are more efficient than children in second language acquisition. As can be seen, the effects of the age factor are still vague and it is not certain if children have any advantages or not. This essay will explore the relationship between age and second language acquisition with an attempt to distinguish child and adult learners and identify if children have any advantages during this learning process or not.

SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

2.1 First language and first language acquisition?

A language that a person starts to learn during their early childhood as a part of daily life is called first language. McLaughlin (1977) defines a first language by stating "By first language (L1) is meant the language that is chronologically first…" It is also known as the native language, primary language or mother tongue, and acquisition of this language normally starts before the age of three and children acquire it from people who speak to them (Saville-Troike 2006, p.4). If a person acquires two languages simultaneously during their early childhood, they can have two native languages; this is called simultaneous bilingualism or multilingualism (see 2.3).

2.2 Second language and second language acquisition?

The second language is another type of language that an individual learns after completing his or her first language acquisition for different purposes, such as education and employment (Saville-Troike 2006, p.4; Cook 2002, p.1). It is true that a first language is learned before a second language chronologically but a second language can be the primary language of the user if the first language is forgotten or used very rarely and the second language is needed in daily life, depending on circumstances (McLaughlin 1977, p.438). Cook (2002, p.1) explains the difference between first and second language speakers by stating "An L2 user is any person who uses another language than his or her first language (L1), that is to say, the one learnt first as a child." The learning process of second language is called second language acquisition and it includes two different types of learning: informal, which is learned naturally, and formal, which is learned in places such as classrooms (Saville-Troike 2006, p.2). For example, informal learning takes place when a child from a different country comes to the UK and learns English while playing with other native English-speaking children without any professional help, whereas formal learning takes place in classrooms or courses (Saville-Troike 2006, p.2).

2.3 Bilingualism

Bilingualism is a term which is used to define a person who can speak more than one language and it is also called multilingualism (Gass & Selinker 2008, p.25; Birner, nd; Saville-Troike 2006, p.8). However, some linguists and psychologists believe that being bilingual refers to a person who can speak two languages and multilingualism defines a person who can speak more than two languages because "…the Latin prefix ‘bi’ means ‘two’ …" (Gass & Selinker 2008, p.638; Birner, nd; Saville-Troike 2006). Bilingualism and multilingualism are very common; according to the British Council (cited in Cook 2002, p.3), it is estimated that the number of people who study English apart from their native languages is over one billion. A person can become bilingual by learning a second language after his or her mother tongue or by learning two languages at the same time. If a child starts to learn two languages simultaneously during his or her early childhood, this is called simultaneous multilingualism or bilingualism (Saville-Troike 2006, p.4). Simultaneous bilingualism is different from normal bilingualism and second language acquisition because both languages are considered as a first language; therefore a bilingual child has two native languages. For example, if a child has a Dutch mother and an English father, he or she can learn both Dutch and English by listening to his or her parents; and have two primary languages.

THE AGE FACTOR IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

3.1 The Critical Period Hypothesis

The age factor in second language acquisition is supported with the Critical Period Hypothesis which is also known as the "sensitive period" (Bista, nd). The Critical Period Hypothesis was first discussed by Eric Lenneberg in 1967. It suggests that the acquisition of a second language should be started at the age of two until puberty "for the attainment of native-like proficiency" (Singleton & Lengyel 1995, p.4) because in this period, a child can acquire a second language easily and quicker than a period after (Bista nd; Smith nd; Tohidian & Tohidian, 2009; McLaughlin 1977, p.439; Ying & Shufan, nd). McLaughlin (1977, p.439) states, "Before age 2, language acquisition is impossible because of maturational factors, and after puberty the natural acquisition of language is blocked by a loss of ‘cerebral plasticity’…" Penfield (cited in Smith, nd) agrees with McLaughlin (1977, p.439) that a second language should be learned before puberty but he argues the time that brain loses its plasticity is the age of nine. Curtiss (cited in Saville-Troike 2006, p.83) supports the Critical Period Hypothesis with a strong example: a girl called Genie had never learned a language until her thirteenth age and as a result, she never developed linguistics cognition and aptitudes for her first language. Another example that supports the Critical Period Hypothesis is Coppieters (cited in Tohidian & Tohidian 2009). He judged 21 high level speakers of French in terms of grammar, comparing them to 20 native speakers. The study supported the Critical Period Hypothesis and showed that the performances of 21adult subjects were native-like but it was possible to distinguish them from native speakers. In contrast, Birdsong (cited in Shufan & Ying, nd; Tohidian & Tohidian, 2009) studied 20 people who had started to learn French when they were adult in terms of grammar and stated that 15 of them performed at the level of native speakers. Birdsong (cited in Smith, nd) divides the Critical Period Hypothesis into four theories different from other researchers: Loss of Neutral Plasticity in the Brain, Loss of the Language Learning Facility, the Use it or Lose It theory and Maladaptive Gain of Processing Capacity with Maturation.

Loss of the Neutral Plasticity in the brain means a "physical maturation" in the brain which means that the function needed for language acquisition is not 100 % accessible; Loss of the Language Learning Facility is a "physical change" in the brain which argues that the loss of Universal Grammar (UG) is the time that critical period ends. "(UG is the part of the brain that basically instructs the brain on how to comprehend and absorb language grammar.)" ; The Use It or Lose It theory observes brain as language learning muscle and claims that the muscle loses its learning function when it is not used; Maladaptive Gain of Processing Capacity with Maturation states that when people grow older their views and perspectives change and this circumstance affects the learning process.

In the first two methods, Birdsong tried to explain the Critical Period Hypothesis biologically with two possible ways and both of them can be considered as strong theories, whereas the third one is more likely to be a weak assumption because it is not very logical. The fourth theory tries to explain the Critical Period Hypothesis with the relationship between people’s age and their perspectives and can probably be acknowledged as a very logical and strong assumption.

According to Singleton (cited in Tohidian & Tohidian, 2009; Bista, nd), Singleton & Lengyel (1995, p.2-5) and Krashen, Long & Scarcella (cited in Singleton & Lengyel 1995, p.2), natural environment is more efficient than a formal acquisition; "the earlier exposure" in natural environment is better so children have the advantage in this circumstance and they argue that the Critical Period Hypothesis should be considered with at least three different theories: "younger is always better, younger is better for a long period of time and older is better." As can be seen, the age factor in second language acquisition and the Critical Period Hypothesis are directly related to each other, therefore a variety of research has been done on this subject and different researchers have put forward different views.

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SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION IN CHILDREN

The explanation of the relationship between children and second language differs from person to person, therefore different views and assumptions have been put forward. Learning a second language makes children bilingual. According to different studies, simultaneous bilingual children are able to cope with languages without or with a little "interference" between them and can learn each of them separately during simultaneous acquisition whereas children learn a second language in a similar way with a first language in a normal second language acquisition (McLaughlin 1977, p.442-452). Ibid also states that, according to several studies, bilingualism has negative effects on children because it makes them think in one language and express themselves in another language which can cause problems such as; "uncertainty and confusion."

4.1 The comparison between adults and children

A wide range of research experiments have been conducted on grammar through the years to compare adult and child learners. Krashen, Long & Scarcella (cited in Singleton & Lingyel 1995, p.2) and Tohidian & Tohidian (2009), argue that adults and adolescents learn a second language more rapidly than younger children in a short period of formal acquisition and then children take over their elders in a longer term. Snow & Hoefnagel-Höhle (cited in Singleton & Lingyel 1995, p2; Tohidian & Tohidian, 2009; Ying & Shufan, nd; Bista, nd) observed the acquisition of Dutch in 69 English-speaking people in the Netherlands and concluded that adolescents and adults performed better than children but after a year, children outperformed them. Other evidence that supports this view is Patkowski’s research. In 1967, Patkowski (cited in Singleton & Lengyel 1995, p.6; Ying & Shufan, nd; Bista, nd; Tohidian & Tohidian, 2009) observed 67 well-educated immigrants who had lived in the USA for at least five years. Half of the subjects had started to learn English before the age of 15 and the other half had started after that age. The study showed that "…there is a strong negative relationship between age of arrival and syntactic rating," and the ones who had started English acquisition before the age of 15 performed better than the other half and this long period study shows that the age factor plays an important role in the second language acquisition. Johnson & Newport (cited in Ying & Shufan nd) examined 46 adult Chinese and Korean people who learnt English and concluded that people who started to learn English before the age of seven were native-like speakers; there was a decline in the proficiency when they observed the ones that learned the language between the age of seven and puberty whereas the performance of the ones who started English acquisition after the age of seventeen was the weakest.

The relationship between the second language lexicon and the age factor has been another topic for research. Singleton & Lengyel (1995, p.12) states that it has not been proven yet that it is impossible to learn a second language lexicon after a specific age. Service & Craik (cited in Singleton & Lengyel 1995, p.12) studied the ability of 20 young adults (average age: 25) and 20 older adults (average age: 72) to learn the vocabulary of a different language. The study showed that younger adults performed better; however, older adults were not "incapable" and some of them achieved successfully. Singleton & Lengyel (1995, p.13) state that adults and adolescents learn foreign vocabulary faster than children in the short-term. Furthermore, long-term studies suggest that "…the younger one starts, the higher the level of proficiency one is likely eventually to attain."

In terms of pronunciation, it is possible to say that children have the advantage and people who start to learn a second language in their early childhood are more viable to have a native-like accent (Singleton & Lengyel 1995, p.30). Scovel (cited in Singleton & Lengyel 1995, p.32) and Carol (cited in Bista, nd) claim the critical period does not exist for second language acquisition but it does for pronunciation and state that the critical age for accent is 12. Asher & Garcia (cited in Singleton & Lengyel 1995, p.32) requested 71 Cuban immigrants to read four English sentences; most of them had been living in the USA for five years but none of them could perform like a native speaker. However, the study showed that subjects who arrived in the USA before the age of 13 have near-native pronunciation.

As can be seen from the variety of research, a majority of researchers do not agree that the age factor has a significant importance in second language acquisition except in pronunciation because research results are not always clear to identify the effects of age. Tohidian & Tohidian (2009) supports this view and states according to studies, it is possible to see that adults and children use the same method while learning a second language, therefore age does not affect second language acquisition. It is possible to say that with the information provided from the sources above, even if the age factor affects second language acquisition, it does in a long period of time. In this case, Singleton’s "younger is better in a long period of time" hypothesis can be the key theory for the age factor, even for pronunciation because children’s advantage can been seen in a long-term.

4.2 Is there any advantage for children?

There is a common belief that children acquire a second language more rapidly and easily than others. However, this is still vague and contrary; research results show that adults perform better than children in the short-term and then children outperform their elders. On the other hand, it is possible to say that if there is a critical period for second language acquisition as the Critical Period Hypothesis argues, children have great advantages because the hypothesis argues that they can learn a language more rapidly and easily. Moreover, research results also indicate that in a long-term, children perform better than adults and adolescents so this situation supports the Critical Period Hypothesis but only for the long-term acquisition because in the short-term acquisition, adults outperform children. Pronunciation can be seen as the only advantage for children in second language acquisition because a great number of researchers agree with this and Carroll (cited Bista, nd) supports this view by stating that the aptitude to gain a native-like pronunciation lessens towards puberty. Oyama (cited in Singleton & Lingyel 1995, p.33) studied 60 Italian immigrants and she stated "The youngest arrivals perform in the range set by the controls, whereas those arriving after about age 12 do not, and substantial accents start appearing much earlier." As can be seen in this study, the age factor mentioned as an important aspect in accent therefore native-like pronunciation can be seen as the advantage of children if they start to interact with second language before puberty.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, to identify the relationship between age and second language acquisition, the Critical Period Hypothesis and research experiments related to it should be examined in detail regarding different views. The Critical period Hypothesis argues that people can only gain native like language learning ability between birth and puberty therefore children learn a second language more rapidly and easily than adults. Two most important views towards the Critical Period Hypothesis are stated by Birdsong and Singleton. Birdsong divided the Critical Period Hypothesis into four main theories rather than just stating children are better or they can learn a language faster. Moreover, Singleton argued with Lengyel that the comparison between adults and children regarding second language acquisition should be analysed by considering at least three possible assumptions: younger is always better, younger is better in a long period of time and older is better.

A variety of research that supports or contradicts the Critical Period Hypothesis has been studied over the several decades. The experiments show that the research results of adults and adolescents are better than children in the short-term but after nearly a year, children reach to the level of their elders. However, despite the long term development of children, adolescents continue to perform better than children and this circumstance does not support the Critical Period Hypothesis. In the late phases of the acquisition, children may score better than adolescents, but this situation does not support the Critical Period Hypothesis strongly. It supports Singleton’s "younger is better in a long period" theory. On the other hand, research results clearly show that to gain a native-like accent, early exposure is very important and this condition does also support Singleton’s assumption and the Critical Period Hypothesis simultaneously.

Depending on the research, it is really hard to say if children have any advantage during the learning process or not because a great number of research experiments contradict the Critical Period Hypothesis and show that adults and adolescents score better than children in the short-term. However, they also show that children become the same level with their elders in the long-term and the importance of early exposure is mentioned to gain a native-like pronunciation. Therefore, the advantage of children can be seen as the ability to gain a native-like accent and possible long-term success in second language acquisition. On the other hand, it seems that the precise identification of the age factor and second language acquisition will continue to be vague because both the Critical Period Hypothesis supporters and the opposites can support their views with the research has already been done and may continue to do with future research projects.

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