Three Misconceptions about Age and L2 Learning

Abstract

Age has often been considered a major, if not the primary, factor determining success in learning a second or foreign language. Children are generally considered capable of acquiring a new language rapidly and with little effort, whereas adults are believed to be doomed to failure. Although older learners are indeed less likely than young children to master an L2, a close examination of studies relating age to language acquisition reveals that age differences reflect differences in the situation of learning rather than in capacity to learn. They do not demonstrate any constraint on the possibility that adults can become highly proficient, even nativelike, speakers of L2s. Researchers, in other words, have often committed the same blunders as members of the general public: misinterpretation of the facts relating to speed of acquisition, misattribution of age differences in language abilities to neurobiological factors, and, most notably, a misemphasis on poor adult learners and an underemphasis on adults who master L2s to nativelike levels. By clarifying these misconceptions, we hope this article will lead to a better understanding of L2 learning and, in turn, better approaches to L2 teaching.

Teacher and Student Perceptions of World Englishes (WE) Pronunciations in two US Settings

“…Scholars such as Marinova-Todd et al (2000), who believe that "most adult learners fail to engage in the task [of acquiring native-like…”

“…Pronunciation has always been one of the most difficult skills for students of a second or foreign language to master, and the belief that it's possible to achieve native or native-like pronunciation as long as learners commit reasonable time and effort to it (Marinova-Todd, Marshall, & Snow, 2000) is rarely accurate. Regarding English Language Learning (ELL), in particular, it has been clear for some time that equating pronunciation outcomes to the sum of effort, time, and commitment is a misconception that ignored what may or may not be physiologically possible for students to achieve, as explained by the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH).…”

Bilingual Memory: A Lifespan Approach

“…Although children lack this cognitive experience and need to form concepts as well as lexical representation in both languages, they appear to become better learners in the long run (for recent reviews see Birdsong, 1999;Harley & Wang, 1997;Hyltenstam & Abrahamsson, 2003;Marinova-Todd, Marshall, & Snow, 2000). It seems that young children acquire phonological and syntactic systems of a new language better than adults do (Bialystok & Hakuta, 1994;Flege, MacKay, & Piske, 2002;Flege,Yeni-Komshian & Liu, 1999).…”

A Comparison of the Effects of Classroom and Multi-User Virtual Environments on the Perceived Speaking Anxiety of Adult Post-Secondary English Language Learners

“…Even though age is considered to be a major factor that determines success in learning a second or foreign language, Marinova-Todd, Marshall, and Snow (2000) stated that "age differences reflect differences in the situation of learning rather than the capacity to learn" (p. 9).…”