sla final presentation
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November 25, 2010
The Effects of Age on L2 LearnersChristy Marscheider
Age Effects on Language Competence
Most studies are only focusing on the Grammatical Aspect
Age of Acquisition is a Factor in Ultimate Attainment
Later AoA= lower ultimate attainment capabilities
Is this due to biological factors, or can other factors come into play?
How do you factor in “talented learners”?
VS
Drop-off after Puberty
Steady Decline with Age
The Critical Period Debate
Advocates:
DeKeyser
Long
Opponents
Hakuta
Bialystok
Riechle
Brain Activity-Mark PatkowskiRight Hemisphere vs. Left Hemisphere- Older AoA have more RH activity
Three Different Ways to Interpret Ability
Self-Reporting Studies
Morphosyntactic Studies
Phonological Studies
Census Findings Do Not Indicate Critical Period
US Census 2000
Morphosyntactic Studies
Immersion in L2 can lead to native-like results, regardless of AoA
Mikulski
Riechle
Recognizing the Spanish Subjunctive
Correct: Marta exige que sus hijos limpien la cocina despues de la cena.
Incorrect: Marta exige que sus hijos limpian la cocina despues de la cena.
English: Marta demands that her children clean the kitchen after dinner.
Scores Results: Early Bilinguals= 18.6/24 Late Bilinguals= 19.3/24 Young Adult Bilinguals= 19.5/24
Conclusion: No Difference Found
Information Structure and AoA
C’est quoi qui se trouve sur la table? (What is on the table?)
C’est un marteau qui se trouve sur la table. (The hammer is on the table.)
*C’est sur la table que se trouve un marteau. (A hammer is on the table.)
Phonological Studies
Talented Learners-Adult AoA learners with Native-like abilities
Ioup
Rabia and Kehat
Baker
The Role of Cross-Language Similarity
Older learners try to correlate L2 sounds with their L1, while children are able to accept sounds on their own.
The closer the L1 and L2, the more native-like the pronunciation
Doesn’t address CP, but does note that age is a factor in achieving native-like pronunciation.
Case Study of Successful Adult SLA in Naturalistic Environment
Julie used copy book entries, error feedback, practice for mastery
Talent!!!!
Geschwind clusters: left-handedness, twinning and allergies in the family
Adults still need to pay attention to form, Julie had to work hard to acquire L2, did not use innate skills
Late Starters Who Achieved a Near Native-like Accent
Some of the ten NNS were assumed to be NS
Talent?
Geschwind Cluster-twins in the family, talent in one area, however all were right-handed.
Way of life and amount of practice are big contributors to near native-like ability
Robert DeKeyser
Native Russian Speakers learning Hebrew and English- scores decline after puberty AOA.
Fundamental Difference Hypothesis-Adults and children learn differently.
Different CPs for different competencies-the more salient in the language, the more likely to be learned without instruction.
“There really is a critical period...somewhere between the ages of 6-7 and 16-17, everybody loses the mental equipment required for the implicit induction of the abstract patterns underlying human language.”
Problems with Supposed Counter-Evidence to the CPH
Mike Long
Nine Types of Counter-Evidence to the CPH
Long feels that “only young starters can attain native-like proficiency levels with different domains being subject to sensitive periods with different off-set points”
Tying it all together
Age is a factor in second language acquisition
Age is not a huge determiner in ability to become proficient in grammar and syntax
Age is a determiner in pronunciation skills where native-like ability is a goal
Adults and children learn an L2 differently, these theories are important for an L2 teacher to consider