What do you think is the role of age in learning a second or foreign language? How do you believe your age plays a role in your learning of this second/foreign language?
I don't think age plays a major role in learning a second or foreign language. I think research has shown that it may be easier for children to learn multiple languages during a certain time period due to a variety of factors but adults can also learn second languages and might be able to learn more quickly than children(Krashen, Long, and Scarcella, 1979). I think the major factor in learning a second language is the the context in which adults learn( the learning environment, motivation, and teaching method).
Personally, I don't think my age has any influence on my second language learning. I think my learning environment, methods of learning, and my motivations of learning a second language have more influence in my learning of a second language. Since I am choosing to learn Italian for fun, I am not taking my learning of Italian too seriously. Thus, I am not acquiring my second language as quickly and as easily as I want to. If I were to take more time, I would find other methods of learning Italian other than Livemocha. I think Livemocha has some good activities but not the most effective methods for teaching a second language.
As we have seen in resent reading assignments, there is an incredible amount of interest and debate regarding age and acquisition of a foreign language. While many theories are still just that-theory (as opposed to fact), there are some things for which it seems we have fairly strong evidence. First, in regards to L2 acquisition and age of initial exposure, it was often assumed that children would have an advantage over adults, learning quicker and better. This idea has been refuted however, with evidence showing that adults actually acquire morphological and syntactical development faster than children. This may be because the adult brain is more developed and can therefor process more complicated structures more easily.
Despite the advantage being with adults in the previous example, it is generally agreed that children have the advantage when it comes to acquiring native-like pronunciation. Brown reports, “Most of the evidence indicates that persons beyond the age of puberty do not acquire what has come to be called authentic (native-speaker) pronunciation of the second language” (p. 62).
Regardless of the research, I think we need to be careful with over-emphasizing the role age plays in acquisition because this is not a factor we can control or manipulate in our learners. The over-emphasis of a “critical period” for L2 acquisition can simply lead to demotivation for those learners approaching the task of L2 acquisition outside of the “critical period”. In the end, there are so many other factors that can play a much more powerful role in the success of L2 acquisition including level of intrinsic motivation, reason for learning, and level of effort the learner contributes. I taught students ranging from 16- 78 years old in my classrooms and while I do notice a pattern of younger learners and those who started studying English from a younger age “picking up” vocabulary faster, this is no match for strong determination from students of any age.
I think age is just one of the many variables that an individual learner brings to their language experience. I am torn when trying to answer this question because part of me wants to go with what the research says, while the other part is debating the variability of the language learner. When it comes to age and acquisition, adults may pick up morphology quicker than children, but younger learners still tend to become more proficient in the long run. We know that age improves the rate in which one learns a language; however, it negatively affects attainment. Age can also affect a learner’s phonology; after six years old (or so), learners will have an accent and not sound like a native speaker.
I think the learner variables of language acquisition are more telling than the research. When learning a new language, adult learners need to overcome language ego, attitude, peer pressure, and second identity. These are all factors that will raise an adult learner’s affective filter, whereas younger learners may not have to deal with it. Language is so closely related to who we are as people—there is a reason our primary language is called our “mother tongue.” Therefore, older learners need to overcome a change in identity as they are learning a language. If someone is highly educated in their primary language and is now struggling to master Basic English, that person will undergo some stress trying to determine who they are now. An adult learner has had the same language ego their entire life. Their identity is bound to that language; therefore, having to learn a new language poses an extra struggle because they are not only learning language, but learning to accept a change in who they are as an individual. The attitudes of children and adults are also different when it comes to L2 acquisition. An adult learner may have some stereotypes or may feel slightly resistant towards the new language or culture, while a child might not have developed those attitudes yet. One’s reason for learning a language is also an important part of the process. An adult learner may feel stressed because they need to learn the language to work, provide for their family, become education, and perform daily routines. On the other hand, a child may be learning a new language in school; they too, need this language to survive daily routines, but the stress may be significantly lowered. Looking at one’s reason to learn L2, an adult learner may solely want to acquire BICS so they can buy groceries or communicate daily; that person’s language experience will be vastly different than an adult hoping to become highly educated and acquire CALP as well. Reason for learning is just another variable, like age, that affects one’s second language acquisition.
In terms of my own language learning, age is just one of the many variables that is making my acquisition a struggle. I have so many other obligations and stresses, that learning a language is just one of the million things I’m trying to do at the moment. As I stated earlier, adult learners have a lot on their plate and oftentimes those variables are what makes acquisition more difficult. If I were a child that spent the day in school trying to learn Portuguese, I would definitely be more successful because that would be my main concern. I’m in no way implying that children do not have stresses, struggles, or reasons that their affective filter is high because they definitely do. I just feel that adults have more to overcome sometimes. Their focus may be more split; therefore, language acquisition is more of a conscious effort. Despite what research says about age and acquisition, I believe the variables an individual learner brings to the table are far more telling in regards to their success learning a second language.
In this particular language learning situation, the fact that I am an adult is an advantage. First of all, I am more self-motivated. Most children would not have the desire to go through the various lessons on Live Mocha on their own. I also have the advantage of many years of experience both as a speaker of my first language and as a learner of other languages. I am able to transfer my skills in English to the learning of Portuguese. The grammatical and syntactic structures of English and Portuguese have many similarities. There are also some words that are similar in the two languages (cognates). At this point in my life, I have the experience of having successfully learned other languages. As a result I am confident that I can learn another. This confidence aids my ability to learn a new language. I am also able to drawn upon my knowledge of other romance languages in learning Portuguese. A child would probably not have had these experiences.
As Brown points out, the most challenging aspect for me as an adult is the acquisition of an accent. Since I already have had experience with romance languages, the Portuguese accent is not an insurmountable challenge. However, if I were learning a language for which I have had no similar experience, such as Russian or Arabic, I would find it very difficult to attain an accent. One of my colleagues speaks Arabic. She was trying to help me pronounce the sound for “ah”, as in “Ahmed”. No matter how many times she said it and I repeated it, I could not get it. To my ear, what I said sounded just like what she said, but to a native speaker, I could not make it sound right.
Even if I were not able to sound like a native, I could probably learn Arabic or any other language if I were motivated to do so. I like to think that our opportunities for learning open wider as we get older, not the other way around. Some abilities might be lost, such as accent, but others are gained, such as our capacity for inductive reasoning and the ability to bring experience to bear on our learning.
I believe that age has a lot to do with the ease with which one learns a second or foreign language. I think that as children we are more likely to play with language and to make productive mistakes by using the language with a low effective filter. This doesn’t mean that I think that as an adult one could not learn language with ease, but as adults we tend to be more logical and think twice about what we are to say, which slows down our second/foreign language speaking skills. I also think that as children we are not expected to know everything about the second/foreign language, but as adults we expect ourselves to know a good deal of the language and to learn it fast. These expectations affect the way in which we not only learn language, but in the effort we put in learning the language.
I don’t think that my age plays a large role in learning this foreign language. What I do believe plays a role in my language learning is that I already learning a second and a foreign language. I believe that once you learn a second language then the acquisition of the third, fourth, fifth, and so on are easier than to someone who only spoke one language in their childhood. To me learning Catalan isn’t hard, more as a bit confusing because of it is similar and yet quite different to Spanish. I think that if my investment in this language was greater (maybe if it was the language of the community in which I lived), then I would be learning at a faster pace. I really do hope that age will not play a major role in my language acquisition because I still want to learn more languages.
I believe age plays an important role in learning a second language because of the cognitive, affective and linguistic issues that usually go with age.
The critical Period Hypothesis claims that there is a biologically determined period of life which has a great impact language acquisition. However, as it turns out, CPH do have an important impact on language acquisition, but on accent only (Brown, 2007). As we grow up, we move from stages of disequilibrium and egocentricity to equilibrium and more inhibitions. These changes may have negative impact on language acquisition.
On the other hand, grown-ups have stronger cognitive abilities which lead to more systematical and explicit learning.
I found those characteristics discussed above during my Spanish-learning process on Livemocha. I tried to generate syntactic rules from the very beginning. I tried to make very rule and pronunciation as clear as possible. I also encountered difficulty and frustration to pronounce some phoneme which does not exist in Chinese and English.
When considering the age in which you learn a foreign or second language, one of the biggest factors that come to mind is the developmental stage the learner is in. For instance, older learners will transfer more knowledge from their first to second language and will be able to complete more cognitively demanding activities. Older learners could also have more complex rules of grammar explained. With younger learners, like a second grader for instance, educators would need to teach in kid-friendly langauge and with developmentally appropriate activities. What the student understands and relates to will be different, as will be their motivation to learn. If the learner is very young, they may be learning the langauge unconsiously.
Researchers have also posited the idea of a critical period. The critical period hypothesis states that it is easier to learn a language before the learner hits puberity.
There are many factors that impact language learning outside of age, such as: motivation (immigrant vs. taking a langauge class for fun), environment (immersed vs. learning for an hour a week), how the learning style of the student aligns with the teacher, and how contextualized/meaningful the language learning activities are.
I think age is a large factor for me in my learning a second language. First and foremost, I don't have as much motivation due to the fact that its not a necessity. Elizabeth says she has lots of self-motivation and I applaud that because for me it is more like work and I don't think it sticks in my brain because I view it that way. Secondly, I believe in the research of the Critival Period Hypothesis that states that language learning is less implicitly possible after the ages of 16 and 17. And last week in class we discussed the real life cases of the children who were special cases learning a language for the first time. It was a general hypothesis that afetr the age of 6, they were not really capable of making a complete language recovery. Whether its the laterialization of the brain and having the left hemisphere become dominant, or other unknown causes, I believe the research to be true. Furthermore, as an adult, I have a higher affective filter than a child, because I have lost the egocentricty that Brown and Piaget discuss. I am aware of myself ina agroup and less likely to practice the language I am learning on livemocha for lack of wanting to embarass myself. I know I won't be able to perfect the accent, and there is so much interference as I try and make connections that just can't be made between Czech and English. The only positives that I see as an adult learning a second language is that I have more life experience to draw upon to build schemas and make cognitively meaningful connections. And that the research says I can ultimately learn more vocabulary and sentence structures quicker because I already have a language structure in place and know routines and devices to help myself learn. I will continue to learn a second language as I feel it is fun and necessary for sucess, but I definitely see the challenges that my age poses.
I definitely think age has an affect on language learning. I know that in my psychology days, I was taught in neuroscience that from birth to several years later, our brain forms synapses. These synapses are how messages travel around, and basically the phrase "use it or lose it" comes into play. A child can form a synapse for anything as long as it's in constant use. I believe that the language part of the brain forms synapses based on what language you start learning. Finally when these information pathways become concrete, so does the ability to learn language. We can always progress in our native language, but to acquire a new language after this point in time requires a real conscious effort. Manytime, a very unsuccessful effort. The critical period hypothesis is fully supported by this notion of synapses forming within the brain.
As a person gets older, their affective filter also comes more in to play. I think as adults we're not consumed with pointing out other peoples' mistakes like we do when we're younger, but all the same people tend to be more worried about the possibility that someone somewhere is going to ridicule you. In learning Lithuanian, I'm very aware of how awful my pronunciation is. I might be able to memorize sentence structure and plug in new pieces to a sentnece frame, but I definitely cannot confidently try to put a sentence together on my own, nor would I say it aloud to a fluent speaker.
The benefot with age however, is I'm very aware of HOW I learn, and can adjust the learning to fit my style. I can be systematic to help my memory as well. So in a way, age can be a good factor, but I feel in the long run it's a hinderance.
I think age is one many factors in how one learns a second language. I think there may be some truth to an extent of what Lenneberg states as being the critical period for learning language. Studies have shown that students who start learning a language later in life, do go through the process with more difficulty, than lets say a student who started at an early age. However I think a number of other factors contribute to how and with what level of success one learns a language. I think the amount of input and one's social environment really determine how one learns a second language. There is a variability in learning and acquisition between each individual. For me personally, I am very motivated with learning new languages. I think that plays a huge role. In learning this language through live mocha I have also found myself transferring over pieces from other languages I have learned and know. These factors all play more of a significant part in my SLA than age. Again, each individual is different making each persons experience with a foreign language their own.
Age has an effect on language acquisition. Lateralization is the process by which the brain assigns certain things to the left side and certain things to the right side (Brown, 2007). Lenneberg noted that the process begins at the age of two and continues until puberty. Studies have found that acquiring a language after puberty is a lot harder than earlier in life. Most of the time individuals acquire a second language later than they acquire a first language. If individuals acquire a second language before the age of 6 they can have the ability to have native competence. If the second language is acquired between 7 and 12 years old, they can acquire most of the language, but they may have more errors than they would if they were younger. After puberty it becomes harder and takes longer to acquire a second language. There is a variability in learning, in opposed to a more uniform learning during the acquisition of a first language. It shows that when learning morphology adults may be able to learn it quicker but children end up being more proficient with it. I definitely agree. When I was younger I was able to be proficient in both English and Greek, and it was effortless. As I grew older I had more difficulties learning French in High School, and Portuguese now. I feel like my schemas are more advance now than they were in high school, so Portuguese is coming a little bit easier than I remembered French coming.
Age plays an important role in SLA. A series of researches have showed that a child’s ability to acquire L2 and L1 after puberty is very crucial. During adulthood, identification developed therefore this identification affects the adult’s L2 learning. In addition, the child learns L2 naturally, through frequency and imitation. Of course, an adult is capable to imitate but the identification impacts such process. An adult acquire L2 through meaningful communication. Age and acquisition remain debatable issues. Some other anthropological studies have claimed that an adult can acquire L2 perfectly regardless of age. Based on my Livemoch.com experience, I admit, in one sense, that age affects SLA negatively but L2 acquisition may happen under meaningful purposes. Most importantly, the methodologies of Livemoch lessons are based on repetition therefore acquisition is limited. All in all, motivation, practice, cognitive consideration, environment stimuli and along with age determine the possibility of SLA for a child and more specifically for an adult.
I work in a school where most of my 5th grade English Learners are considered to be Advanced based on their CELDT tests. I thought this was pretty neat so I asked a few of them why they were able to learn English so well (even to the point that I didn't know they were in ELs until it was time to annually test for CELDT). Most of them replied that they didn't know, they just learned it at a young age and it was just something that was part of their lives. Based on these students' accounts and research based on the Critical Hypothesis Theory, I think age is a huge factor in language learning. Primarily, I believe that the younger a child is exposed to a language, the more likely they will be to acquire the language given sufficient amounts of input, opportunities for output, and an environment that provides for a low affective filter.
Research has been done about the lateralization of the brain as a key support for the Critical Period Hypothesis. Scovel suggested that the brain has a higher plasticity prior to puberty that enables children to acquire languges. Furthermore he posited that because of lateralization, it is difficult for people to ever be able to gain fluent control over a language, at least not with authentic pronunciation.
For me, as I'm driving - or many times just sitting in traffic - to work, I sometimes get so frustrated with my inability to sound like the lady on the CD. I really struggle with rolling my Rs within a word. I can roll an r when it's the first letter, but forget it in the middle of a word!! Last week, I got so frustrated with the word 'to learn' that I turned the CD off and grabbed my head and yelled "Why did you have to lateralize?!"
I think my perfectionist tendencies also allude to the cognitive aspect of age and how it contributes to acquisition. I consider myself a smart person, and feel like I can employ my cognitive strategies towards learning alanguage. However, some parts of the learning are just so unnatural, causing me to get anxious, thus raising my affective filter. I think for children they have less of these cognitive skills and expectations and can easily acquire this native like speech given the safe and productive environment to do so.
I think that age can be both facilitative and debilitative as we try to learn a foreign language. Age can have beneficial effects, for example, we have increased cognitive capacities now versus when we learned our first language. We can think abstractly and use some of the advanced skills we have to better understand throughout the language development process. We also have a strong background knowledge of grammar in our primary language, which we can apply as we learn a second language. On the other hand, because we are older and have been using our primary language for such a long time, it is often hard for us to incorporate new grammar rules in a second language. Some people may have difficulty in remembering which rules to apply in which cases, as we are not used to code-switching. People often transfer rules from their L1 to their L2, causing them to make errors. For example, in my primary language, I am used to the adjective preceding the noun, but when I tried to learn Spanish in middle school, I needed to memorize that the noun comes before the adjective. It's difficult to get out of a habit that has been instilled in us since birth. When we continue making the same errors repeatedly, it starts to fossilize in our minds. In attempting to learn Italian now, I think that age is playing a critical role in my likelihood to succeed. At age 21, it is much more difficult to become proficient in a second language than in childhood. According to the Critical Period Hypothesis, I am past the age of lateralization, and therefore am unlikely to ever sound like a native speaker. If my parents would have enrolled me in language classes when I was still in Elementary School, the odds are much better that I would now be proficient in my L2. Finally, motivation also comes into place. When we learn our first language, it is a necessity for survival. However now, I am learning Italian as a hobby. I do not have time to practice everyday or constantly review the words I learn in each lesson, so the meaning is not solidified. My motivation is instrumental (learning the language for this class and in hopes that I can one day go to Italy), not integrative, as it was when I originally learned English as a child.
Age affects me much in learning a second language. I learn my first language since I was born, I even did not realize that I was learning my first language. I just learn my first language naturally. However, I started learning my second language when I was 12 years old. Whatever I do to learn English, I cannot sounds like a native-speaker. On the other hand, age contribute me to learn a second language more quickly. A critical stage for a consideration of the effects of age on second language acquisition appears to occur, in Piaget’s outline, at puberty (age 11 in his model). As an adult, our cognitions have totally developed. When we are learning a second language we could profit from certain grammatical explanations and deductive thinking. We clearly know the process we are going through. We will use different learning strategies to help us learn second language. And we can use our first language and different kinds of background knowledge to learn second language.
Age plays a clear role in second language acquisition. The first area I see affecting L2 acquisition is related to developmental stages. Learning language at a young age seems to flow more naturally in that cognitive development parallels learning. A young child first learning a language thinks simply and concretely. The first phases of language are concrete and simple. When first learning a language we speak about what is happening now in the tangible present. As we age, we begin to think more abstractly and our early language skills grow with cognition. According to Piaget and others, abstraction of thought occurs around puberty. As adults attempting to learn a new language we are faced with the conflict of abstract thinking and limited tangible communication skills. We can think abstractly, but are not able to communicate these thoughts verbally, leading to frustration. By adulthood, we have developed other aspects of cognitive thinking as well. We have learned and practiced learning strategies that we can apply to the learning of our second language, but after lateralization occurs during puberty the possibility of native pronunciation disappears. The dangers of transference of L1 rules to L2 can also affect L2 acquisition.
Age definitely play a critical role in learning a second language. However it does not mean adults cannot acquire a second language successfully. Children start to acquire L1 from their birth, while most L2 learners begin their second language study after puberty. The differences of ages may lead to differences of other aspects, such as cognitive, affective, cultural and physical development. There are both physical and mental differences between L1 and L2 acquisitions.
Hemispheric lateralization, low plasticity for phonemic muscle, guild of language ego and self-identify and all the age facts influence second language acquisition. However, in my opinion, language ego and peer pressure are significant to the difference of children and adults acquire second language. Firstly, after grown up, language ego tends to become protective, they will fear to make errors. Secondly, peer pressure is a very important variable to influence L1 and L2 acquisition. Children usually have strong constraint between each other, they want to be same as others. By contrast, adult will usually provide positive feedbacks which sometime make them will not pursue accurate language. That can explain why adult tend to tolerance their current language level.
But age can also bring some benefits when adults learning second language. Because adults have basic knowledge and some background, it is no need to explain too much to them. What is more, adults can choose strategies to assist their learning. These strategies can help adults learning easier. For example, I believe vocabulary knowledge is very useful in my English study. By learning roots, stems, bases and affixes, I can remember complex words and understand difficult reading materials. However, I clearly remember I don’t have these abilities when I was young.
Meanwhile, based on my own experience, I do not think age factor is the only aspect makes children learning second language nativelike. Environment is as important as age. I learnt English from 6 years old but only twice per week. And I do not think I have acquired English or my pronunciation is nativelike. Without language environment, no matter when you beginning to learn a second language, the process could be hard.
I believe that age plays a role in learning a second or foreign language. The critical period hypothesis claims that there is a biologically determined period of life when language can be acquired more easily. This happens to be from childhood till puberty. I believe age has a lot to do with how easily someone picks up a second or foreign language. As a child, language acquisition comes more naturally than as an adult.
As a person grows older, a number of factors arise that may get in the way of learning a second language. A child has a very low affective filter and therefore does not get discouraged after making error after error. As we get older I believe our affective filter gets higher. We get embarrassed, more frustrated and discouraged when we make constant errors. This can hinder language learning as an adult. Adults also have a lot more things going on in their lives, where as a child has one focus, to communicate. In this sense, I believe age plays a role in learning a second language.
To add, “Most of the evidence indicates that persons beyond the age of puberty do not acquire what has come to be called authentic (native-speaker) pronunciation of the second language” (p. 62). This may be true, and in this sense, children are able to pick up a language with more ease than adults.
I believe my age plays a large role in my learning of a second language. There are many external factors in my life that are making it difficult for me to spend quality time learning my second language. It is hard for me to focus deeply on my language learning as I have a number of other classes and activities on my plate. I can also relate through my Japanese learning as a young child. During my childhood years my father would speak to my sisters and I in English, while my mother would speak to us in Japanese. At a young age we were able to pick up both languages with ease. As I grew older however, especially in my high school years it became increasingly harder for me to surpass the Japanese language level I had been at for a few years. That motivation and natural acquisition I had as a child was not present and it took much more effort to keep up my Japanese. This became very discouraging and frustrating at times. This frustration unfortunately is also evident in my current language learning experience.
Age plays an important role in second or foreign language acquisition, which influences L2 learning in nearly all aspects. It can both facilitate and debilitate second language acquisition. First of all, Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) claims that there is a biologically determined period of life when language can be acquired more easily and beyond which time language is increasingly difficult to acquire. This particularity influences our accent that it is hard for a language learner who passed the critical period to gain a native accent. When I speak in English or Japanese I will feel many pronunciation hard to make and I always read in a tone of Chinese way. And native speaker can always distinguish my foreign accent even though I have practice for years. One of the biggest differences related to age is cognitive ability. Human cognition develops rapidly throughout the first 16 years of life and less rapidly thereafter. With higher cognitive capacities, older students learn L2 based on cognitive construction to facilitate L2 study: using studying strategies, cognitive skills, L1 as a resource, and memorization. When I learn my L1 in childhood, it involved to steps: the reorganization of the meaning of tree, and related meaning with language words. But when I learn Japanese and English I have already have the background knowledge so I can just match the word with the meaning I know. Besides, younger children learn L2 unconsciously with little grammar instructing, while grow-ups need grammar instruction as a support for them to grasp the systematic nature of the language. When I learn Japanese in adulthood, I prefer to know the fundamental rules and grammar of Japanese first before rote and memorization. Moreover, compared with children, young adolescents or adults have a higher filter while learning a second language that they might be more nervous to speak in public or to make mistakes. As I grow up, it becomes harder for me to make mistakes. The afraid of making mistakes makes me lose many practice opportunities.
I personally think the role of age in learning a second language is whether a person will be proficient or not. Because of this, I think age plays a huge role for me in learning a foreign language. First off, my experience level in my native language is already so much more advanced than my skill level in Italian. I mean, I really love Italian but my motivation for this language is completely different. Obviously when I was younger my parents brought me up learning English. This caused me to acquire it so I could interact with my family and friends. I had a natural desire to achieve this. Another big reason for me is distractions in my daily life. Being older and busier with other things I have less time to practice a second language. In middle school and even high school I was required to take a new language, where classes ran 3 times a week. The is not the case now. I'm also not integrating my L2 as much as my L1. This infrequent usage causes me to have no chance to socially construct knowledge. The critical period hypothesis could also be another factor as to why I will be less proficient in Italian. In all, I think that L2 acquisition is greatly determined by what age you start at.
I agree with Alecia that age does play a significant role in learning a second language. When we take a look at the critical age hypothesis it is clear that children do have several advantages over adults. They have unlimited time to learn in comparison to adults. They also have time to develop mouth muscles important for good pronunciation. Children have time to play with the language and experiment.
Some researchers argue that the critical age hypothesis states that only children can become proficient learners of a language. I strongly disagree that just because someone does not have native like pronunciation this deems them as a non-proficient speaker. I believe that adults can become proficient in a second language even if they do not have a native like accent.
I believe age plays a critical role in my life because there is little incentive or motivation for me to acquire a second language. Most children need to acquire a second language for specific purposes like attending a foreign university or getting a job. In my case as an adult, I have little pressure to learn a foreign language. Even when I was living in Korea the incentive was low because a majority of people I met in Korea already spoke English. They actually preferred speaking English with me instead of listening to my terrible Korean. In addition, it was hard to find people in Korea to speak Korean with on a daily basis. This is why I eventually gave up on the idea of learning the language.
For me, I need a clear goal in order to learn a foreign language. I am currently trying to find a deeper goal so that I have more motivation to learn Spanish fluently. Sometimes I get the idea that so many other people already know Spanish and therefore I should just choose a different language. But other languages such as Korean are much more difficult for me to acquire. The affective filter for me is very high because I don’t want to spend valuable time studying for something unless it is of notable worth. For now my motivation for learning Spanish is to impress my boyfriend when we go to Mexico in December.
In my opinion age certainly has an influence (as do other factors) on learning a second or foreign language. Age’s relation to language has different effects on adults and children both of which are capable of learning such. For instance, adults may have a greater capacity for knowledge transfer from the 1st language to their 2nd language versus a younger student that may be learning language unconsciously. On the other hand adults may not acquire that natural form or accent from the language they are learning. In my personal case I see that accent is a major thing, and the feedback receive in Live Mocha shows it. I am actually using Spanish or English accents for Portuguese words that are not necessarily correct. I also am overgeneralizing words trying to relate or connect them directly to English and Spanish. I think my adult capacity of knowledge transfer in some cases is having both a negative and positive affect over my language learning. Finally, I would like to add that I agree with Marie’s comment on needing a clear goal to learn a foreign language. At the moment I have no immediate need to learn Portuguese which I am sure will make it more difficult to learn the language. Maybe I will need to start planning a trip to Brazil in the near future for motivation.
I believe age plays a significant role in SLA. When you are younger and immersed in a new language, learning to adapt to the new language seems effortless. We have family friends who moved to France for a year. Their girls were 7 and 13. The older girl attended an IB school, while the younger girl was fully immersed in a French school. Of the four family members, the youngest acquired French the best. She had the most authentic pronunciation. However, after moving back to San Diego, she reverted back to English only, and with no one to practice French with, she lost most of what she had picked up. She is now a high schooler studying Spanish. I think she is motivated from that experience to learn a new language. The benefit of being an older language learner is that most of the time, older learners have more conscious motivation, and use their language learning experiences to learn the new language. I took Spanish in high school and one year in college. Having more motivation, and a sense of form and function of language, enables me to learn quickly in the classroom. However, the audio-lingual method I am using to learn Chinese, although it is useful for practicing pronunciation and phrases, I can tell my aged mouth has a hard time creating some of the sounds, as it was formed for use of my native tongue. My parents used to say I had a knack for languages, learning Chinese I am putting it to the test. I am interested in learning more about other languages especially from a linguistic viewpoint. Knowing the contrasts between languages help with learning. This type of learning is usually what older people consider. Young learners have physical abilities on their side and older people have life experiences and motivation.
I don't think age plays a major role in learning a second or foreign language. I think research has shown that it may be easier for children to learn multiple languages during a certain time period due to a variety of factors but adults can also learn second languages and might be able to learn more quickly than children(Krashen, Long, and Scarcella, 1979). I think the major factor in learning a second language is the the context in which adults learn( the learning environment, motivation, and teaching method).
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't think my age has any influence on my second language learning. I think my learning environment, methods of learning, and my motivations of learning a second language have more influence in my learning of a second language. Since I am choosing to learn Italian for fun, I am not taking my learning of Italian too seriously. Thus, I am not acquiring my second language as quickly and as easily as I want to. If I were to take more time, I would find other methods of learning Italian other than Livemocha. I think Livemocha has some good activities but not the most effective methods for teaching a second language.
As we have seen in resent reading assignments, there is an incredible amount of interest and debate regarding age and acquisition of a foreign language. While many theories are still just that-theory (as opposed to fact), there are some things for which it seems we have fairly strong evidence. First, in regards to L2 acquisition and age of initial exposure, it was often assumed that children would have an advantage over adults, learning quicker and better. This idea has been refuted however, with evidence showing that adults actually acquire morphological and syntactical development faster than children. This may be because the adult brain is more developed and can therefor process more complicated structures more easily.
ReplyDeleteDespite the advantage being with adults in the previous example, it is generally agreed that children have the advantage when it comes to acquiring native-like pronunciation. Brown reports, “Most of the evidence indicates that persons beyond the age of puberty do not acquire what has come to be called authentic (native-speaker) pronunciation of the second language” (p. 62).
Regardless of the research, I think we need to be careful with over-emphasizing the role age plays in acquisition because this is not a factor we can control or manipulate in our learners. The over-emphasis of a “critical period” for L2 acquisition can simply lead to demotivation for those learners approaching the task of L2 acquisition outside of the “critical period”. In the end, there are so many other factors that can play a much more powerful role in the success of L2 acquisition including level of intrinsic motivation, reason for learning, and level of effort the learner contributes. I taught students ranging from 16- 78 years old in my classrooms and while I do notice a pattern of younger learners and those who started studying English from a younger age “picking up” vocabulary faster, this is no match for strong determination from students of any age.
I think age is just one of the many variables that an individual learner brings to their language experience. I am torn when trying to answer this question because part of me wants to go with what the research says, while the other part is debating the variability of the language learner. When it comes to age and acquisition, adults may pick up morphology quicker than children, but younger learners still tend to become more proficient in the long run. We know that age improves the rate in which one learns a language; however, it negatively affects attainment. Age can also affect a learner’s phonology; after six years old (or so), learners will have an accent and not sound like a native speaker.
ReplyDeleteI think the learner variables of language acquisition are more telling than the research. When learning a new language, adult learners need to overcome language ego, attitude, peer pressure, and second identity. These are all factors that will raise an adult learner’s affective filter, whereas younger learners may not have to deal with it. Language is so closely related to who we are as people—there is a reason our primary language is called our “mother tongue.” Therefore, older learners need to overcome a change in identity as they are learning a language. If someone is highly educated in their primary language and is now struggling to master Basic English, that person will undergo some stress trying to determine who they are now. An adult learner has had the same language ego their entire life. Their identity is bound to that language; therefore, having to learn a new language poses an extra struggle because they are not only learning language, but learning to accept a change in who they are as an individual. The attitudes of children and adults are also different when it comes to L2 acquisition. An adult learner may have some stereotypes or may feel slightly resistant towards the new language or culture, while a child might not have developed those attitudes yet. One’s reason for learning a language is also an important part of the process. An adult learner may feel stressed because they need to learn the language to work, provide for their family, become education, and perform daily routines. On the other hand, a child may be learning a new language in school; they too, need this language to survive daily routines, but the stress may be significantly lowered. Looking at one’s reason to learn L2, an adult learner may solely want to acquire BICS so they can buy groceries or communicate daily; that person’s language experience will be vastly different than an adult hoping to become highly educated and acquire CALP as well. Reason for learning is just another variable, like age, that affects one’s second language acquisition.
In terms of my own language learning, age is just one of the many variables that is making my acquisition a struggle. I have so many other obligations and stresses, that learning a language is just one of the million things I’m trying to do at the moment. As I stated earlier, adult learners have a lot on their plate and oftentimes those variables are what makes acquisition more difficult. If I were a child that spent the day in school trying to learn Portuguese, I would definitely be more successful because that would be my main concern. I’m in no way implying that children do not have stresses, struggles, or reasons that their affective filter is high because they definitely do. I just feel that adults have more to overcome sometimes. Their focus may be more split; therefore, language acquisition is more of a conscious effort. Despite what research says about age and acquisition, I believe the variables an individual learner brings to the table are far more telling in regards to their success learning a second language.
In this particular language learning situation, the fact that I am an adult is an advantage. First of all, I am more self-motivated. Most children would not have the desire to go through the various lessons on Live Mocha on their own. I also have the advantage of many years of experience both as a speaker of my first language and as a learner of other languages. I am able to transfer my skills in English to the learning of Portuguese. The grammatical and syntactic structures of English and Portuguese have many similarities. There are also some words that are similar in the two languages (cognates). At this point in my life, I have the experience of having successfully learned other languages. As a result I am confident that I can learn another. This confidence aids my ability to learn a new language. I am also able to drawn upon my knowledge of other romance languages in learning Portuguese. A child would probably not have had these experiences.
ReplyDeleteAs Brown points out, the most challenging aspect for me as an adult is the acquisition of an accent. Since I already have had experience with romance languages, the Portuguese accent is not an insurmountable challenge. However, if I were learning a language for which I have had no similar experience, such as Russian or Arabic, I would find it very difficult to attain an accent. One of my colleagues speaks Arabic. She was trying to help me pronounce the sound for “ah”, as in “Ahmed”. No matter how many times she said it and I repeated it, I could not get it. To my ear, what I said sounded just like what she said, but to a native speaker, I could not make it sound right.
Even if I were not able to sound like a native, I could probably learn Arabic or any other language if I were motivated to do so. I like to think that our opportunities for learning open wider as we get older, not the other way around. Some abilities might be lost, such as accent, but others are gained, such as our capacity for inductive reasoning and the ability to bring experience to bear on our learning.
I believe that age has a lot to do with the ease with which one learns a second or foreign language. I think that as children we are more likely to play with language and to make productive mistakes by using the language with a low effective filter. This doesn’t mean that I think that as an adult one could not learn language with ease, but as adults we tend to be more logical and think twice about what we are to say, which slows down our second/foreign language speaking skills. I also think that as children we are not expected to know everything about the second/foreign language, but as adults we expect ourselves to know a good deal of the language and to learn it fast. These expectations affect the way in which we not only learn language, but in the effort we put in learning the language.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think that my age plays a large role in learning this foreign language. What I do believe plays a role in my language learning is that I already learning a second and a foreign language. I believe that once you learn a second language then the acquisition of the third, fourth, fifth, and so on are easier than to someone who only spoke one language in their childhood. To me learning Catalan isn’t hard, more as a bit confusing because of it is similar and yet quite different to Spanish. I think that if my investment in this language was greater (maybe if it was the language of the community in which I lived), then I would be learning at a faster pace. I really do hope that age will not play a major role in my language acquisition because I still want to learn more languages.
I believe age plays an important role in learning a second language because of the cognitive, affective and linguistic issues that usually go with age.
ReplyDeleteThe critical Period Hypothesis claims that there is a biologically determined period of life which has a great impact language acquisition. However, as it turns out, CPH do have an important impact on language acquisition, but on accent only (Brown, 2007). As we grow up, we move from stages of disequilibrium and egocentricity to equilibrium and more inhibitions. These changes may have negative impact on language acquisition.
On the other hand, grown-ups have stronger cognitive abilities which lead to more systematical and explicit learning.
I found those characteristics discussed above during my Spanish-learning process on Livemocha. I tried to generate syntactic rules from the very beginning. I tried to make very rule and pronunciation as clear as possible. I also encountered difficulty and frustration to pronounce some phoneme which does not exist in Chinese and English.
This is Ilana...
ReplyDeleteWhen considering the age in which you learn a foreign or second language, one of the biggest factors that come to mind is the developmental stage the learner is in. For instance, older learners will transfer more knowledge from their first to second language and will be able to complete more cognitively demanding activities. Older learners could also have more complex rules of grammar explained. With younger learners, like a second grader for instance, educators would need to teach in kid-friendly langauge and with developmentally appropriate activities. What the student understands and relates to will be different, as will be their motivation to learn. If the learner is very young, they may be learning the langauge unconsiously.
Researchers have also posited the idea of a critical period. The critical period hypothesis states that it is easier to learn a language before the learner hits puberity.
There are many factors that impact language learning outside of age, such as: motivation (immigrant vs. taking a langauge class for fun), environment (immersed vs. learning for an hour a week), how the learning style of the student aligns with the teacher, and how contextualized/meaningful the language learning activities are.
I think age is a large factor for me in my learning a second language. First and foremost, I don't have as much motivation due to the fact that its not a necessity. Elizabeth says she has lots of self-motivation and I applaud that because for me it is more like work and I don't think it sticks in my brain because I view it that way.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I believe in the research of the Critival Period Hypothesis that states that language learning is less implicitly possible after the ages of 16 and 17. And last week in class we discussed the real life cases of the children who were special cases learning a language for the first time. It was a general hypothesis that afetr the age of 6, they were not really capable of making a complete language recovery. Whether its the laterialization of the brain and having the left hemisphere become dominant, or other unknown causes, I believe the research to be true.
Furthermore, as an adult, I have a higher affective filter than a child, because I have lost the egocentricty that Brown and Piaget discuss. I am aware of myself ina agroup and less likely to practice the language I am learning on livemocha for lack of wanting to embarass myself. I know I won't be able to perfect the accent, and there is so much interference as I try and make connections that just can't be made between Czech and English.
The only positives that I see as an adult learning a second language is that I have more life experience to draw upon to build schemas and make cognitively meaningful connections. And that the research says I can ultimately learn more vocabulary and sentence structures quicker because I already have a language structure in place and know routines and devices to help myself learn.
I will continue to learn a second language as I feel it is fun and necessary for sucess, but I definitely see the challenges that my age poses.
I definitely think age has an affect on language learning. I know that in my psychology days, I was taught in neuroscience that from birth to several years later, our brain forms synapses. These synapses are how messages travel around, and basically the phrase "use it or lose it" comes into play. A child can form a synapse for anything as long as it's in constant use. I believe that the language part of the brain forms synapses based on what language you start learning. Finally when these information pathways become concrete, so does the ability to learn language. We can always progress in our native language, but to acquire a new language after this point in time requires a real conscious effort. Manytime, a very unsuccessful effort. The critical period hypothesis is fully supported by this notion of synapses forming within the brain.
ReplyDeleteAs a person gets older, their affective filter also comes more in to play. I think as adults we're not consumed with pointing out other peoples' mistakes like we do when we're younger, but all the same people tend to be more worried about the possibility that someone somewhere is going to ridicule you. In learning Lithuanian, I'm very aware of how awful my pronunciation is. I might be able to memorize sentence structure and plug in new pieces to a sentnece frame, but I definitely cannot confidently try to put a sentence together on my own, nor would I say it aloud to a fluent speaker.
The benefot with age however, is I'm very aware of HOW I learn, and can adjust the learning to fit my style. I can be systematic to help my memory as well. So in a way, age can be a good factor, but I feel in the long run it's a hinderance.
I think age is one many factors in how one learns a second language. I think there may be some truth to an extent of what Lenneberg states as being the critical period for learning language. Studies have shown that students who start learning a language later in life, do go through the process with more difficulty, than lets say a student who started at an early age. However I think a number of other factors contribute to how and with what level of success one learns a language. I think the amount of input and one's social environment really determine how one learns a second language. There is a variability in learning and acquisition between each individual.
ReplyDeleteFor me personally, I am very motivated with learning new languages. I think that plays a huge role. In learning this language through live mocha I have also found myself transferring over pieces from other languages I have learned and know. These factors all play more of a significant part in my SLA than age. Again, each individual is different making each persons experience with a foreign language their own.
Age has an effect on language acquisition. Lateralization is the process by which the brain assigns certain things to the left side and certain things to the right side (Brown, 2007). Lenneberg noted that the process begins at the age of two and continues until puberty. Studies have found that acquiring a language after puberty is a lot harder than earlier in life. Most of the time individuals acquire a second language later than they acquire a first language. If individuals acquire a second language before the age of 6 they can have the ability to have native competence. If the second language is acquired between 7 and 12 years old, they can acquire most of the language, but they may have more errors than they would if they were younger. After puberty it becomes harder and takes longer to acquire a second language. There is a variability in learning, in opposed to a more uniform learning during the acquisition of a first language. It shows that when learning morphology adults may be able to learn it quicker but children end up being more proficient with it. I definitely agree. When I was younger I was able to be proficient in both English and Greek, and it was effortless. As I grew older I had more difficulties learning French in High School, and Portuguese now. I feel like my schemas are more advance now than they were in high school, so Portuguese is coming a little bit easier than I remembered French coming.
ReplyDeleteAge plays an important role in SLA. A series of researches have showed that a child’s ability to acquire L2 and L1 after puberty is very crucial. During adulthood, identification developed therefore this identification affects the adult’s L2 learning. In addition, the child learns L2 naturally, through frequency and imitation. Of course, an adult is capable to imitate but the identification impacts such process. An adult acquire L2 through meaningful communication. Age and acquisition remain debatable issues. Some other anthropological studies have claimed that an adult can acquire L2 perfectly regardless of age.
ReplyDeleteBased on my Livemoch.com experience, I admit, in one sense, that age affects SLA negatively but L2 acquisition may happen under meaningful purposes. Most importantly, the methodologies of Livemoch lessons are based on repetition therefore acquisition is limited. All in all, motivation, practice, cognitive consideration, environment stimuli and along with age determine the possibility of SLA for a child and more specifically for an adult.
I work in a school where most of my 5th grade English Learners are considered to be Advanced based on their CELDT tests. I thought this was pretty neat so I asked a few of them why they were able to learn English so well (even to the point that I didn't know they were in ELs until it was time to annually test for CELDT). Most of them replied that they didn't know, they just learned it at a young age and it was just something that was part of their lives. Based on these students' accounts and research based on the Critical Hypothesis Theory, I think age is a huge factor in language learning. Primarily, I believe that the younger a child is exposed to a language, the more likely they will be to acquire the language given sufficient amounts of input, opportunities for output, and an environment that provides for a low affective filter.
ReplyDeleteResearch has been done about the lateralization of the brain as a key support for the Critical Period Hypothesis. Scovel suggested that the brain has a higher plasticity prior to puberty that enables children to acquire languges. Furthermore he posited that because of lateralization, it is difficult for people to ever be able to gain fluent control over a language, at least not with authentic pronunciation.
For me, as I'm driving - or many times just sitting in traffic - to work, I sometimes get so frustrated with my inability to sound like the lady on the CD. I really struggle with rolling my Rs within a word. I can roll an r when it's the first letter, but forget it in the middle of a word!! Last week, I got so frustrated with the word 'to learn' that I turned the CD off and grabbed my head and yelled "Why did you have to lateralize?!"
I think my perfectionist tendencies also allude to the cognitive aspect of age and how it contributes to acquisition. I consider myself a smart person, and feel like I can employ my cognitive strategies towards learning alanguage. However, some parts of the learning are just so unnatural, causing me to get anxious, thus raising my affective filter. I think for children they have less of these cognitive skills and expectations and can easily acquire this native like speech given the safe and productive environment to do so.
I think that age can be both facilitative and debilitative as we try to learn a foreign language. Age can have beneficial effects, for example, we have increased cognitive capacities now versus when we learned our first language. We can think abstractly and use some of the advanced skills we have to better understand throughout the language development process. We also have a strong background knowledge of grammar in our primary language, which we can apply as we learn a second language. On the other hand, because we are older and have been using our primary language for such a long time, it is often hard for us to incorporate new grammar rules in a second language. Some people may have difficulty in remembering which rules to apply in which cases, as we are not used to code-switching. People often transfer rules from their L1 to their L2, causing them to make errors. For example, in my primary language, I am used to the adjective preceding the noun, but when I tried to learn Spanish in middle school, I needed to memorize that the noun comes before the adjective. It's difficult to get out of a habit that has been instilled in us since birth. When we continue making the same errors repeatedly, it starts to fossilize in our minds.
ReplyDeleteIn attempting to learn Italian now, I think that age is playing a critical role in my likelihood to succeed. At age 21, it is much more difficult to become proficient in a second language than in childhood. According to the Critical Period Hypothesis, I am past the age of lateralization, and therefore am unlikely to ever sound like a native speaker. If my parents would have enrolled me in language classes when I was still in Elementary School, the odds are much better that I would now be proficient in my L2.
Finally, motivation also comes into place. When we learn our first language, it is a necessity for survival. However now, I am learning Italian as a hobby. I do not have time to practice everyday or constantly review the words I learn in each lesson, so the meaning is not solidified. My motivation is instrumental (learning the language for this class and in hopes that I can one day go to Italy), not integrative, as it was when I originally learned English as a child.
Age affects me much in learning a second language. I learn my first language since I was born, I even did not realize that I was learning my first language. I just learn my first language naturally. However, I started learning my second language when I was 12 years old. Whatever I do to learn English, I cannot sounds like a native-speaker. On the other hand, age contribute me to learn a second language more quickly. A critical stage for a consideration of the effects of age on second language acquisition appears to occur, in Piaget’s outline, at puberty (age 11 in his model). As an adult, our cognitions have totally developed. When we are learning a second language we could profit from certain grammatical explanations and deductive thinking. We clearly know the process we are going through. We will use different learning strategies to help us learn second language. And we can use our first language and different kinds of background knowledge to learn second language.
ReplyDeleteAge plays a clear role in second language acquisition. The first area I see affecting L2 acquisition is related to developmental stages. Learning language at a young age seems to flow more naturally in that cognitive development parallels learning. A young child first learning a language thinks simply and concretely. The first phases of language are concrete and simple. When first learning a language we speak about what is happening now in the tangible present. As we age, we begin to think more abstractly and our early language skills grow with cognition. According to Piaget and others, abstraction of thought occurs around puberty. As adults attempting to learn a new language we are faced with the conflict of abstract thinking and limited tangible communication skills. We can think abstractly, but are not able to communicate these thoughts verbally, leading to frustration. By adulthood, we have developed other aspects of cognitive thinking as well. We have learned and practiced learning strategies that we can apply to the learning of our second language, but after lateralization occurs during puberty the possibility of native pronunciation disappears. The dangers of transference of L1 rules to L2 can also affect L2 acquisition.
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ReplyDeleteAge definitely play a critical role in learning a second language. However it does not mean adults cannot acquire a second language successfully. Children start to acquire L1 from their birth, while most L2 learners begin their second language study after puberty. The differences of ages may lead to differences of other aspects, such as cognitive, affective, cultural and physical development. There are both physical and mental differences between L1 and L2 acquisitions.
ReplyDeleteHemispheric lateralization, low plasticity for phonemic muscle, guild of language ego and self-identify and all the age facts influence second language acquisition. However, in my opinion, language ego and peer pressure are significant to the difference of children and adults acquire second language. Firstly, after grown up, language ego tends to become protective, they will fear to make errors. Secondly, peer pressure is a very important variable to influence L1 and L2 acquisition. Children usually have strong constraint between each other, they want to be same as others. By contrast, adult will usually provide positive feedbacks which sometime make them will not pursue accurate language. That can explain why adult tend to tolerance their current language level.
But age can also bring some benefits when adults learning second language. Because adults have basic knowledge and some background, it is no need to explain too much to them. What is more, adults can choose strategies to assist their learning. These strategies can help adults learning easier. For example, I believe vocabulary knowledge is very useful in my English study. By learning roots, stems, bases and affixes, I can remember complex words and understand difficult reading materials. However, I clearly remember I don’t have these abilities when I was young.
Meanwhile, based on my own experience, I do not think age factor is the only aspect makes children learning second language nativelike. Environment is as important as age. I learnt English from 6 years old but only twice per week. And I do not think I have acquired English or my pronunciation is nativelike. Without language environment, no matter when you beginning to learn a second language, the process could be hard.
I believe that age plays a role in learning a second or foreign language. The critical period hypothesis claims that there is a biologically determined period of life when language can be acquired more easily. This happens to be from childhood till puberty. I believe age has a lot to do with how easily someone picks up a second or foreign language. As a child, language acquisition comes more naturally than as an adult.
ReplyDeleteAs a person grows older, a number of factors arise that may get in the way of learning a second language. A child has a very low affective filter and therefore does not get discouraged after making error after error. As we get older I believe our affective filter gets higher. We get embarrassed, more frustrated and discouraged when we make constant errors. This can hinder language learning as an adult. Adults also have a lot more things going on in their lives, where as a child has one focus, to communicate. In this sense, I believe age plays a role in learning a second language.
To add, “Most of the evidence indicates that persons beyond the age of puberty do not acquire what has come to be called authentic (native-speaker) pronunciation of the second language” (p. 62). This may be true, and in this sense, children are able to pick up a language with more ease than adults.
I believe my age plays a large role in my learning of a second language. There are many external factors in my life that are making it difficult for me to spend quality time learning my second language. It is hard for me to focus deeply on my language learning as I have a number of other classes and activities on my plate. I can also relate through my Japanese learning as a young child. During my childhood years my father would speak to my sisters and I in English, while my mother would speak to us in Japanese. At a young age we were able to pick up both languages with ease. As I grew older however, especially in my high school years it became increasingly harder for me to surpass the Japanese language level I had been at for a few years. That motivation and natural acquisition I had as a child was not present and it took much more effort to keep up my Japanese. This became very discouraging and frustrating at times. This frustration unfortunately is also evident in my current language learning experience.
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ReplyDeleteAge plays an important role in second or foreign language acquisition, which influences L2 learning in nearly all aspects. It can both facilitate and debilitate second language acquisition. First of all, Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) claims that there is a biologically determined period of life when language can be acquired more easily and beyond which time language is increasingly difficult to acquire. This particularity influences our accent that it is hard for a language learner who passed the critical period to gain a native accent. When I speak in English or Japanese I will feel many pronunciation hard to make and I always read in a tone of Chinese way. And native speaker can always distinguish my foreign accent even though I have practice for years. One of the biggest differences related to age is cognitive ability. Human cognition develops rapidly throughout the first 16 years of life and less rapidly thereafter. With higher cognitive capacities, older students learn L2 based on cognitive construction to facilitate L2 study: using studying strategies, cognitive skills, L1 as a resource, and memorization. When I learn my L1 in childhood, it involved to steps: the reorganization of the meaning of tree, and related meaning with language words. But when I learn Japanese and English I have already have the background knowledge so I can just match the word with the meaning I know. Besides, younger children learn L2 unconsciously with little grammar instructing, while grow-ups need grammar instruction as a support for them to grasp the systematic nature of the language. When I learn Japanese in adulthood, I prefer to know the fundamental rules and grammar of Japanese first before rote and memorization. Moreover, compared with children, young adolescents or adults have a higher filter while learning a second language that they might be more nervous to speak in public or to make mistakes. As I grow up, it becomes harder for me to make mistakes. The afraid of making mistakes makes me lose many practice opportunities.
I personally think the role of age in learning a second language is whether a person will be proficient or not. Because of this, I think age plays a huge role for me in learning a foreign language.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, my experience level in my native language is already so much more advanced than my skill level in Italian. I mean, I really love Italian but my motivation for this language is completely different. Obviously when I was younger my parents brought me up learning English. This caused me to acquire it so I could interact with my family and friends. I had a natural desire to achieve this. Another big reason for me is distractions in my daily life. Being older and busier with other things I have less time to practice a second language. In middle school and even high school I was required to take a new language, where classes ran 3 times a week. The is not the case now. I'm also not integrating my L2 as much as my L1. This infrequent usage causes me to have no chance to socially construct knowledge. The critical period hypothesis could also be another factor as to why I will be less proficient in Italian. In all, I think that L2 acquisition is greatly determined by what age you start at.
I agree with Alecia that age does play a significant role in learning a second language. When we take a look at the critical age hypothesis it is clear that children do have several advantages over adults. They have unlimited time to learn in comparison to adults. They also have time to develop mouth muscles important for good pronunciation. Children have time to play with the language and experiment.
ReplyDeleteSome researchers argue that the critical age hypothesis states that only children can become proficient learners of a language. I strongly disagree that just because someone does not have native like pronunciation this deems them as a non-proficient speaker. I believe that adults can become proficient in a second language even if they do not have a native like accent.
I believe age plays a critical role in my life because there is little incentive or motivation for me to acquire a second language. Most children need to acquire a second language for specific purposes like attending a foreign university or getting a job. In my case as an adult, I have little pressure to learn a foreign language. Even when I was living in Korea the incentive was low because a majority of people I met in Korea already spoke English. They actually preferred speaking English with me instead of listening to my terrible Korean. In addition, it was hard to find people in Korea to speak Korean with on a daily basis. This is why I eventually gave up on the idea of learning the language.
For me, I need a clear goal in order to learn a foreign language. I am currently trying to find a deeper goal so that I have more motivation to learn Spanish fluently. Sometimes I get the idea that so many other people already know Spanish and therefore I should just choose a different language. But other languages such as Korean are much more difficult for me to acquire. The affective filter for me is very high because I don’t want to spend valuable time studying for something unless it is of notable worth. For now my motivation for learning Spanish is to impress my boyfriend when we go to Mexico in December.
In my opinion age certainly has an influence (as do other factors) on learning a second or foreign language. Age’s relation to language has different effects on adults and children both of which are capable of learning such. For instance, adults may have a greater capacity for knowledge transfer from the 1st language to their 2nd language versus a younger student that may be learning language unconsciously.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand adults may not acquire that natural form or accent from the language they are learning. In my personal case I see that accent is a major thing, and the feedback receive in Live Mocha shows it. I am actually using Spanish or English accents for Portuguese words that are not necessarily correct. I also am overgeneralizing words trying to relate or connect them directly to English and Spanish. I think my adult capacity of knowledge transfer in some cases is having both a negative and positive affect over my language learning.
Finally, I would like to add that I agree with Marie’s comment on needing a clear goal to learn a foreign language. At the moment I have no immediate need to learn Portuguese which I am sure will make it more difficult to learn the language. Maybe I will need to start planning a trip to Brazil in the near future for motivation.
I believe age plays a significant role in SLA. When you are younger and immersed in a new language, learning to adapt to the new language seems effortless. We have family friends who moved to France for a year. Their girls were 7 and 13. The older girl attended an IB school, while the younger girl was fully immersed in a French school. Of the four family members, the youngest acquired French the best. She had the most authentic pronunciation. However, after moving back to San Diego, she reverted back to English only, and with no one to practice French with, she lost most of what she had picked up. She is now a high schooler studying Spanish. I think she is motivated from that experience to learn a new language. The benefit of being an older language learner is that most of the time, older learners have more conscious motivation, and use their language learning experiences to learn the new language. I took Spanish in high school and one year in college. Having more motivation, and a sense of form and function of language, enables me to learn quickly in the classroom. However, the audio-lingual method I am using to learn Chinese, although it is useful for practicing pronunciation and phrases, I can tell my aged mouth has a hard time creating some of the sounds, as it was formed for use of my native tongue. My parents used to say I had a knack for languages, learning Chinese I am putting it to the test. I am interested in learning more about other languages especially from a linguistic viewpoint. Knowing the contrasts between languages help with learning. This type of learning is usually what older people consider. Young learners have physical abilities on their side and older people have life experiences and motivation.
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