R Second Language Acquisition and the Critical Per

SecondLanguageAcquisitionandtheCriticalPeriodWhatwewilldotoday•Introductiontosecondlanguageacquisition•HowageaffectssecondlanguageacquisitionSecondlanguageacquisition:afirstlook•ClassroomlearningnotthebestexampleofL2acquisition•L2acquisitionismuchlikeL1acquisition•ChildL2acquisitionisespeciallylikeL1acquisition•AdultL2acquisitiondivergesincertainwaysfromL1acquisitionClassroomlearningnotthebestexampleofL2acquisition•MajorityofhumansspeakanL2;fewofthemlearneditinclassroomsetting.•Classroomlanguageinstructionisarelativelyrecentphenomenon.•Itusuallyinvolvesjustthebeginningstagesofacquisition.Atypicallanguageclass3hoursperweek30weeksperyear2yearsofstudy180totalhoursofexposureWhatcanyoudoin180hours?•Ifyoulearn10wordsperhour,youwilllearn1,800wordsin2years.•Isthisalot?•No.Average18-year-oldknows60,000words.5-year-oldknows13,000!So…..•Classroomlanguagelearningisworthstudying(andworthdoing!),•Butitisjustonepieceofthelargerpictureofsecondlanguageacquisition.Secondlanguageacquisition:afirstlook•ClassroomlearningnotthebestexampleofL2acquisition•L2acquisitionismuchlikeL1acquisition•ChildL2acquisitionisespeciallylikeL1acquisition•AdultL2acquisitiondivergesincertainwaysfromL1acquisitionL2acquisitionismuchlikeL1acquisition•Havetolearnwords:dog,run,of…–Typicalerror:“Covertheturkeywithaluminumpaper.”•Havetolearnrules:SVO,“add–edtomakeverbpasttense”…–Typicalerror:“Itakedtestyesterday.”Secondlanguageacquisition:afirstlook•ClassroomlearningnotthebestexampleofL2acquisition•L2acquisitionismuchlikeL1acquisition•ChildL2acquisitionisespeciallylikeL1acquisition•AdultL2acquisitiondivergesincertainwaysfromL1acquisitionChildL2acquisitionisespeciallylikeL1acquisition•Afterarrivinginanewlanguageenvironment,youngerchildrenwill“catchup”withinayearortwo.•TheythenappeartobeindistinguishablefromL1acquirersofthelanguage.Secondlanguageacquisition:afirstlook•ClassroomlearningnotthebestexampleofL2acquisition•L2acquisitionismuchlikeL1acquisition•ChildL2acquisitionisespeciallylikeL1acquisition•AdultL2acquisitiondivergesincertainwaysfromL1acquisitionAdultL2acquisitiondivergesincertainwaysfromL1acquisition•Pronunciation•Inflectionalmorphology(grammaticalendingsonwords):–“Theboywalkstoschool.”•SubtlesemanticdistinctionsnotpresentinL1:–“Isawacow”vs.“Isawthecow”–“Elniñocorríamucho”vs.“elniñocorriómucho”ButmanyotheraspectsofadultL2acquisitionworkjustasyouwouldexpect…Adultsreadilylearn:•Words(vocabulary)•Wordorderandmanyotheraspectsofsyntax:SVO,VSO,SOV,etc.Neko-ganezumi-otoraeru.catmousecatchSecondlanguageacquisition:afirstlook•ClassroomlearningnotthebestexampleofL2acquisition•L2acquisitionismuchlikeL1acquisition•ChildL2acquisitionisespeciallylikeL1acquisition•AdultL2acquisitiondivergesincertainwaysfromL1acquisitionEffectsofageonL2acquisition•CriticalperiodforL1acquisition•WhatwouldacriticalperiodforL2acquisitionlooklike?•Doweactuallyfindsuchacriticalperiod?•Dolatelearnerseverattainnativelikeness?CriticalperiodforL1acquisition•Criticalperiod=“windowofopportunity”StandardevidenceforcriticalperiodinL1•Younginfantsare“universallisteners”.Abilitydeclinesaroundage1.•DelayingL1acquisitionuntilafterchildhoodleadstolowlevelsofgrammaticaldevelopment(e.g.Genie).EffectsofageonL2acquisition•CriticalperiodforL1acquisition•WhatwouldacriticalperiodforL2acquisitionlooklike?•Doweactuallyfindsuchacriticalperiod?•Dolatelearnerseverattainnativelikeness?WhatwouldacriticalperiodforL2acquisitionlooklike?WhatwouldacriticalperiodforL2acquisitionlooklike?•“Geometricfeatures”–Heightenedsensitivityatbeginning–Clearpointwhereoffset(decline)begins–FlatperiodwhencriticalperiodisoverWhatwouldacriticalperiodforL2acquisitionlooklike?•“Temporalfeatures”–Heightenedsensitivitythroughearlychildhood–Sensitivitybottomsoutwhenfullneurocognitivematurityisreached–ContinuedlowsensitivitythroughoutadulthoodEffectsofageonL2acquisition•CriticalperiodforL1acquisition•WhatwouldacriticalperiodforL2acquisitionlooklike?•Doweactuallyfindsuchacriticalperiod?•Dolatelearnerseverattainnativelikeness?Doweactuallyfindsuchacriticalperiod?•The“classic”studysaysyes.•Johnson&Newport(1989)comparedEnglishproficiencyofKoreanandChineseimmigrantstoU.S.•Ageofarrivalrangedfrom3to39•LengthofresidenceinU.S.atleast3years•SubjectstestedonvarietyofEnglishstructuresResults:•Clearandstrongadvantageforearlyarrivalsoverlatearrivals•Ageofarrivalbeforepuberty–Performancelinearlyrelatedtoage•Ageofarrivalafterpuberty–Performancelowbuthighlyvariable–PerformanceunrelatedtoageBut…•ReanalysisofJohnson&Newportsuggeststhatcutoffpointis20,notpuberty•Birdsong&Molis(2001)gotdifferentresults:Otherstudiespointtosameconclusion:•Notclearthereissharpcutoffpoint•Slowdeclineinsensitivitythroughoutlife(i.e.,no“flatteningout”)Flege(1999)•PronunciationofItalianimmigrantstoOntario,Canada•Lengthofresidence≥15years•Nocutoffpointwheredeclinebegins•NoflatteningoutinadulthoodHakuta,Bialystok&Wiley(2003)•Self-assessedoralproficiencyratingsofChinese-andSpanish-speakingimmigrantstoU.S.(1990U.S.Census)•Lengthofresidence≥10years•2.3millionresponses•Nocutoffpointwhered