The Age Factor in Second Language Acquisition

The Age Factor in Second Language Acquisition Introduction There are many factors that affect second language acquisition (SLA). For example, SLA is affected by the role of the mother tongue, the role of gender differences, the role of personal differences and the role of age differences. The role of age differences is one of the most important factors that affect SLA. It is often claimed that children learn faster than adults. The younger the learner of a foreign language, the more effective the learning process will be. Nowadays, many countries are trying to introduce English for younger learners. They believe that the younger the learners are, the better the learning English process will be. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) country is one of them. In the UAE, English was introduced at the age of 13. Then, the ministry of education has changed the policy and started to teach English at the age of 10. Now, they are introducing English at the age of 7. The reason is that the country wants the young generation to acquire English in a good way. It wants them to be familiar with English and to be able to speak like English native speakers because the demand for English is growing. In my project, I will discuss the age factor in second language acquisition. I will talk about Why to Study the Role of Age Differences in SLA. Then, I will talk about some research findings. Finally, I will talk about The Neurological Explanation (or The Critical Period Hypothesis).
Why to Study the Role of Age Differences in SLA? Since the 1960s a lot of research has been done on the age factor in second language acquisition. It has been shown that young language learners tend to achieve higher levels of success than older learners. The outcome of children is different from the outcome of adults. Murad (2005) said that "It is commonly known that children with regular faculties and given normal circumstances easily master their native

References: Arabski, J. (1999). Neuroanatomical perspective of age in L2 acquisition. In Janusz Arabski (Ed), Pase Papers (p. 25). Katowice. Birdsong, D Barakat, G., & Shehadeh, A. (1994). Issues in second language acquisition: The age factor. Research Journal of Aleppo University, 25, (pp. 131, 132). Hakuta, K., Bialystok, E., & Wiley, E Lenneberg, E. (1967). Biological Foundations of Language. New York: Willy and sons. Lengyel, Z. & Singleton, D. (1995). The Age Factor in Second Language Acquisition. Retrieved April 20, 2007, from http://www.hausarbeiten.de/faecher/vorschau/66930.html Ryan, L. (2004). Language Acquisition: the age factor. Clevedon ; Buffalo : Multilingual Matters, (p. 2). (pp. 1537, 1539).