A critical review of age-related research on L2 ultimate attainment

Abstract

Resumen. Partiendo de la relevancia que en el momento actual tiene el aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras, este artículo presenta un análisis estadístico de los datos que proporciona la primera edición del Estudio Europeo de la Competencia Lingüística (EECL) (European Commission, 2012a) para España y Holanda en la destreza de comprensión oral en inglés. A partir de dicho análisis, se pretende arrojar luz sobre dos cuestiones principales: por un lado, la descripción del rendimiento del alumnado de ambos países en comprensión oral en lengua inglesa al finalizar la etapa de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria. Por otro lado, se trata de profundizar en los posibles factores explicativos del rendimiento en esta destreza en lengua inglesa en los dos contextos, analizando la influencia que sobre la misma muestran determinadas variables de carácter individual, familiar y escolar. El propósito final de este análisis es enunciar, a la luz de las conclusiones extraídas, una serie de propuestas encaminadas a la reflexión y mejora de la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de las lenguas extranjeras en España y, en concreto, de la habilidad de comprensión oral. El artículo concluye con la necesidad de comprender cómo algunos factores ajenos al sistema educativo determinan, en cierta medida, el éxito de las distintas iniciativas puestas en marcha en el campo de la enseñanza de las lenguas extranjeras. En este sentido, el análisis del EECL subraya la incidencia de factores de diversa índole en el proceso de aprendizaje de una lengua extranjera. Palabras clave: enseñanza y aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras; comprensión oral; estudio cuantitativo.[en] Explanatory factors of acquiring English oral comprehension skills in secondary education: a comparison between Spain and The Netherlands Abstract. Based on the current relevance of foreign language education and acquisition, this article presents a statistical analysis of the data provided by Spain and The Netherlands from the First European Survey on Language Competences (ESLC) (European Commission, 2012a). The intention of the statistical analysis of this data is to shed light on two main issues. First, it offers a description of student performance in both countries, regarding oral comprehension in English at the end of the stage of compulsory secondary education. Secondly, it delves into potential explanatory factors of performance in English in this evaluated skill area in both contexts, analyzing the influence which certain variables, related to students' own characteristics, family and school environment, reveal. The article's final aim, based on the conclusions, is to propose ideas for reflection, thought and _____________

Effect of Age in Second Language Acquisition: A Critical Review from the Perspective of Critical Period Hypothesis and Ultimate Attainment

“…Contextual constraints are inevitable in SLA, since quality and amount of input that learners receive is discussed in the study and the findings are in line with earlier studies, such as Maftoon, Shakouri, & Nazari (2013). Muñoz & Singleton (2011) highlighted contextual factors and intrapersonal contribution as the important variables to consider in future studies to strengthen the findings. The research among the adult language learners should consider other variables while researching.…”

“…Late acquisition can be caused by different reasons, often psychological, but it also can have external reasons. If a child experiences negligence in their first five years, they often end up facing complexities, such as permanently smaller head circumference, smaller brain size, and impaired ability to learn language as well as developing normal social behaviour (Muñoz & Singleton, 2011). Therefore, it would be an equally exclusive approach to evaluate their acquisition to UA of language.…”

“…In their empirical study on second language vocabulary acquisition, Nosratinia, Abbasi, & Zaker (2015) established a relationship between critical thinking, autonomy, and vocabulary, which are entirely intrapersonal attributes that varies from individual to individual. Distinctly from the psychological attributes that social factors have, Moyer (2004), as cited in Muñoz and Singleton (2011), articulated that socio-psychological factors through qualitative analysis of interview data underscored a set of psychological and social influences in learners' individual learning experience: opportunities for contact, attitudes toward the target language culture, sense of self in L2 (motivation, behaviour and language function), perceptions of foreignness, and belonging.…”

“…In the field of SLA, more specifically, age-related studies lack uniformity and methodological soundness (Muñoz & Singleton, 2011;DeKeyser et al, 2010). Due to this, the available findings in literature is inconclusive and speculative.…”

Evidence from neurolinguistic methodologies: Can it actually inform linguistic/language acquisition theories and translate to evidence-based applications?

“…As regards L2 acquisition of morphosyntax, many researchers (theorists, acquisitionists, educationalists) are concerned with mental linguistic representations: how they may be similar in L1 and L2 ultimate attainment or maturationally conditioned to be different (e.g., Bley-Vroman, 1989, 2009Jiang, 2004;2007;Lardiere, 2007;Tsimpli & Dimitrakopoulou, 2007;White, 2003). Age effects have been extensively studied (see, e.g., Birdsong, 1992;Bylund, Hyltenstam & Abrahamsson, 2013;Long, 2013;Muñoz & Singleton, 2011;Rothman, 2008). Some argue that features not present in the L1 (at least some) will be unacquirable after a certain age (cf., the Critical Period Hypothesis, Lenenberg, 1967;see, e.g., Franchescina, 2005;Hawkins & Liszka, 2007;Tsimpli & Dimitrakopoulou, 2007, for theoretical linguistic accounts) or ultimately acquirable, but reflecting a developmental sequence different than child L1 acquisition due at least in part to influence of previously acquired linguistic representations (e.g., Schwartz & Sprouse, 1996;White, 2003) and other secondary factors that distinguish children from adults.…”