Human Resources
Development
Working Group
Personal tools

Log in
Namespaces


Page
Discussion
Variants
Views



View
View source
History
More
Best age.doc
From APEC HRDWG Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
What is the best age for beginning foreign language instruction?
- research resources related to age of initiating foreign language instruction
The question of the optimal age at which to begin foreign language instruction has captured the
attention of parents, scholars and policy makers over the years. Though the topic may seem new
due to the surge of media interest, brought on partly by the turn of world events and domestic
concerns about immigration-related issues in some APEC economies, research has been
conducted in this area for at least 30 years. Studies on the “critical period” by psychologists,
linguists and educators have turned out many interesting and relevant findings. In the UK, the
National Advisory Centre on Early Language Learning promotes starting early, based on the
relative ease of learning younger. On the other side of the argument, a number of researchers
have looked at possible interferences in forming linguistic foundations for the one language by
exposure to another. Francis (2005) stated unequivocally that the research shows “that
knowledge of two or more languages in early childhood does not contribute to language
deficiency (e.g., semilingualism) or deficient intellectual development.”
A number of variables affect when instruction in a foreign language should best begin.
Consideration of these factors in light of the environmental and societal constraints is essential in
order to make the best use of available resources. Starting early can allow young children to
master a foreign language only if a well-design total immersion program is in place for teaching
them. Even so, child language researchers have identified family, friendship networks, popular
culture and others as important influences on development of native and foreign language
abilities. Research reported by Coppola (2005) in “English Language Learners: Language and
Literacy Development During the Preschool Years” on children raised to be bilingual indicate
that the success of such efforts depends on the richness of the linguistic environment, deliberate
attention on the part of parents and teachers, so that both languages can develop fully. This latter
concept is echoed by Nikolov and Djigunovic (2006) in their comprehensive overview, “Recent
Research on Age, Second Language Acquisition, and Early Foreign Language Learning.”
If only a few hours per week are feasible, studies show that it may be much more prudent to wait
until students are a bit older and have more linguistic foundation in their native language. By
designing a curriculum that incorporates deliberate direct instruction, these learners can also
make significant progress in a foreign language, a point well supported by research covered
thoroughly in the book, Age in L2 Acquisition and Teaching edited by Abello-Contesse, et al.
(2006). Research shows that older children and adults who learn through ample classroom and
study time, mixing practice and communication with such direct instruction measure up almost
as well as early learners, with the possible slight disadvantage of somewhat less native-like
pronunciation. The point of second language pronunciation is taken up by Abu-rabia and Kehat
(2004) in “The Critical Period for Second Language Pronunciation: Is there such a thing?” who
report that achievements in pronunciation are not limited to those who learned their second
language at young ages.
The American Educational Research Association, in its regular publication of Research Points:
Information for Education Policy presented “Foreign Language Instruction: implementing the
best teaching methods” in Spring 2006. This provides an excellent overview of research on this
topic.
A fine summary of the research from an educational perspective was prepared by Hunt et al
(2005), “Primary modern foreign languages: an overview of recent research, key issues and
challenges for educational policy and practice” looking at best practices in the area of early
foreign language learning as England prepared to launch a programme to teach foreign languages
to young learners.
Psychologists and neurologists have also investigated this topic, investigating the neural
pathways involved in language processing. Some differences have been discovered between
native and second language processing, defined as ‘age of acquisition (AoA)’ as reported by
Hernandez and Li (2007). However, it may be said that the remarkable abilities of the human
mind do allow processing toward the same aim to proceed, regardless of the AoA.
Klein (2007) argues that age does not affect the "construction capacity"- the capacity to build up
linguistic systems - but the "copying faculty", i.e., the faculty to imitate an existing system. In his
article “Mechanisms of First and Second Language Acquisition” he purports that there is no
magic to children’s learning that most adults cannot duplicate; it’s just that many don’t make that
effort.
See also: Portal: Learning Each Other's Languages
Retrieved from "http://hrd.apec.org/index.php?title=Best_age.doc&oldid=16132"
Categories:



Language
Education
Youth
Navigation menu
Navigation



Main Page
Help
Recent changes
Browse





Table of Contents
APEC Projects
APEC Events
Photos
Map
External Links


APEC Website
Knowledge Bank
Search
Go
Tools
Search






What links here
Related changes
Special pages
Printable version
Permanent link
Page information


This page was last modified on 10 July 2014, at 14:43.
The content of this APEC site is provided for informational purposes only and should not
be construed as an endorsement of any products, programs, or curricula.
Content is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike
3.0 United States License. Additional terms may also apply. See the Terms of Use for
details.
Any external websites linked from this site may not fully comply with the approved
APEC Nomenclature and Publication Policy.



Privacy policy
About APEC HRDWG Wiki
Disclaimer

