Is There a Critical Age for Optimally Learning a Language?

Reflection #4
Why do you think that it is so difficult for researchers to agree on the CPH (Critical Age Hypothesis). Give explicit examples from the readings.

Like much of the research in the social sciences, results are not repeatable in evaluations of the hypothesis (read "guess") concerning the criticality of age which is optimal for learning languages. I hasten to add that the critical age is set at puberty; Piaget determined that the great dividing point in facility of L2 acquision is at the age of 11. Krashen, on the other hand, sets the age at 5! In the diversity of studies of language acquision, it appears that all researchers agree that native accent, which is not necessarily a vital measure of competence in a language, is acquired before puberty.

Some of the more important studies in examining the CAH are:

Lenneberg (1967) and Scovel (1969) did biological studies of the brain, looking at the plasticity of the neurons and synapses prior to and after puberty. More biological evidence was introduced by Genesee (1982) showing the participation of the right hemisphere in language processing especially in L2 learners post-puberty.

Sociological evidence for the ability of adults to learn language come from the Tukano, tribes in South America, who showed language ability after puberty, as they were expected to marry exogamously, Hill (1970).

Also give examples from your own experience.

Due to my father's assignment in France, I was able to have the experience of learning a language before puberty, at 10 years old. All I can recall is that it must have been mostly subconscious, and I still maintain some of it to this day. People have told me that my accent is excellent, like a native speaker, but I admit I have to concentrate and imitate (fun!) to pull it off. My other languages have been learned during the teen years, my twenties, and when I was fourty-five, I started learning German. At first, I had to wrap my tongue (Zunge) around some of the words (hoehe=high), but persistance paid off. Of course, German and English are in the same language group, which may help. I was always very flattered when people mistook me for Dutch or Swedish; rarely was I marked as an American because of my accent in German!