TESOL English language acquisition

Age as a Factor in Second Language Teaching and Learning

It has been established in second language teaching and language studies that an adult 's second language learning is different from a child 's first language acquisition in terms of the learner 's attitude towards learning and the environment where learning is supposed to occur . For instance , a young child learning his mother language in his household is different from a young child learning a second language in a classroom setting . The same thing is true with an adult learning a foreign

language in a classroom setting over an adult immigrant learning a foreign language without a formal education setting and environment Many theorists believe that there is a critical period in learning a language (Lightbrown and Spada , Year

The study done by Mark Patkowski proves the relationship of age and the ability in the learning and acquisition of a second language . He proved his hypothesis that only learners who started their study of a second language below the age of fifteen could achieve a native-like mastery of the target language . The research aimed to learn if there would be a difference for learners who learn the language beyond puberty and those who learn within the so-called critical period on the basis of comparing immigrant learners in the United States who learned English at various ages . The standard would be native-born Americans below fifteen years old with high level of education . In another study done by J .S Johnson and...