Critical Period and Language Acquisition

Which period is associated with first language?

critical period

might not be exactly the same for all people

First language is the beginning of… why?

acquisition

Children use the right hemisphere—> which is better at “new” information

as acquisition progresses… what part of the brain is used more?

• left hemisphere—> better at “known” information

language is processed…

gradually

how does the left hemisphere process language?

analytically

Evidence for critical period

• language deprivation

• ASL

• Second language acquisition

Who is Victor (1800s) an example of? Explain his experience with language

• Feral child

• example of language deprivation

• behaved like a wold cause he was raised by them

• send to rehabilitation school for the deaf for social skills and language

• tried teaching him language age 10-12 years

How does Victor’s experience prove that there is a critical period?

he never acquired language

meaning critical periods (birth-puberty) is true

Who is Genie?

• evidence of a critical period (linguistic deprivation)

• no language input until 13/14

• father locked her up, then committed suicide when mom took her to social services

Did Genie acquire language? What were her social skills like?

• never acquired language

• no social skills due to lack of input and interaction

• couldn’t talk but learned how to articulate words but tone and pronounciation was monotoned

  • missed critical period for phonology

what did genie acquire lingusitically?

• could communicate ASL

• vocabulary (large number of words)

What did genie NOT acquire linguaitically?

• morphology

• syntax

• she had broad language faculty

what about morphology did genie struggle with?

• missing grammatical endings

• no word formation

what about syntax did genie struggle with?

• only 2 word sentences

• made word order errors

Who was Isabelle (1930s)?

• illegitimate child of a deaf/mute mother

• no language input until age 6

Did Isabelle acquire language?

• yes she acquired it successfully—> narrow language faculty

• acquired it rapidly within 2 years

what kind of language faculty must you acquire within the critical period?

narrow language faculty

Explain ASL, how is it taken from a linguistic standpoint?

• natural language

• acquired same as any language

Early L1 learners for ASL…

• between 4-6years old are successful

Late L1 learners for ASL…

• after age 12 either not successful or significantly less successful

What kind of language faculty is used to acquire Early ASL? What about late?

• early: Narrow language faculty

• late: broad language faculty

During the critical period, can children acquire simultaneous bilingualism?

• children can acquire more than one L1

• successful at acquiring both L1s

How can children acquire more than one language in early childhood?

• using the narrow language faculty for simultaneous bilingualism

Within a critical period there is a period where, L1 learners can acquire…

• one L1, two (or more) L1s

• one L1 could be ASL

Where does second language acquisition stand in terms of critical period

• any language acquired after your first language is L2

• can be during or after critical period

Second language during the critical period is known as…

sequential bilingualism

When is L2 acquired?

after the acquisition of L1 (usually)

Who can acquire a second language?

• older children and adults (after critical period)

• all can acquire an L2

For L2 what does success depend on after the critical period?

• differences in age related success

After the critical period, how does L2 impact one’s acquisition?

• vocabulary, morphology, syntax= easier to acquire

• pronunciation= harder to acquire

How is phonetics/phonology impacted when it comes to second language acquisition?

• phonetics has a critical period (this is why people have accents)

Vocabulary, morphology, and syntax has a….

sensitive period

sensitive period

• a period of time in which a behaviour can still be relatively easier to acquire

• no deficits if the behaviour is not acquired

what does the sensitive period tell us about second language acquisition?

• that learners may still have some ability to use the narrow language faculty

• other factors contribute to this tho

What are the factors that impact whether a person acquiring an L2 will be able to use the narrow language faculty?

• learning (rather than acquisition)

• language aptitude

• time and effort

• age