ISSUES IN The Critical Period Hypothesis In Second Language Acquisition

Abstract

The Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) maintains that humans are genetically endowed with a language acquisition device which gradually fades with age.This article attempts to find out whether this hypothesis is also true with regard to second language learning.Along with this issue, other related questions are also investigated, notably: which layers of language is the CPH applicable to? Do children and adults learn the same way? Do they process the linguistic input similarly?The issues are debated by various empirical research works conducted over a large time span.The conclusions arrived at indicate that:1.Adults do have the ability to acquire a second language, especially in the fields of syntax and morphology.2.Children's superiority in fluency and accuracy of pronunciation is due to biological and sociocultural reasons, since they have the opportunity to engage in casual speech.If the target of second language learning is to achieve communicative competence, both children and adults can do that, provided that they are motivated, dedicated and have the appropriate learning circumstance.

Keywords

ISSUES, Critical