|
|
Article: Age and the second language lexicon.
- Article from:
- Studia Anglica Posnaniensia: international review of English Studies
- Article date:
- January 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Adam Mickiewicz University. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
1. Introductory. Age and the L2 learner: an overview
There is now a wide consensus (see, e.g., Cook 1991; Ellis 1994; Harley 1986; Harley -- Wang 1997; Long 1990; Singleton 1989, 1997) that the balance of evidence relative to age and second language (L2) learning broadly favours the line taken by Krashen, Long and Scarcella (1979) -- namely, that in "naturalistic" situations
(a) older children, adolescents and adults tend to outperform younger beginners -- at least in some respects -- in the initial stages of learning, but (b) as far as long-term outcomes are concerned, generally speaking, the earlier exposure to the target language begins the better.
...