Age-Related Differences in Language Learning

Abstract

Learning a language is not an easy task, and age plays a fundamental role when engaging the process of learning. This topic has turned to be very controversial over the last decades, since there is the belief that children are able to learn a language easily, with less effort than adults do. This statement is supported by the Critical Period Hypothesis, whose main belief is that once puberty is trespassed, it is difficult to achieve nativelike mastery in a foreign language. However, to what extent is this true? Many studies support the idea that adults can also achieve native competence in a language. Having said this, in this paper, I will support the idea that adults can also learn a language. First, I will offer a view of the origins and development of the Critical Period Hypothesis and the role it plays in Second Language Acquisition. Next, I will analyse the effects of age when learning a language, bearing in mind factors such as length of exposure of the students in this process, the importance of having a more developed cognitive system when learning a language, and how motivation is involved.