Critical Evidence: A Test of the Critical-Period Hypothesis for Second-Language Acquisition
The critical-period hypothesis for second-language acquisition was tested on data from the 1990 U.S. Census using responses from 2.3 million immigrants with Spanish or Chinese language backgrounds. The analyses tested a key prediction of the hypothesis, namely, that the line regressing second-langua...
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Published in | Psychological science Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 31 - 38 |
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Main Authors | , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Los Angeles, CA
Blackwell Publishing
01.01.2003
SAGE Publications SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | The critical-period hypothesis for second-language acquisition was tested on data from the 1990 U.S. Census using responses from 2.3 million immigrants with Spanish or Chinese language backgrounds. The analyses tested a key prediction of the hypothesis, namely, that the line regressing second-language attainment on age of immigration would be markedly different on either side of the criticalage point. Predictions tested were that there would be a difference in slope, a difference in the mean while controlling for slope, or both. The results showed large linear effects for level of education and for age of immigration, but a negligible amount of additional variance was accounted for when the parameters for difference in slope and difference in means were estimated. Thus, the pattern of decline in second-language acquisition failed to produce the discontinuity that is an essential hallmark of a critical period. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-2 ObjectType-Feature-1 |
ISSN: | 0956-7976 1467-9280 |
DOI: | 10.1111/1467-9280.01415 |