Children who acquire a second language at a young age are more likely to achieve native-like fluency in both pronunciation and grammar compared to older learners. A study by Patkowski examined highly educated immigrants to the US and found that those who began learning English before age 15 achieved near-native mastery, while older learners showed more variability in attainment levels. Similarly, a study by Johnson and Newport found few individual differences in second language ability for learners who began before age 10. However, early intensive exposure to a second language may entail the loss or incomplete development of the child's first language.

1. Ho Van Ket
Ngo Thi Thao
Doan Anh Huy
Pham Dang Phuc
Le Thi Thuy Trang
Nguyen Thi Quynh Anh
Group members
Instructor: Doan Ngoc Ai Phuong
Methodology 4

2. Factors affecting second language learningFactors affecting second language learning

4. The rule of the game:
• We will divide into 2 parts corresponding to the 2 factors
which we will present.
• In the first factor, is age of acquisition, we have 5 characters,
there is a lucky character. If you choose lucky character, we
will give gift to you immediately. If the character you chose is
unlucky, you must answer the character’s question. He (She)
will give the answer before or after his (her) presentation.
• In the second factor, we have 5 character as well and have 3
lucky characters. Goodluck!

5. I. ACQUISITIONI. ACQUISITION
Maleficent Rancho
Harry potter Kang Moon Yeon Stepmother

6. II. ACTIVITYII. ACTIVITY
Mak Jake SullyRapunzel
Xiao Yan ZiJack SparrowJack Sparrow

11. Question: Adult from immigrant families eventually speak
the language of their new community with native-like
fluency. True or false?
A. True
B. False

12. Age of acquisition

13. Children from immigrant families eventually speak the
language of their new community with native-like
fluency, but their parents rarely achieve such high
levels of mastery of the spoken language .

14. Many adult second language learners become capable of
communicating very successfully in the language
but, for most, differences of accent, word choice, or
grammatical features distinguish them from native speakers
and from second language speakers who began learning
the language while they were very young.

15. The Critical Period Hypothesis suggests that there is a time
in human development when the brain is predisposed for
success in language learning.
According to this view,
language learning which
occurs after the end of the
critical period may not be
based on the innate
biological structures
believed to contribute to
first language acquisition
or second language
acquisition in early
childhood.

16. Adults are often embarrassed by their lack of mastery.

17. Question: “Will there be a difference between learners who
begun to learn English before puberty and those who began
to learn English later?”
A. Yes
B. No
C. Can not determine

18. Mastery of spoken language
Most of studies of the relationship between age of acquisition
and second language development have focused on learners’
phonological
(pronunciation) achievement.
In general, these studies have concluded that older learners
almost inevitably have a noticeable ‘foreign accent’.

19. But what of other linguistic features (Syntax and morphology) ?
One study that attempted to answer these questions was
done by Mark Patknowski (1980).

20. A.Mastery of the spoken language
Mark Patkowski studied the effect of age on the acquisition
of features of second language other than accent.
Even if accent were ignored, only those who had begun
learning their second language before the age of 15 could
ever achieve full, native-like mastery of that language.

21. Patkowski examined:
- 67 highly educated immigrants to United States.
- Started to learn English at various ages
- Lived in the United States for more than 5 years.

22. Patkowski’s main question :
“Will there be a difference between learners who begun to
learn English
before puberty and those who began to learn English later?”

23. The findings:
32 out of 33 subjects who had begun learning English
before the ages of 15 scored at the 4+ or the 5 level.
For this group, success in learning a second language was
almost inevitably could ever achieve.
On the other hand, there was much more variety in the
levels achieved by the post-puberty group.
( around the 3+ level)

24. 10
22
1
2+ 3 3+ 4 4+ 5
10
20
Frequency
Pre-puberty learners

25. 2
6
12
9
4
1
10
20
2+ 3 3+ 4 4+ 5
Post-puberty learners
Frequency

26. There were some relationships between these other
factors and learning success. However, it often turned
out that age was so closely related to the other factors
that it was not really separated them completely.
For example:
Length of residence in the USA sometimes seemed to be
fairly good predictor.

27. A person who had lived in the country for 15 years might
speak better than one who had been there for only 10
years, it was often the case that the one with longer
residence had also arrived at an earlier age.
However, a person who had arrived in the USA at the age
of 18 and had lived there for 20 years did not score
significantly better than someone who had arrived at the
age of 18 but had only lived there for 10 years.

28. Patkowski found that age of acquisition is a very
important factor in setting limits on the development of
native-like mastery of a second language and that this
limitation does not apply only to accent.

29. Experience and research have shown that native-like
mastery of the spoken language is difficult to attain by
older learners.
Even the ability to distinguish between grammatical and
ungrammatical sentences in a second language appears
to be affected by the age factor that we will be clearer in
the study of Johnson and Newport.

30. Question: At which age do learners have few individual
differences in learning second language?
A. Before the age of 10
B. After the age of 15
C. Both of them

31. Intuitions of grammaticality
• Forty-six Chinese and Korean speakers who had begun
to learn English at different ages.

32. Judgement of grammaticality task to test
12 rules of English morphology and syntax.

33. For those who began before the age of 15,
and specially before the age of 10.
 There were few individual differences in second
language ability.

34. Those who began later,
They did not have native-like language abilities and were
more likely to differ greatly from one another in ultimate
attainment.

35. There is a critical period for attaining
full native-like mastery of a second
language.

36. Question: How many tasks were used in the research of
Catherine Snow and Marian Hoefnagel-Höhle ?
A. 7
B. 8
C. 9

37. Is younger really better?

38. 2
3
4
5
1
- Was tested by having learners pronounce
80 Dutch words twice :
Pronunciation
The first time The second time
1

39. 2
3
4
5
1
2 Auditory discrimination
- Learners saw pictures of four objects. In each
group of four there were two whose names
formed a minimal pair, that is, alike except for
one sound.
- For examples: (in English)
“Hat” and “Cat” “Ship” and “Sheep”

40. 2
3
4
5
1
3 Morphology
- Was tested using a procedure like the “wug test”, which
required leaners to complete sentences by adding the
correct grammatical makers to words which were
supplied by the researchers.

41. 2
3
4
5
1
4 Sentence repetition
- Required learners to repeat 37 sentences.
- The
sentences
were
increasing
length and
grammatical
complexity.

42. 2
3
4
5
1
5 Sentence translation
- Learners were given 60 sentences to translate
from English to Dutch

43. 7
8
9
6 6 Sentence judgement task
- Learners were to judge which of two sentences
was better. The same content was expressed in
both sentences, but one sentence was
grammatically correct while the other contained
errors

44. 7
8
9
6
7 Peabody Picture Vocabulary
Test
- Leaners saw four pictures and heard one isolated
word. Their task was to indicate which picture
matched the word spoken by the tester.

45. 7
8
9
6
8 Story comprehension task
- Leaners heard a story in Dutch and were
then asked to retell the story in English or
Dutch (according to their preference)

46. 7
8
9
6
9 Storytelling task
- Required learners to tell a story in Dutch, using
a set of pictures they were given.

47. Question: Children are more likely to reach higher levels of
attainment in both pronunciation and grammar than adults.
True or false?
A. True
B. False

48. ACTIVITYACTIVITY
Comparing child, adolescent, and adult language learners

49. X:an indication of the rate of learningX:an indication of the rate of learning
Y: an indication of eventual attainmentY: an indication of eventual attainment
Table 3.1: comparison of language learning at different agesTable 3.1: comparison of language learning at different ages

50. The adolescents were by far the most
successful learners.
The adults were better than the children
and adolescents on pronunciation in the
first test session.
In other words, adolescents and adults
learned faster than children in the first few
months of exposure to Dutch.
Snow and Hoefnagel-HöhleSnow and Hoefnagel-Höhle

51. Other interpretation:
Some of the tasks such as sentence judgement
or translation were too hard for young learners.
Adults and adolescent learn faster in the
early stages of second language development.
Ngô Thị Thảo
Snow and Hoefnagel-Höhle concluded that their
results provide evidence that there is no critical period
for language acquisition.
Snow and Hoefnagel-Höhle concluded that their
results provide evidence that there is no critical period
for language acquisition.

52. Children are more likely to reach higher
levels of attainment in both pronunciation and
grammar than adults.
adults and adolescent can make
considerable and rapid progress towards mastery
of a second language in contexts.
Ngô Thị Thảo

53. Fill in the blank: Early intensive exposure to the second
language may .......................the child´s first language.
A. Entail the loss or incomplete development of
B. Help remain
C. Develop

54. At what age should second
language instruction begin

55. •People know nothing about the critical period
research: younger learners are better
• Both experience and research: Older learners
can attain high levels of proficiency in their
second language.
=> It depends on the situations or the purposes
learners want to acheive.

56. Example 1:
A child who is born to an American father and
German mother living in the USA can start to
learn both German and English from the
monent he is born.
 The most favorable situation to speak two
languages fluently as an adult.

57. Getting early intensive exposure to the
second language --> the loss or incomplete
development of the child’s first language.
=>The objective of second language learning is
NATIVE-like mastery of target language.

58. Example 2:
A child of school age who emigrates to the USA
has no choice, must start to learn the new language,
English as soon as she arrives.
=>The goal is basic commnicate ability for all
sudents in a school setting, and when it is assumed
that the child’s native language will remain the
primary language, it may be more efficient to begin
second or foreign language teaching later.

59. Summary:
• Age is one of the characteristics which determine second
language learning.
• It is difficult to make precise predictions about how a
particular individual´s characteristics influence his or her
success as a language learner.
• However, in a classroom, a sensitive teacher, who takes
learners´ individual personalities and learning styles into
account, can create a learning environment in which all
learners can be successful in learning an second
language.