Adults learn languages more quickly than children in the early stages of second language acquisition¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 1987 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Evidence quality · No study behind this claim is a peer-reviewed article with a DOI: it rests on an ERIC document (a report, conference paper or thesis). It is kept because 2 design pages cite it; treat it as a lead to check, not an established finding.

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Although children may have an advantage in achieving native-like fluency in the long run, adults learn languages more quickly than children in the early stages. → Schleppegrell 1987

Evidence¶

Schleppegrell 1987¶

Schleppegrell, Mary. (1987). The Older Language Learner. ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics, Washington DC. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED287313

q2 · i? · review · r2

The digest reports, citing Krashen, Long, and Scarcella (1979), studies comparing acquisition rates in children and adults. It states "adults actually learn languages more quickly than children in the early stages", while children hold the long-run native-like fluency advantage. No effect sizes are printed.

"Studies comparing the rate of second language acquisition in children and adults have shown that although children may have an advantage in achieving native-like fluency in the long run, adults actually learn languages more quickly than children in the early stages"

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Age and Developmental Stage — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Learning ability does not decline with age in healthy older adults — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• Adult learners generally find pronunciation more difficult than children and are unlikely to achieve native-like pronunciation, though experience and self-monitoring offset this somewhat — related
• No age is optimal or critical for second language learning, and older learners can benefit more from cognitive approaches — related
• Mere exposure to the target language does not automatically lead to native-like communicative competence in adult learners — related
• A practitioner digest asserts, without cited studies, that no research evidence suggests older adults cannot succeed in learning another language — related