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¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 1998 · 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 3 design pages cite it; treat it as a lead to check, not an established finding.

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Most researchers agree adults find pronunciation more difficult than children and probably will not achieve native-like pronunciation, but language learning experience and self-monitoring ability can offset these limitations to some degree. → Florez 1998

Evidence¶

Florez 1998¶

Florez, MaryAnn Cunningham. (1998). Improving Adult ESL Learners' Pronunciation Skills. ERIC Digest. National Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED427553

q2 · i? · review · r2

Narrative review of research on age effects in pronunciation acquisition, citing Celce-Murcia, Brinton, & Goodwin (1996), Gillette (1994), Graham (1994) and Pennington (1994). The digest reports that "adults find pronunciation more difficult than children do" while noting offsetting factors. No effect sizes are printed.

"Most researchers, however, agree that adults find pronunciation more difficult than children do and that they probably will not achieve native-like pronunciation. Yet experiences with language learning and the ability to self-monitor, which come with age, can offset these limitations to some degree."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Self-Regulation — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
• Age and Developmental Stage — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
• Metacognition — 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
• Adults learn languages more quickly than children in the early stages of second language acquisition — related
• Mere exposure to the target language does not automatically lead to native-like communicative competence in adult learners — related
• A 2010 narrative review reports that even very advanced L2 learners read more slowly than native speakers and miss subtle anaphoric interpretation distinctions — related
• The article reports, citing Graham (1985), that teenagers' superiority in language acquisition over adults is due to social factors and peer group influence rather than physiological limits or a critical period — related
• The learner's first language influences target-language pronunciation and is a significant factor in foreign accents, causing errors in aspiration, intonation, and rhythm — related
• Metacognitive monitoring deficits are unlikely to be the primary source of academic performance differences between native and non-native speaking students — related
• A practitioner digest asserts, without cited studies, that no research evidence suggests older adults cannot succeed in learning another language — related