Older-arriving ESL learners transfer L1 knowledge efficiently, but learning slows once they outgrow their L1¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r1 · q1
Currency · newest study 2006 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q1 i? Older-arriving students can transfer existing L1 knowledge into English efficiently, but when learners outgrow their L1 and must acquire English and new conceptual information together, the learning curve becomes sluggish. → Roessingh 2006

Evidence¶

Roessingh 2006¶

Roessingh, H. (2006). BICS-CALP: An Introduction for Some, a Review for Others. TESL Canada Journal/Revue TESL du Canada, 23(2), Spring 2006. https://doi.org/10.18806/tesl.v23i2.57

q1 · i? · review · r1

The author states as expert interpretation that L1 transfer is "an efficient process" for older arrivals, but that the learning curve "starts to look sluggish" once learners outgrow their L1. No empirical data support this sentence in the article.

"Older-arriving students can transfer what they already know from L1 into English, an efficient process. But whenever the ESL learner outgrows his or her first language and must then acquire both English and the associated new conceptual information together, the learning curve starts to look sluggish."

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
• Small-scale studies suggest age 15-16 with intermediate English proficiency (reading GE 5) is a good immigration age — related
• Youngest-arriving ESL learners risk acquiring neither L1 nor L2 at the level school demands — related
• BICS-level language can be acquired in about two years regardless of age on arrival and first language — related
• Preserving a bilingual student's heritage language supports rather than hinders English acquisition — related
• Common language teaching methods such as oral drills, memorization, and fast-paced competitive activities disadvantage older learners — related
• Grammar-learning ability is preserved until about age 17.4 and then declines steadily, per the best-fitting ELSD model — related
• L1 and L2 academic proficiencies are developmentally interdependent, so instruction in either language can build underlying academic ability — related
• Children aged two to three acquire language more rapidly without teaching than college students taught by methods derived from older psychology — related