Permutation tests show early-starting immersion and non-immersion learners are indistinguishable from the earliest learners, while later starters learn significantly more slowly¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associationalr2·q2
Currency · newest study 2018 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q2 i? Immersion learners with exposure ages of 2, 5, and 8 years were not significantly different from simultaneous bilinguals, while later learners were significantly lower. → Hartshorne Joshua K. 2018
q2 i? Non-immersion learners with exposure ages 5-11 were indistinguishable from the earliest non-immersion learners, whereas later learners learned significantly more slowly. → Hartshorne Joshua K. 2018 (2)
Evidence¶
Hartshorne Joshua K. 2018¶
Hartshorne Joshua K., Tenenbaum Joshua B., Pinker Steven. (2018). A critical period for second language acquisition: Evidence from 2/3 million English speakers. Cognition. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6559801/
q2 · i? · associational · r2
Permutation analysis (1000 permutations) of learning trajectories against years of experience for immersion learners. Early exposure ages "ps > 0.31" versus later learners "ps < 0.01", as printed.
"These analyses revealed that the performance curves for immersion learners with average exposure ages of 2, 5, and 8 years were not significantly different from those of simultaneous bilinguals (exposure age = 0; ps > 0.31), while the curves for later learners were significantly lower (ps < 0.01)."
Hartshorne Joshua K. 2018 (2)¶
Hartshorne Joshua K., Tenenbaum Joshua B., Pinker Steven. (2018). A critical period for second language acquisition: Evidence from 2/3 million English speakers. Cognition. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6559801/
q2 · i? · associational · r2
Same permutation analysis for non-immersion learners. Exposure ages 5-11 "indistinguishable from our earliest non-immersion learners (4 years; ps > 0.31)", later learners "ps < 0.01".
"Similarly, non-immersion learners with ages of exposure of 5–11 years were indistinguishable from our earliest non-immersion learners (4 years; ps > 0.31), whereas later learners learned significantly more slowly (ps < 0.01)."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Ultimate attainment is similar for learners who begin by 10-12 years of age and declines continuously thereafter — related
- The tool's effect differs by timing: early AI acts as a momentum starter, later AI as a deepener raising narrative transportation — related
- Ultimate attainment and optimal-period length do not reliably differ across major native-language groups, with slightly more evidence for differences in learning curves — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
permutation-early-starters-indistinguishable-later-slower |
title |
Permutation tests show early-starting immersion and non-immersion learners are indistinguishable from the earliest learners, while later starters learn significantly more slowly |
description |
Permutation tests show early-starting immersion and non-immersion learners are indistinguishable from the earliest learners, while later starters learn significantly more slowly |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2018 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-17 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
2 — hartshorne-joshua-k-2018, hartshorne-joshua-k-2018-2 |
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