Age and the acquisition of foreign language phonology in an instructional context

Abstract

The effects of age on successful language acquisition constitutes one of the most widely investigated topics within the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA). In fact, the study of SLA has, since its inception, attempted to prove the existence of a putative Critical Period (CP) for language development, a CP beyond which language acquisition would be rather incomplete. A considerable body of research conducted in naturalistic settings has shown that an early onset age (OA) is a good predictor, if not a necessary requirement, for a person to attain native-like language skills. Moreover, the results obtained in investigations that have focused on the acquisition of phonology in naturalistic contexts suggest that this particular domain is the most heavily affected by the maturational factor. Nevertheless, some recent research findings on the native-like attainment of L2 phonological skills by late beginners have forced linguists to come upon other factors that may explain age-related differences. These factors include: the interconnection of the first language (L1) and second language (L2) phonetic systems, learners’ individual characteristics, the amount of L2 use and the type of input. The main goal of this paper is to determine whether “the earlier, the better” notion is applicable to the acquisition of pronunciation in instructional contexts where the quality and the quantity of input learners receive is scant. Drawing on data from two carefully designed longitudinal studies carried out in Spain it will be demonstrated that individuals’ proficiency on the perception and production of the foreign language (FL) sounds is inherently joined to the surrounding environment and that OA works differently from setting to setting. In instructional contexts, indeed, the effects of exposure turn out to be greater than the effects of age. This implies that to really increase the effectiveness of early foreign language learning (FLL) educational systems need to boost the creation of learning environments in which students benefit from extensive high-quality input and also from the increased opportunities for interaction in the TL. In this sense, many authors argue that the most effective means of FL teaching is content and language integrated learning (CLIL). However, CLIL programmes are still in their infancy and their implementation has proven to be rather ineffective in pronunciation.