Beyond Age Effects in Instructional L2 Learning: Revisiting the Age Factor

Simone E. Pfenninger; David Singleton

Published by Multilingual Matters 2017

Beyond Age Effects in Instructional L2 Learning

Revisiting the Age Factor

Simone E. Pfenninger and David Singleton

In the series Second Language Acquisition

https://doi.org/10.21832/9781783097630

Overview
Contents

About this book

Combining advanced quantitative methods in classroom research with individual-level qualitative data, this study demonstrates that the capacity of late starters vastly surpasses popular expectations. It shows that age of onset is irrelevant for many aspects of language acquisition and that for a variety of reasons a later onset can be beneficial.

Author / Editor information

Pfenninger Simone E. :

Simone E. Pfenninger is Assistant Professor at the University of Salzburg. Her principal research areas are multilingualism, psycholinguistics and individual differences (e.g. the age factor) in SLA, especially in regard to quantitative approaches and statistical methods and techniques for language application in education. Recent books include Beyond Age Effects in Instructional L2 Learning: Revisiting the Age Factor (2017, co-authored, Multilingual Matter), The Changing English Language: Psycholinguistic Perspectives (2017, co-edited, CUP), and Future Research Directions for Applied Linguistics (2017, co-edited, Multilingual Matter). She is co-editor of the Second Language Acquisition book series for Multilingual Matters.

Singleton David :

David Singleton is an Emeritus Fellow of Trinity College Dublin, and Professor at the University of Pannonia and at the State University of Applied Sciences, Konin. He has served as President of the Irish Association for Applied Linguistics, as Secretary General of the International Association of Applied Linguistics and as President of the European Second Language Association. His two hundred publications focus mainly on cross-linguistic influence, the lexicon, the age factor in language acquisition and multilingualism. He is the co-author of Key Topics in Second Language Acquisition and co-editor of the Multilingual Matters SLA book series. In 2015 he received the EUROSLA Distinguished Scholar Award.

Simone E. Pfenninger is Assistant Professor of Psycholinguistics and Language Acquisition at the University of Salzburg, Austria. Her research interests include multilingualism, psycholinguistics and the age factor in SLA and she is co-editor (with Judit Navracsics) of Future Research Directions for Applied Linguistics (2017, Multilingual Matters).

David Singleton is Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Pannonia, Hungary and Fellow Emeritus, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. He has published widely on second language acquisition, multilingualism and lexicology and is co-author (with Vivian Cook) of Key Topics in Second Language Acquisition (2014, Multilingual Matters).

Reviews

This is a balanced and perceptive study that approaches a topic of interest to us all, drawing on fresh evidence and careful analysis. The authors investigate the impact of both learner-internal and -external factors applying state of the art statistical modelling, and their results are of great relevance for both researchers and policy makers.

This book makes a major contribution to the field of instructed second language learning. Paying particular attention to methodological issues, the book goes beyond age effects to show the multiple ways in which internal and external factors may affect the learners’ processes and outcomes. The book also provides very rich and timely insights for foreign language education.

This expansive, longitudinal study constitutes a major contribution to the ongoing debate over age in SLA. Through careful and sophisticated analyses, Pfenninger and Singleton present convincing evidence that late SLA confers specific linguistic, cognitive and affective advantages. Practitioners, policy makers and researchers alike will find many new insights here from which to question the ‘earlier is better’ mantra.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Acknowledgements Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
1. Mapping the Terrain Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2. The Current Empirical Study Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	25
3. Age and (Statistical) Analysis Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	40
4. Age and Rate of Acquisition Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	56
5. Age and Affect Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	94
6. Age and Crosslinguistic Influence Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	137
7.Age and the Impact of Differential Input Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	180
8. Educational Implications Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	209
9. Conclusion and Future Perspectives Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	215
Appendices Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	225
References Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	237
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	267