The age-eclipsing effects of environment and input on L2 attainment in instructional contexts
Despite contrary research findings, many lay people still claim that starting second language (L2) instruction early yields linguistic advantages. This assertion is again undermined by a five-year longitudinal study conducted in Switzerland testing English language skills of 636 secondary-school students, who had all learned Standard German and French at primary school, but only half of whom had had English from age 8, the remainder having started English five years later. The results suggest that age-related attainment effects are overshadowed by other effects, yielding diverse outcomes according to individual differences, and contextual effects mediating L2 outcomes. An earlier age of onset (AO) proved beneficial only for children reared as biliterate simultaneous bilinguals receiving substantial parental support, as opposed to monolinguals and non-biliterate bilinguals (simultaneous or sequential); these latter failed to profit from their earlier AO. These issues require studies which explore what underlies SLA age effects and investigate how learning contexts shape processes of L2 development.
Date: 19 November 2018, 17:00
Venue: 15 Norham Gardens, 15 Norham Gardens OX2 6PY
Venue Details: Seminar Room G/H
Speakers: Professor Dr Simone E. Pfenninger (University of Salzburg), Professor David Singleton (Trinity College Dublin)
Organising department: Department of Education
Organiser: Dr Heath Rose (Department of Education, University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address: researchandcomms@education.ox.ac.uk
Part of: Department of Education Public Seminars
Topics:
Booking required?: Required
Booking url: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-age-eclipsing-effects-of-environment-and-input-on-l2-attainment-in-instructional-contexts-tickets-49469346146?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
Cost: Free
Audience: Public
Editor: Hannah Daley