Age on Arrival and Immigrant Second Language Learning in Canada: A Reassessment1
Age on Arrival and Immigrant Second Language Learning in Canada: A Reassessment1
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加拿大的抵达年龄和移民第二语言学习：重新评估1
DOI：
10.1093/applin/ii.2.132
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发表时间：
1981
影响因子：
3.6
通讯作者：
J. Cummins
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
J. Cummins
流行的观点认为，年龄较小的儿童比年龄较大的儿童更好地学习第二语言（L2），或者正如Penfield和Roberts（1959）所表达的那样，有一个最佳的青春期前学习L2的年龄，通常通过对比年轻移民L2学习者的母语流利程度与许多成年移民的非母语L2熟练程度来支持。在本文中，这一流行的概念受到挑战的理由是，“语言能力”不是一个单一的结构，具体而言，语言能力的某些方面，如阅读技能，是密切相关的认知和学术发展，而其他涉及这些基本的人际交往技能，如口语流利性和语音，是认知和学术发展的关系不大。由于年龄较大的儿童的更大的认知成熟度，我们预计他们将显示出比年幼的儿童在获得这些方面的L2的认知和学术技能密切相关的优势。然而，没有优势将必然预测为老年学习者在获得方面的第二语言是无关的认知成熟度。首先，我们将回顾最近关于这个问题的文献，然后根据这些假设重新分析一项不太为人所知的研究，即拉姆齐和赖特（1974）的研究。
The popular notion that younger children are better second language (L2) learners than older children, or as expressed by Penfield and Roberts (1959), that there is an optimal prepubertal age for L2 learning, has often been supported by contrasting the native-like fluency of young immigrant L2 learners with the obvious non-native L2 proficiency of many adult immigrants. In the present paper this popular notion is challenged on the grounds that 'language proficiency' is not a unitary construct; specifically, some aspects of language proficiency, such as reading skills, are strongly related to cognitive and academic development, whereas others involving such basic interpersonal communicative skills as oral fluency and phonology, are less related to cognitive and academic development. Because of older children's greater cognitive maturity, we would expect them to display an advantage over younger children in acquiring those aspects of L2 which are strongly related to cognitive and academic skills. However, no advantage would necessarily be predicted for older learners in acquiring aspects of L2 which are unrelated to cognitive maturity. First the recent literature on this issue will be reviewed and then data from one of the lesser-known studies, that of Ramsey and Wright (1974), will be reanalysed in the light of these hypotheses.