David Birdsong and Michelle Molis (2001).

On the Evidence of Maturational

Constraints in Second Language c!uisition. "ournal of Me#or$ and Language
%%& 2'()2%*.
REVIEW DETAILS:
Objectives
To replicate the influential study of Johnson & Newport (1989) that studied
maturational factors and their role in SLA amonst !orean and "hinese
learners#
$hat does the article set
out to do%
Theory
&aturational constraints circumscri'e end state success and nati(e li)eness
and that the *earlier the 'etter* rule applies to SLA# This is due to the "+ for
learnin, pre-pu'escent# This "+ inhi'its learnin opportunities in 'oth L1 and
also in L.# (S// Lon 1999- ref in paper)
0s there an e1plicit
theoretical framewor)% 0f
not, are there important
theoretical assumptions%
Concepts/argument
-2eha(ioural e(idence supports a maturational (iew of SLA L. achie(ement#
1- L. linuistic performance should 'e 'etter if L. learnin 'eins earlier
.- /arlier- 314 yrs old
$hat are the central
concepts% Are they clearly
defined%
Argument-
The results of the J&N89 areed with the concepts a'o(e, showin that
youner arri(als achie(ed 'etter results on their rammar 5udement tas)#
$ith such results they proposed a maturational model of L. attainment# They
then proposed that these results showed 'e applied to different streams of L.
attainment#
The studies cited in this paper (i(e the e1amples) show that the model of
maturational effects can 'e applied to pronunciation, Shim (1999) found that
those who 'ein learnin in an immersion en(ironment achie(ed nati(e
li)eness if that learnin 'ean 34yrs#
This wor) was well recei(ed within the SLA community and led to further
research 'y (see in paper for results and 6uote three) that found similar results
and added to SLA 'elief that ae and the onset of L. learnin leads to hiher
achie(ement in the L.#
7owe(er, other studies ha(e shown the opposite# State from p.89#
The present study followed the J&N89 to the letter and only added three
additional items that as)ed the learners to self e(aluate their /nlish a'ility#
$hat is the central
arument% Are there
specific hypotheses%
The results from the study aree with those found in the J&N89 study# The
results show that those with an earlier (AoA) scored hiher on the test than
those :1;years old showin the possi'le "+ cut off# 7owe(er, 2ialysto) and
7a)uta (199< cited in this) arue that the cut off is o'ser(a'le at the ae of .=#
The study also addresses the issue that no record of /nlish learnin prior to
arri(al was collected in either study ma)in the results somewhat *retarded*#
/arly e1posure may ha(e i(en the youner learners an ad(antae in the test#
Method
The study is a replica of the J&N89 study# 91 NS>>.9 /A??>
$hat methods are
employed to test these%
Evidence 0s e(idence pro(ided% 7ow
ade6uate is it%
Values Are (alue positions clear or
are they implicit%
Literature 7ow does the wor) fit into
the wider literature%
Contribution 7ow well does the wor)
ad(ance our )nowlede of
the su'5ect%
Style 7ow clear is the author*s
lanuae>style>e1pression%
Conclusion A 'rief o(erall assessment