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The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press; all rights reserved.
Advance Access publication December 18, 2008
171
Thus, most classroom-based studies have shown not only a lack of direct
correlation between an earlier start and more successful/rapid L2
development but also a strong tendency for older children and teenagers to
be more efficient learners. For example, in research conducted in the
oz
context of conventional school programmes, Cenoz (2003) and Mun
(2006) have shown that learners whose exposure to the L2 began at age
11 consistently displayed higher levels of proficiency than those for whom it
began at 4 or 8. Furthermore, comparable limitations have been reported for
young learners in school settings involving innovative, immersion-type
programmes, where exposure to the target language is significantly
increased through subject-matter teaching in the L2 (Genesee 1992; AbelloContesse 2006). In sum, as Harley and Wang (1997) have argued, more
mature learners are usually capable of making faster initial progress in
acquiring the grammatical and lexical components of an L2 due to their
higher level of cognitive development and greater analytical abilities.
The author
Dr Christian Abello-Contesse is an Associate
Professor at the University of Seville, Spain,
where he teaches undergraduate courses in
ELT methodology and psycholinguistics and
graduate seminars in S L A, bilingualism,
172
Christian Abello-Contesse