Age and acquisition

chapter 3

Throughout the different chapters it has been establish how human beings acquire language, which are the necessary strategies and methods to acquire it, and which are the factors that can interfere in this process whether they are positive or negative. Although there has been a continuous research on the subject of language acquisition and language learning, there exist some questions and doubts that still need to be cleared out and researched. It has been previously discuss about the process of language on how people acquire and learn a language, it has been stated that in the language acquisition process, since it is an area which the learner is obtaining from zero, it just happen naturally and without even noticing and it starts gaining more knowledge by constant reinforcement on what we as learners see and hear (environment). While when learning a new language there is already an awareness of patters, structures, etc; therefore, the learner will have knowledge on how to proceed on the process. However for some would not be simple. We have also talked about language acquisition in children and the stages they go thought that process of acquiring their native language. Children acquire their native language during the early years of their lives different from SLL which can be acquiring during childhood or adult years.   
                                                                                                                 
The stage of life or age in which a new language is learn in a easier or faster way has never been determined, however researchers based on studies and observations came up with a Critical Period Hypothesis which states that there is a significant period or a biological timetable in which humans learn more rapidly the language. According to the CPH is around puberty in which language is learn successfully, nevertheless by this stage in their lives they are still in progress of growth and their brain is not as mature to transmit a language successfully. Nevertheless, according to researchers the complete development of the brain is supposedly to be at the stage of puberty by a process called lateralization.                                                                                                  

Lateralization consists on the brain’s progress to acquire different functions, it is a slow process that begins during the first years of the child and completes its cycle around the latest ages of puberty. This process consists on assigning function and skills to the different side of the brain.  There exists doubt whether the development of the brain can alter language learning; however as it was mentioned before each side has an assigned function. The left hemisphere works with feelings, emotions, intuition; while the left hemisphere deals with language, logic, reasoning etc. Nevertheless, there exist the possibility that if the left side of the brain didn’t developed correctly or has suffered from some damage  this type of functions specially language can adequate to the right side f the brain at any age and what was learned will continue to be in the person’s memory but at a lower level.               
                                                                                                                                                                                               The lateralization provides cognitive differences between child and language acquisition. The human cognition develops in a fast mode during the first early days of life until adolescent and from there it does not counts with the same speed; therefore in every human being perception, knowledge, awareness, etc will be developed at the persons pace in a way in which he/she could understand it in its own way. According to Ausubel’s experiment in cognitive constructs he first establish that as the child matures there is the chance that left hemisphere provides more control to the other side of the brain and eventually examine very carefully everything regarding to language. Another consideration was the difference between meaning and rote. According to him language learning does not need constant imitation or repletion, but rather meaningful learning, situations or experiences that can be attached to knowledge.