CRITICAL PERIOD HYPOTHESIS TRUE FOR ESL LEARNERS

Abstract

Different studies of the second language acquisition hold various theories as well
as ideas. The fact is that, learning them step by step one can be sure that acquiring the
second language is a complex process, which is associated with different hypotheses
and related to the usage of distinct methods. Teaching English as a second language is
just pleasure for me, especially to the students of different ages. The reason is that,
they can have various difficulties in different aspects, as identifying these problems as
well as trying to solve them by using variety types of methods and skills is the job,
which can not only improve the knowledge of the students, but also it can help the
teacher to be more professional. As my task was to research some data and provide
conclusions on one of the theories of language acquisition, I decided to investigate
the learner’s second language acquisition according to Critical Period Hypothesis, the
theory raised by Lenneberg, the linguist who supported two other scientists Wilder
Penfield and Lamar Roberts having the idea of that youngsters need to learn the
language before puberty and after this critical period the acquisition of the language
can be impossible. Lenneberg also provided the idea of the work of both hemispheres
of brain during this period thanks to neurological developments in person. I strongly
agree with this hypothesis, as in my opinion, language learning is better performed in
the childhood rather than acquiring it after puberty. As the hypothesis claims “ The
earlier, the better”