Beth S. K. Morris

Bio: Beth S. K. Morris is an academic researcher from City University of New York. The author has contributed to research in topics: Rote learning & Critical period hypothesis. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 14 citations.

Age contrasts in the learning of language‐relevant materials: some challenges to critical period hypothesis

Abstract: In order to test the claim of diminished capacity for language learning at puberty, a Hawaiian lesson was given to 182 public school children (61, 73, and 48 from grades 4, 7-8, and 11, respectively). Retention of material was evaluated immediately and after a week. The test was composed of syntactic and semantic tasks each assessed by multiple choice and metalinguistic means, with items demanding either rote memory, word rearrangement, or rule application. Repeated measures analyses of variance of second-week performance covaried for initial scores, showed Grade 4 to be poorer than both older groups, and Grade 7-8 to exceed Grade 11 on some tasks. Stepwise multiple regressions for each group revealed the consistent importance of English reading level and differing additional predictions in the three groups. It was concluded that second-language learning capacities cannot be defined in terms of age alone.

Maturational Constraints on Language Development

Abstract: This article reviews the second language research on age-related differences, as well as first language work needed to disambiguate some of the findings. Five conclusions are drawn, (a) Both the initial rate of acquisition and the ultimate level of attainment depend in part on the age at which learning begins. (b) There are sensitive periods governing language development, first or second, during which the acquisition of different linguistic abilities is successful and after which it is irregular and incomplete. (c) The age-related loss in ability is cumulative (not a catastrophic one-time event), affecting first one linguistic domain and then another, and is not limited to phonology, (d) The deterioration in some individuals begins as early as age 6—not at puberty as is often claimed. (e) Affective, input, and current cognitive explanations for the reduced ability are inadequate. The capacity for language development is maturationally constrained, and its decline probably reflects a progressive loss of neural plasticity, itself possibly associated with increasing myelination.

Foreign Accents Revisited: The English Pronunciation of Russian Immigrants†

Abstract: This study investigated factors associated with the acquisition of L2 pronunciation and methodological problems associated with the study of foreign accents. Thirty-six native speakers of Russian fluent in English read specially constructed English sentences and a prose passage, and talked spontaneously about their daily routine. They also filled out background and attitude questionnaires. The three speech samples were rated for accentedness by linguistically inexperienced native speakers of English representing “the person in the street” and by language experts. The best model of pronunciation accuracy included Age at Arrival in the U.S., Sex, Ability to Mimic, and Global Speaking Proficiency in English. Sentences “seeded” with difficult sounds were judged to be more accented than was spontaneous speech. Experienced raters were more reliable and more lenient in their assessments of accent than were inexperienced ones. Subjects who came to the U.S. between the ages of 4 and 10 years were judged to have a slight foreign accent. Results suggest that factors which affect the acquisition of L2 pronunciation depend on type of primary exposure to L2, and that perception of a foreign accent depends on language samples presented for judgment and on the linguistic experience of listeners. The study also raises the possibility that the acquisition of fully accentless speech in L2 may not be possible if L1 is maintained at a high level of proficiency, no matter how young the age at which the individual started to acquire the second language.

Age and Accent in a Second Language: A Reply to James Emil Flege

Abstract: L'article est une reponse aux arguments portes contre l'hypothese de la periode critique par James Emil Flege dans A critical period for learning to pronounce foreign languages publie dans Applied Linguistics (8/2) Un examen de la litterature montre qu'il existe suffisamment de preuves pour supporter l'idee d'une limite d'âge dans la competence en langue seconde

Age and Accent in a Second Language: A Reply

Abstract: This article responds to the arguments raised against the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) by James Emil Flege in 'A Critical Period for Learning to Pronounce Foreign Laniuages ?'published in Applied Linguistics (8/2). An examination of the relevant literature leads to the conclusion that there is sufficient evidence to support the notion of an age-based limitation on eventual proficiency that can be attained by learners in a second language. It is argued that Flege did not represent the CPH entirely accurately, and that convincing counter-evidence to the CPH has not been presented. It is further argued that there is enough evidence to show that child second language acquirers are indeed superior in terms of ultimate ability, so that rejection of the CPH is unjustified at this time.

The Effects of Age on the Rate of Learning a Second Language

Abstract: The present study evaluates the role of age on the rate of acquiring English as a second language in an immersion setting. Subjects were children with native languages typologically very different from English. The children arrived in the United States between the ages of 7 and 12 years and were tested on their knowledge of English grammatical morphology and syntax at different lengths of stay in the United States, ranging from 6 months to 3 years. Subjects' performance was predicted by the length of their stay in the United States and by gender, with females outperforming males. Age of arrival played no role in predicting subjects' rate of acquisition. Performance was very similar between two age groups examined (7–9– and 10–12-year-old arrivals) throughout the 3 years measured. The present results suggest that, on certain aspects of grammar, different-aged children acquire a second language during the first 3 years of acquisition at similar rates when their native language is very different in typology from the target language.