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1、SecondLanguageAcquisitionandtheCriticalPeriodHypothesisBirdsong,David(Ed.)(1999)Mahwah,NJ:LawrenceErlbaumAssociatesIsthereasinglekeyissueinthefieldofsecondlanguageacquisition/learning,anasyetunresolvedmatteronwhichallelsedepends?Agoodcasecouldbemadeforthequestiono
2、fwhetherornotthereisacriticalperiodforsecondlanguagelearningbeingjustsuchakeyissue.Inotherwords,doesthenatureofsecondlanguageacquisitionchangeifthefirstexposuretothenewlanguagecomesafteracertainage?Thisquestioniscloselylinkedtothequestionofwhetherfirstlanguage(L1)
3、acquisitionandsecondlanguage(L2)acquisitionareessentiallythesameprocess,orverysimilarprocesses,andifsowhetherthisisthecaseforsomelearners,orforall.Inpracticalterms,itcouldbecentralnotonlytosuchissuesastheoptimalageatwhichchildrenshouldstartlearningforeignlanguages
4、,butalsotothebestteaching/learningapproachforadults.Krashen'sInputHypothesis(Krashen,1985)istotallyunderminedifacriticalperioddoesindeedexist,sincethehypothesisassumesnotonlythatL2acquisitionissimilarinnaturetoL1acquisition,butalsothatthisisthecaseforlearnersofany
5、age.AlhoughmanywouldclaimthatKrashen'stheoriesareseriouslyflawedinanycase,theirinfluenceinthefieldofsecondlanguageteachingcanhardlybedenied.Issuessuchastherelativeimportanceoflexisandsyntaxinteachingmaterialsmustultimatelylinkbacktothewayinwhichsecondlanguageknowl
6、edgeisorganisedinthebrain.IfthatorganisationisdifferentinlearnerswhohavefirstbeenexposedtoL2afteracertainage,thenthishasabearingonchoiceofteachingapproach.Yes,IbelievethereisastrongprimafaciecaseforregardingthedebateovertheCriticalPeriodHypothesis(CPH)asacentralis
7、sue.Theconceptofacriticalperiodiswellknowninnature.Oneexampleisimprintinginducksandgeese,whereitisclaimedthatducklingsandgoslingscanbeinducedtoadoptchickens,people,orevenmechanicalobjectsastheirmothersiftheyencounterthemwithinacertainshortperiodafterhatching.(Note
8、,however,thattheexactnatureofeventhisapparentlywell-documentedinstanceofacriticalperiodisnowcomingunderfire;seeHoffmann,1996).Inhumans,onthebasisofextan
