Workshop on Critical Period(s) and successive acquisition in childhood
Workshop on Critical Period(s) and successive acquisition in childhood
June 04 - 05, 2009
University of Hamburg
Research Centre 538: Multilingualism
Max-Brauer-Allee 60
D-22765 Hamburg
The hypothesis of a critical period for language acquisition, and a decline in the facility for language acquisition with developing maturity of the brain, is intensely discussed world-wide and is also central to many projects at the Research Center on Multilingualism (SFB 538).
The concepts of sensitive phases and critical periods are not new in multilingualism research; they are based on the observation that (2) L1 and adult L2 acquisition show qualitative differences. These differences include, amongst others, the initial state, the developmental sequences, various transfer effects, and the result of the acquisition process itself: the ultimate achieved, or achievable, attainment. The assumption by Lenneberg (1967) that the language acquisition faculty changes fundamentally only after the tenth year of life has had to be revised on the basis of newer insights regarding successive language acquisition during childhood (cf. the overview in Hyltenstam & Abrahamsson 2003).
In our workshop we wish to address such current issues as the existence of different sensitive phases for different linguistic domains (and possibly even for grammatical subdomains), and the extent to which a revision of the age range in which the language acquisition faculty changes (or begins to change) is required. Linguistic studies of these topics already exist, as do complementary works in psycho- and neurolinguistics (cf. Meisel 2008, Mayberry 2007, among others). We intend the source workshop program to represent a range of views that include different domains of language (e.g. phonology, syntax), different empirical areas (L1 / adult L2 / child L2 acquisition), and different empirical approaches (linguistics, neuroscience).
References:
- Hyltenstam, K. & N. Abrahamsson. 2003. 'Maturational constraints in SLA'. In C. J. Doughty & M. H. Long (eds.) The handbook of second language acquisition. Oxford: Blackwell, 539-588.
- Lenneberg, E. H. 1967. Biological Foundations of Language. New York: Wiley.
- Mayberry, R. I. 2007. 'When timing is everything: Age of first-language acquisition effects on second-language learning'. Applied Psycholinguistics, 28(3), 537-549.
- Meisel, J. M. 2008. 'Child second language acquisition or successive first language acquisition?'. In B. Haznedar & E. Gavruseva (eds.) Current Trends in Child Second Language Acquisition. Amsterdam: Benjamins, 55-80.
Preliminary programme:
Invited plenary speakers:
- David Birdsong (University of Texas at Austin)
- Angela Friederici (MPI Leipzig)
- Jonas Granfeldt (University of Lund)
- Aldona Sopata (Adam-Mickiewicz-Universität Posen)
Workshop Fee:
- Regular: 15 EUR
- Reduced fee: 10 EUR
- Reduced fee students: 5 EUR
Organizing committee:
- Monika Rothweiler
- Monique Kügow
- Anne-Kathrin Riedel
- Manuela Schönenberger
Contact:
To sign up for the workshop please send an email to Manuela Schönenberger
iris.schoenenberger"AT"uni-oldenburg.de before May 29th.