Málfríður - 15.10.2009, Blaðsíða 16

This article is based on M.A. thesis in partial fulfillment
of an M.A. in English at the Faculty of Foreign Language,
Literature and Linguistic, School of Humanities,
University of Iceland.
Introduction
The study reported here focuses on 4th and 7th
grade at the primary level in Iceland. My aim was
to compare two methods of instruction, incidental
and intentional teaching in order to explore at what
age students start to benefit from instruction. The
choice of age groups was based on the CPH theory
of optimal age as well as implication for cognitive
development, where 9 year olds (4th grade) are at
the peak of their natural acquisition and 12 year olds
(7th grade) at the end (Collier, 1989). What I hoped
to find out was which teaching method facilitated
more vocabulary acquisition in 4th and 7th grade.
Language learning and the age factor
Second language acquisition by young children is
assumed more like first language acquisition with
fewer individual differences and more long­term
success, while language learning by adolescents and
adults demonstrates varied individual differences
in terms of rate, characteristics and success (Bley­
Vroman, 1989). Obviously, educators are interested
in knowing when is the best time to start teach­
ing foreign languages (as L2s) with the best result.
Likewise, in SLA research, the most important ques­
tion is why learners of L2 demonstrate such a high
degree of variation in their final attainment.
The most influential and most studied factor
in language learning is the age at which a learner
begins learning a second language. It is supported
by numerous studies that generally show that, the
younger the learner the quicker the language learn­
ing is (for recent reviews see Nikolov & Djigunovic,
2006). Additionally, studies of deaf individuals show
that those exposed to language early in life perform
better on tests than those that are exposed later in
life (Mayberry, Lock, & Kazmi, 2002). Nevertheless,
as Singleton and Ryan (2004) conclude, the views
range from children being in all respects more effi­
cient as L2 learners than adults to the contrary posi­
tion that adolescents and adults are more efficient
and effective L2 learners than children.
Several studies have demonstrated the benefit of
starting to learn a new language as early as possible.
This has been demonstrated in naturalistic situa­
tions, where children do not initially perform as well
as older learners in the short term, but they often
surpass older learners in the long­run (Ekstrand,
1979; Krashen, Scarcella, & Long, 1982; Snow &
Hoefnagel­Höhle, 1978). Some recent research on
the age factor has challenged the ‘consensus view’ in
formal context. That is, it has been pointed out that
“the younger the better” does not necessarily apply
when language is learnt only at school with limit­
ed input (Birna Arnbjörnsdóttir, 2007; Larson­Hall,
2008; Munoz, 2006). In formal settings, older learn­
ers have been found to outperform younger ones in
the short­run. It is however, not clear whether the
early starters catch up with late starters as some
of the studies show (Hyltenstam & Abrahamsson,
2007; Singleton & Ryan, 2004). It is implied that gen­
eral proficiency and exposure to the language may
be more important than age in some aspects of lan­
guage learning. Despite these contradicting results,
this implies that there is an optimal age period for
language learning.
Ásrún Jóhannsdóttir er
stundakennari og PhD. nemi
við Háskóla Íslands.
1 MÁLFRÍÐUR
Ásrún Jóhannsdóttir.
Which way to go?
A study of incidental and intentional vocabulary acquisition