Psycholinguistics

Critical Period Hypothesis Paper

Written By : Nurdiansyah D. S. 120110101097

NovitaliaNurAin 130110101016

Mita Afrilia Ningsih 130110101040

Damas Dwi Rianto P. 130110101107

Deni Adi Tama 130110101139

Critical Period (CP) Hypothesis and the Application in Education

There are many ways for human to comprehend language(s). The first is that the
acquisition. This process is related to children in acquiring their First Language (L1), or well
known as mother tongue. They instinctively record of what have people around them
communicated with others. Therefore, parent (especially mother), as the first educator of
children, play significant roles. The next process is that comprehension. This step guides children
to conceive language deeper, and more systematic than before. But, according to the CP
hypothesis, there are particular ages in determining the level of lesson to comprehend. Those
particular ages are going to be discussed next.
Human entirely needs several ways to interact the others. There are many purposes or
reasons why did they need that. Basically, the reason is that a person needs something, from the
other(s), to do in order to reach the purpose he or she wanted. One medium which would
strongly help them is a language, specifically related to its product communication.
In order to be able to communicate to each others, human need to understand the ways of
communicating. One of them is the spoken language. Since birth, human babies (infant) learn to
communicate to their parent through their own unique language which is called baby language.
After the age of 5, infant actually learn languages in this critical period. Critical period is the best
period/time where babies (infant) tried to learn their mother tongue language. They learn the
language by listening and ultimately copied the words they already listened and learned.
 The Critical Period (CP) Hypothesis states that the first few years of life constitute the
time during which language develops readily and after which (sometime between age 5 and
puberty) language acquisition is much more difficult and ultimately less successful. If the infant
is not exposed to this experience on the critical period, this kind of experience will have a reduce
effects, or in extreme cases may have no effect at all.

Critical Period Hypothesis among the Experts

The hypothesis that language is acquired during a critical period was first proposed by
neurologists, Wilder Penfield and Lamar Roberts, in 1959 and popularized by linguist Eric H.
Lenneberg in 1967 (supported also by Noam Chomsky). He argued for the hypothesis based on
evidence that children who experience brain injury early in life develop far better language skills
than adults with similar injuries. This concludes that the best period/time for infant to learning
(acquire) their L1 is where they were on critical period.

While, Bambang Kaswanti Purwo noted that 6-12 years of age is a golden period (critical
period) for the child to learn a second language. Thus, these two hypothesis to learn a language
at this age should be strongly considered. Children in the critical period have a success rate to
achieve a good fluency and has a perfect accent, while the results are often not as good as adults.
Psychologically, primary school students (7-12 years old) are in the middle childhood. This
phase is a golden period for learning another language after their mother tongue (L1). The
condition of their brain is still elastic, so that the absorption of the language becomes easier.
According to Erikson's, the psychosocial expert, language skills of children in this phase are
more developed for the concrete concepts.

Areas of the brain that manage language skills are psychologically having the most rapid
development when children were 6-13 years old. Moreover, in the process of cognition, creation,
and divergent thinking are biologically in the optimal conditions to learn a language deeper. It is
based on the results of brain imaging technology research at the University of California, Los
Angeles.

Other studies also showed the same result as was done Kormi and Nouri (2008): children
who learn more than one language have more capabilities in episodic memory tasks; learning the
sentences and words, semantic memorizing, and categorizing message.
 Those hypothesis are still not formulated as an admirable theory yet. Among the experts,
well, psychologists, neurologists, psycholinguists and any other experts related to this matter still
confined their research as in a hypothesis. But, their hypothesis can be grouped as similar in the
results that Critical Period occurs in between 5 to puberty.

The Application of Critical Period Hypothesis in Education

As many hypothesis explained before, we try to probe how hypothesis are applied in the
formal learning process. This discussion more focused on education in Indonesia, especially on
the Elementary School which the acceptance of new students performs inequalities between the
policy given by government and the facts. As many websites have written, the government gives
schools an authority to perform their own standard in the selection process, but the read-write-
and-calculate capability is not the compulsory requirement to be accepted in a Elementary
School. But, there are many schools look like ignore that policy.
A number of favorite Elementary Schools perform the acceptance tests which is
diverging the policy made by government. Kholid A. Harras (2003) noted that is a divergence
and strictly wrong that read-write-and-calculate ability becomes the requirement to be accepted
in Elementary School. This rule, we believed, has been considered by educational ministry that
kindergarten ages are inappropriate moment to teach systematic subjects like read-and-count.
They ought to play happily by themselves. That is the great way, for children, to learn whatever
they wanted without any coercions. But of course, parent might not to leave their role to control
them. So, the systematic skills would be deeper learned start from Elementary Schools, certainly,
with different levels.
This hypothesis is often ignored by people who assumed that children who are able to
read earlier, it means those children are clever. So, parents often teach their children to reach and
comprehend the way to read correctly. An expert did not fault that assumption, as McLaughlin
and Genesee stated that children could acquire a language without any difficulties while adults,
which at that period, the acquisition would be decreasing.

Is there specific period for Indonesian to learn, for example English, as their foreign
language ?

Nearly all nations generally have their own language, even there are many tribes have
their own. In Indonesia, the L1 is the mother tongue which is the product of customs in
Indonesia. Hundred years being colonized by Dutch colonial, their language cannot easily
influenced the republic they were colonized, Indonesia. This archipelago still firmly used their
National Language, Bahasa Indonesia, as their second language (L2) which had declared on
Sumpah Pemuda October, 28th 1928. So then, is there a specific period for Indonesian to learn
foreign language, for example English ?

Some of the opinion said, to learn foreign languages from an early age are not
guaranteed. While others say, success in learning a foreign language is determined by the motive
or the need to communicate in their environment. Phenomena such as, among others, encouraged
by the obsession of parents who want their children to speak foreign languages as soon as
possible. The earlier children learn a foreign language, it easier they mastered the language.

Learning a second language at a young age does not hinder any abilities to use mother
tongue, because it seems a child's brain is wired so that all linguistic rules, whether native or
foreign, be understood quickly. Preschool and elementary school is a popular choice for parents,
because children are further more skilled absorb a second language than adults. Several studies
have shown that learning a language at that age has academic advantages, such as the value of
higher mathematics and critical thinking skills are sharper. This shows that learning a foreign
language will not interfere with the childrens linguistic performance in any language. There is
no evidence yet that the L1 would be problematic if learning other language(s), because the
phase of middle children have cognitive flexibility.

Here is the opinion according to the experts: Dr. Bambang Kaswanti Purwo, the chairman
of Studies Applied Linguistics English, Atma Jaya Catholic University, Jakarta, on his teaching
of English in elementary and SMP, mentioned that the age of 6-12 years, is the golden period or
most ideal for learning foreign languages, other languages besides their mother tongue (L1). The
reason is, the child's brain is still plastic and pliable, so that the language learning process would
smoothly acquaired. Besides the absorption power of language in children function
automatically.

That fact does not contradict the hypothesis about the age limit for the mastery of the
language because the arrangement of language in the brain is formed in childhood. Only through
puberty occurred "barriers of language learning" (language learning blocks). "So, knowing when
learning a language just after puberty, it has more trouble than when the age of fifteen or five
years", said Bambang.

The L1 acquisition we have known as the termof "critical period" (critical period). On the
acquisition of a second language (foreign language) contained the term "sensitive period"
(sensitive period). Based on Patkowski research, the sensitive period of mastering foreign
language is a period until the age of 15 years.

Children who are exposed to a foreign language before the age of 15 years are able to
master foreign language as native speakers. In contrast, adults are almost impossible to mastered
foreign language.But in fact, the best outcome to learned English depends on the ability of the
physical and mental development of the child. Besides depending on their needs; why children
need to learn English? Sotheycan communicate fluently in the future, or should the child be
fluent in English language like their own mother tongue language? The age limit for a child to
learned and mastered a foreign language is between the ages 12-13 years. Commencement itself
as described above, since the child is able to communicate verbally, where children are able to
understand the brief instruction of parents even was not able to speak. 7-month-old baby has
been able to respond to his own name, and at the age of 1, he was able to respond to short
instruction like 'no', 'do not' and 'eat'. At the age of 2-3 years old children begin to master a few
words to short sentences with a minimal degree of accuracy. Learning a second language from an
early age will not reduce children's skills in using their own mother tongue language, because the
children brain's has ability to master linguistic skills of diverse languages.

CONCLUSION
According to the arguments we were written above, we can conclude that there are
golden periods for children to learn a language, other than their L1, deeper and more systematic.
Children who are learning L2 would not interfere their ability in L1 mastery. In the assembling,
during the acceptance process of new students in Elementary School, we have known that there
is inequalities between the policy given by government and the process. Then, about the certain
period for children or even adults is that, according to the statements before, (Learning L2 would
not interfere L1) there is no specific period to learn other language(s).
There is no admirable theory argued yet based on the hypothesis, so in determining the golden
ages to learn language(s) still needs any consideration by any experts points of view, and the
childrens perspicacity.
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