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Article published In:
Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism
Vol. 3:1 (2013) ► pp.48–72

Adult second language acquisition

A selective overview with a focus on the learner linguistic system [*] *

| The University of Iowa

This review article selects and elaborates on the important issues of adult second language acquisition research in the second decade of the twenty-first century. The fundamental question of whether adult second language acquisition and child first language acquisition are similar or different is addressed throughout the article. The issues of a critical period for acquisition, the importance of the linguistic input, and processing are discussed. Generative as well as usage-based perspectives are considered. Future research concerns and promising areas of investigation are proposed.

Keywords: Critical Period Hypothesis, the Bilingual Turn, linguistic input, generative approaches to SLA, usage-based approaches to SLA, processing
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The Critical Period Hypothesis
  • 3.Input
  • 4.Usage-based versus nativist accounts
  • 5.Processing
  • 6.Future directions
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 25 February 2013
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.3.1.03sla
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