Maturational constraints on lexical acquisition in a second language

Spadaro, Katherine

doi:10.1075/lllt.35.02spa

In:Sensitive periods, language aptitude, and ultimate L2 attainment
Edited by Gisela Granena and Mike Long
[Language Learning & Language Teaching 35] 2013
► pp. 43–68

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Maturational constraints on lexical acquisition in a second language

Katherine Spadaro | @@affiliation

Published online: 22 May 2013

https://doi.org/10.1075/lllt.35.02spa

This study investigates the possibility of a sensitive period for the acquisition of lexical and collocational knowledge in a second language. The participants were ten adult native speakers of English and 38 very advanced adult non-native speakers with a range of ages of onset of learning. They performed a battery of tests, comprising a standard word-association test, an oral production task, and a range of written lexical tasks (developed for this study) focusing on the use of core vocabulary and multi-word units. The results are taken to support the existence of a sensitive period for lexical acquisition in a second language, and the overall tendency to similarity in scores obtained by NNSs with AOs of 7–12 and 13+ appears to indicate that this sensitive period closes around the age of six.

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