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In:Child-centered Approaches to Applied Linguistic Research
Edited by Yuko Goto Butler and Annamaria Pinter
[Research Methods in Applied Linguistics 13] 2025
► pp. 78–95

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Chapter 5
Language “juggling” in children

Issues of age and methodology in multilingualism research

 | Trinity College Dublin
 | Trinity College Dublin
Published online: 5 September 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/rmal.13.05sin
Abstract
In this chapter we explore the ramifications of the fact that young L2 beginners have less experience of language at large than older L2 beginners. One inference from this might be that older learners are linguistically advantaged. Much L2 literature, however, claims that pre-adolescents are better equipped for all language learning, i.e. those whose L2 exposure begins in childhood generally outachieve older beginners. Another viewpoint we mention is that amount of exposure rather than capacity is the crucial factor; indeed, it is a fact that many mature adults catch up with younger learners, given ample time and input. The question we explore is whether younger learners, nevertheless, demonstrate superior capacity, since they seem able to “juggle” two nascent languages, whereas in the case of older beginners the L1 is already firmly established before L2 acquisition commences. We suggest that investigation of the extent to which multiple languages can be “juggled” by younger learners and the characteristics thereof needs to probe the nature of the experience of each language and the mind-brain characteristics of individual learners. We discuss these topics in relation to the notion of child-centredness in L2 research and the methodologies one should consider in seeking to understand them.
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • The notions of “critical period” and “critical age”:
    Child centredness in SLA?
  • The success achieved by younger L2 learners
  • The role of amount (and quality) of exposure
  • The implications of “juggling”
  • Methodological dimensions
  • Conclusion
  • References
References (73)
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