This study showed an improvement with age in children's replications of sounds in a novel foreign language. The finding holds even when confounded age-related factors are controlled for. Some other studies have shown a similar, older-better effect, while others have shown the opposite: a younger-better effect. The conflict is suggested to be due to the social-psychological conditions of the testing situations.
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References
1.
Krashen, S.D., Long, M.A. and Scarcella, R.C. ( 1979). Age, rate and eventual attainment in second language acquisition. TESOL Quarterly, 13, 263-267.
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Tahta, S., Wood, M. and Loewenthal, K. ( 1981). Age changes in the ability to replicate foreign pronunciation and intonation. Language and Speech, 24, 363-372.
