Second Language Acquisition and Second ... - Stephen Krashen

Monitor, to exist, and the degree to which one has become a formal thinker may
relate to the success one has in formal language learning.
On the other hand, formal operations may be at least partly responsible for a
fossilization of progress in subconscious language acquisition. One effect of formal
operations on acquisition may be a result of what can be termed the indirect effects
of formal operations, namely the affective changes that occur in adolescence that
are catalyzed by formal operations. These changes result in the selfconsciousness
and feelings of vulnerability often observed in this age group, Elkind (1970) has
argued that formal operations allows one to conceptualize the thoughts of othersthis
leads the adolescent to the false conclusions that others are thinking about him
and are focusing on just what he considers to be his inadequacies. Such feeling may
generate at least in part attitudes unfavorable for the successful acquisition of a
second language, which may act to discourage the acquirer from interacting with
primary linguistic data, and/or may act to strengthen an "affective filter" (Dulay and
Burt, 1977) that prevents the acquirer from utilizing all the input he hears for further
language acquisition. (For more detailed discussion, see Chapter 2.)
The available data strongly suggest, however, that subconscious language
acquisition is nevertheless the central means by which adults internalize second
languages, a position supported not only by research but also by the practice of
successful language teachers who emphasize communicative activities in the
classroom (see, for example, Terrell, 1977).
To summarize to this point: Lenneberg's claim that lateralization was complete by
puberty and is the neurological basis for the critical period for language acquisition
and thus responsible for child-adult differences in second language acquisition is
not entirely ruled out. There is, however, considerable evidence today that implies
that much of the development of cerebral dominance may be complete much earlier
and may have little or nothing to do with the critical period. Moreover, there are
other possible "explanations" for the critical period. The one sketched above
maintains that the ability to "acquire" language naturally does not disappear at
puberty, a position that is consistent with current teaching practice.
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