Do children learn second languages easier than adults? A comparative analysis of child and adult second language acquisition

Seminar paper from the year 2014 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Pedagogy, Literature Studies, grade: 2,3, University of Kassel (Institut für Anglistik/Amerikanistik), course: Introduction to Second Language Acquisition, language: English, abstract: In the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA), researchers often get confronted with a controversial issue: Are children better second language learners than adults? Do they always outperform older learners?

After a general introduction into the field of SLA, this term paper focuses on the relevance of age in second language learning. Theories of critical and sensitive periods during the learning process will be examined in order to emphasize that age has an important impact on effective SLA. Afterwards, specific differences in child and adult SLA will be taken into consideration; how do children acquire a second language and how is it different from the acquisition of an old- er person? By answering these questions differentiated it might be possible to come to a conclusion whether children or adults are better second language learners.