Reviewing the Effects of Age on L2 Pronunciation

Abstract

It was observed that young L2 learners have biological advantages over late learners for L2 language pronunciation under the CPH. According to this CPH, it is impossible to naturally and effortlessly acquire a native fluency of language in pronunciation after puberty because the human brain is biologically programmed to lose the plasticity necessary for language acquisition. However, it was also observed that there are numerous studies reporting late learners outperforming younger learners in L2 pronunciation. Although the degree of achievement might vary, studies showed that several variables such as degrees of L1 use, motivation, etc. could enhance late learners’ performance in L2 pronunciation with intensive training. Brief pedagogical implications from the findings of these research studies are provided.