Conférence: «The critical period debate: past, present, and future

Robert DeKeyser
University of Maryland 

For half a century now, age effects in second language learning have been the subject of intense debate. After a brief overview of how the focus of the debate has shifted repeatedly over the decades and a short state of the art, I will focus on the issue of explanatory adequacy and on various methodological issues from sampling to statistical analysis. Finally, I will suggest priorities for future research on this topic, including the potential contribution of under-researched populations (the hearing-impaired, heritage language learners, immigrants with little formaleducation, and learners of marginalized languages).