There have been serious discussions about how and when it is better to master speech for many centuries. In relation to the research I reviewed, many factors influence the formation of language skills, including the period of learning a particular language (Mayberry & Kluender, 2017). Brain plasticity is thought to be lost or greatly reduced with age, making the mechanisms underlying language learning necessarily different.
As it is known, learning a foreign language occurs through the prism of the mother, so it is believed that learning at a later age will not be as successful as that of a child. A study of Russian-English bilinguals in the US and Canada showed that learning multiple languages in parallel was easier and faster before the age of 15 or 18 (Mayberry & Kluender, 2017). The author here talks about learning a second language (L2) in adulthood, comparing it with the phenomenon of bilingualism.
A prime example of problems in language acquisition outside of childhood is the case of Genie Wylie. From birth, the girl was limited in socialization, which is an important factor in learning the language (PsychED, 2021). Her success in quick understanding can be explained by the fact that by the age of 13, certain brain structures necessary for mastering speech are already well developed. It also explains why deaf children who have had their hearing restored with cochlear implants learn to speak faster than normal babies. However, if the hearing restoration operation occurs later than six months or a year, the child will still lag in the development of speech to some extent.
In addition to congenital problems associated with speech activity, there may also be acquired ones, such as brain injury. Although the recovery of communication skills may be slower during the first six months after a traumatic brain injury, improvement can still occur over many years (Elbourn et al., 2018). Thus, language acquisition is possible at any age and after different consequences; however, one should be aware of different critical periods. Speech development begins with sounds and gestures, then words and sentences. Parents and caregivers can support language development by talking to their children and responding when they interact. Reading books together and sharing stories is good for language development, as it is aimed at brain development.
References
Mayberry, R. I., & Kluender, R. (2017). Rethinking the critical period for language: New insights into an old question from American Sign Language.Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 21(5), 886–905.
Elbourn, E., Kenny, B., Power, E., Honan, C., McDonald, S., Tate, R., Holland, A., MacWhinney, B., & Togher, L. (2018). Discourse recovery after severe traumatic brain injury: Exploring the first year.Brain Injury, 33(2), 143–159.
PsychED. (2021).Genie Wiley: America’s feral child. [Video]. YouTube.