Is there a critical period?

Lennenberg – 1967

In 1967 Lennenberg proposed the idea that there may be a critical period for language development. His theory suggested that the first few years of life is the crucial period in which an individual can acquire language. He also implied that if language is not acquired within this time, then it will never be fully developed. He argues: “by the ages of two and three years language emerges by an interaction of maturation and self-programmed learning. Between the ages of three and early teens the possibility for primary language acquisition continues to be good… after this time the brain behave as if it had become set in its ways and primary, basic skills not acquired by this time usually remain deficient for life.” However recent research suggests that learning begins in the womb, which casts a sense of doubt on Lennenberg’s theory.