Critical Period Hypothesis

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For many centuries, the human brain has been somewhat of an enigma, especially within the disciplines of biology and linguistics. The relationship between the brain and langauage has prompted scientists and researchers to study closely where language originates in the brain. Researchers have also directed their attention to how certain neurological deficits or disorders directly affect language. As a result of this research, one of the great findings is that language is lateralized to the left hemisphere of the brain. The critical period hypothesis and the experimental evidence provided by dichotic listening support the theory that language exists in the left hemisphere. In essence, the critical period hypothesis contends that the ability to learn a language is limited to the years between birth and somewhere around the age when a child enters puberty. These children can more easily acquire language than post- pubescent children, to whom this ability disappears and is most probably a result of the brain maturing. The foundation of the critical period hypothesis rests on neurological research that suggests that brain functions become lateralized after puberty. As we know there are two hemispheres of the human brain- the right and the left. Several language functions appear to be controlled or stationed in the right hemisphere, while others are located in the left portion. Some evidence suggests that the right hemisphere plays a role at the earliest stages of language acquisition (Fromkin 2007). Nevertheless, language functions for the most part are specialized in the left hemisphere. Before puberty, it is believed that these functions are not completely assigned to either portion of the brain. The brain is viewed as elastic. The specific assignment or lateralization of brain

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