Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Wiley Interdiscip Rev Cogn Sci. 2016 Jul;7(4):276-88. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1394. Epub 2016 May 30.
Infants and children are generally more successful than adults in learning novel languages, a phenomenon referred to as a critical or sensitive period for language acquisition. One explanation for this critical period is the idea that children have access to a set of language learning processes or mechanisms unavailable to adults. From this perspective, developmental change is explained in terms of a discontinuity of learning processes. We suggest that this is not the only possible explanation for developmental change in language learning outcomes. Instead, we propose that the mechanisms underlying language acquisition (in particular, we highlight statistical learning) are largely continuous across the lifespan. From this perspective, developmental change is explained in terms of experience, differences in the input with age, and maturational changes in the cognitive architecture supporting learning, even while the learning process itself operates continuously across developmental time. WIREs Cogn Sci 2016, 7:276-288. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1394 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
婴幼儿通常比成年人更擅长学习新语言，这种现象被称为语言习得的关键期或敏感期。造成这种关键期的一个解释是，儿童可以使用一套成年人无法使用的语言学习过程或机制。从这个角度来看，发展变化是通过学习过程的不连续性来解释的。我们认为，这不是语言学习成果发展变化的唯一可能解释。相反，我们提出，语言习得的机制（特别是我们强调的统计学习）在整个生命周期中都具有很大的连续性。从这个角度来看，发展变化是通过经验、年龄差异的输入以及支持学习的认知结构的成熟变化来解释的，即使学习过程本身在整个发展时间内持续运作。WIREs Cogn Sci 2016, 7:276-288. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1394 如需了解本文相关资源，请访问 WIREs 网站。
