International Journal of
Information and Education Technology

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of Age of Onset of Acquisition (AOA) on Second Language Acquisition (SLA) and its implications for pedagogy by drawing upon the empirical evidences provided by recent related studies. The findings show that current research purposes on the AOA issue have been expanded from testing the general AOA effect on SLA to the detailed impact on rate, achievement, nativelikeness of second language learning. Current research also becomes more specific with its language testing domains, including syntax, morphology, phonetics, semantics, and pragmatics. Although major study results agree with the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) that AOA effect on SLA exists, it is argued that the effect would differ in terms of different SLA domains, implying the importance and need of a more detailed and specific instructional curriculum for second language education.