Simone E. Pfenninger|David Singleton
Starting Age Overshadowed: The Primacy of Differential Environmental and Family Support Effects on Second Language Attainment in an Instructional Context
University of Salzburg|University of Pannonia|Trinity College Dublin
abstract despite contrary research findings many laypeople still claim starting second language l2 instruction early yields linguistic advantages assertion undermined 5year longitudinal study conducted switzerland testing english language skills 636 secondaryschool students learned standard german french primary school half learned english age 8 remainder started english 5 years later results suggest agerelated attainment effects overshadowed effects yielding diverse outcomes according individual differences contextual effects mediating l2 outcomes earlier age learning proved beneficial children raised biliterate simultaneous bilinguals receiving substantial parental support opposed monolinguals nonbiliterate bilinguals simultaneous sequential issues require studies explore underlies age effects l2 learning investigate learning contexts shape processes l2 development