According to experts and their research, the earlier children
start learning a second language, the higher are their chances of
becoming more proficient as opposed to their learning of it
later. Researchers also claim that the most appropriate time to
learn another language is between six and thirteen years of age.
One theory that supports early language learning is the critical
period hypothesis. According to the theory there is a
biologically specific period of life when language can be learnt
more easily. Researchers like Lenneberg (1967) and Bickerton
(1981) state that after the critical period, certain abilities of
acquiring a language decrease. According to them second
language acquisition reaches a critical stage during puberty,
after which people usually do not learn a second language.
Linguistics professor Dr. Susan Curtiss, in a book by Curtan
and Dahlberg (2004), opines,
The power to learn a language is so great in the young
that it doesn’t seem to matter how many languages you