COGNITIVE DIFFERENCES IN SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS AND THE CRITICAL PERIOD EFFECTS

Research has shown a strong association between psychological, affective, neurological andlearning variables, related also with age and gender factors, in the process of acquisition and/or learningof a second language. However, there is a theoretical controversy concerning the way the critical periodmay affect different aspects of language competence. We developed an assessment instrument to test thephonological awareness and general cognitive achievement in L2, for application in L2 learners and alsoin monolinguals (natives). The goal is to predict the dimension of age (chronological age, age of acquisition,age of arrival) in the L2 literacy skills development. The data collected pertains to the first phase ofa larger study and includes 64 students with migratory experience, acquiring Portuguese as L2. Findingsin what concerns the decoding competence and the first language transference will be discussed, regardingparticularly the results from some of the tests: alphabetic ordinance, phonemic blending, alliterationjudgement and dichotic hearing The achievement observed shows that children present lower levels ofaccuracy in L2 context than expected, not regarding the positive levels at the alliteration judgment task,which is not an evidence of phonological awareness (in the consciousness sense). Alliteration, and rhymejudgments are symptoms of normative phonological knowledge, which is not necessarily phonologicalawareness, and is based on the imitation ability toward verbal stimuli. The age factor remains as the mainpredictor of skill and ability and the mastery exhibited by the adult learners on particular levels of L2phonology decoding does not confirm the critical period hypothesis, which calls for its revision and fornew insights related to education orientations