Psychology / Unit 7 Psych 0761 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Critical Period for Language
Captions available
The idea
The critical period hypothesis holds that first-language acquisition must occur within a developmental window to reach full fluency.
In practice
Case studies of children raised without language exposure show adults who never reach full fluency.
Where people slip
The evidence comes from rare and confounded cases. The window's edges are not sharply established.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
Unlocks
- Nothing yet depends on this.
Something wrong in this lesson? Flag it · Sources for Psychology