While it is clear that children are more successful at learning language than adults are—whether first language or second—there is no agreement as to why. Is it due to greater neural plasticity, greater motivation, more ample opportunity for learning, superior cognitive function, lack of interference from a first language, or something else? A difficulty in teasing apart these theories is that while they make different empirical predictions, there are few unambiguous facts against which to test the theories. This is particularly true when it comes to the most basic questions about the phenomenon: When does the childhood advantage dissipate, and how rapidly does it do so? I argue that a major reason for the lack of consensus is limitations in the research methods used to date. I conclude by discussing a recently emerging methodology and by making suggestions about the path forward.

中文翻译：

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孩子什么时候会失去语言本能？关键时期文献的批判性评论

虽然很明显，儿童在学习语言方面比成人更成功——无论是第一语言还是第二语言——但对于为什么没有达成一致意见。是因为更大的神经可塑性、更大的动力、更多的学习机会、卓越的认知功能、缺乏第一语言的干扰，还是其他原因？梳理这些理论的一个困难在于，虽然它们做出了不同的经验预测，但几乎没有明确的事实可以用来检验这些理论。当涉及到有关这一现象的最基本问题时尤其如此：童年优势何时消失，消失的速度有多快？我认为，缺乏共识的一个主要原因是迄今为止使用的研究方法的局限性。