407 

 
 

Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching 
Department of English Studies, Faculty of Pedagogy and Fine Arts, Adam Mickiewicz University, Kalisz 

SSLLT 4 (3). 2014. 407-408 
doi: 10.14746/ssllt.2014.4.3.1 

http://www.ssllt.amu.edu.pl 
 
 
 

Editorial 
 

The title of this special issue is very deliberately wide in scope. One reason for 
its  breadth  is  that  the  age  question  is  somehow  difficult  to  contain.  It  is  very  
obvious to most of us these days that age is a “macrovariable” which connects 
to a veritable multitude of genuinely isolable and measurable factors. This is not 
a matter of dispute between those who favour and those who do not favour the 
critical/sensitive period hypothesis. The common ground between these two 
groups (or at least large sections of them) is that the significance of initial age 
of learning may be difficult to determine precisely because of the fact that it 
cannot be disentangled from other, interrelated, variables; that age of onset is 
a confounded indicator of maturation because it co-varies with a great variety 
of factors: social, cultural, psychological and neurological.  

Another reason for the broad, inclusive approach is that I wished not to 
remain within the usual rhetoric of work on the age question. Of course, the 
matter of the critical/sensitive period often crops up, and it acts as a discrete 
backdrop to much of what is said. There are large tracts of discussion here, how-
ever, to which the veracity or otherwise of the critical/sensitive period hypoth-
esis is without much relevance. The problem explored in such cases rather is 
simply what happens at a particular age or stage, the focus being sometimes on 
particular sets of circumstances. The quest in these instances is to discover what 
the elements may be—innate, social educational, and so on—of an explanation 
for the way things turn out. In a way it is perhaps regrettable that I did not find 
a treatment dealing with “third age” scenario; next time perhaps! 

I am very happy, anyway, with the extremely diverse and interesting 
range of material gathered together here, and with the array of theoretically 
and practically important topics that are covered across the articles nestling be-
tween these covers. The warmest thanks are due to our contributors for their 
hard work, their wonderful insights and their excellent observance of deadlines! 
I trust that their endeavours will induce enlightenment in their readers but also 



 

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real enjoyment! I must also acknowledge the never-failing support and encour-
agement of the General Editor of SSLLT, Miros aw Pawlak. 

 
 

 
David Singleton 

Trinity College Dublin, Ireland 
University of Pannonia, Veszprém, Hungary 

State School of Higher Professional Education in Konin, Poland 
dsnglton@tcd.ie