ABSTRACT
Rapid brain development is the basis for adolescents’ continuous general maturation, including physical, cognitive, and psychological changes. After an overview of brain and environmental changes that are related to pubertal maturation processes and their implications for language learning, we will look into the topic of dual language learners’ achievements, with a special focus on effects of immersion and literacy and related discussion about the bilingual advantage hypothesis. In the second part of the chapter, age-related factors are outlined as they manifest themselves in more vs. less intensive instructional settings. Specifically, the question is addressed as to what crucially influences the foreign language abilities of school-age and adolescent classroom learners, and how we can exploit an earlier starting age more effectively.
