What is the critical period?

What is the critical period? [NU. 2019, 2020]

The Critical Period is a window of time during which the ability to learn specific skills, like language, is at its highest. This period typically occurs during early childhood and gradually closes as a person ages. If the skill is not acquired within this time, it becomes much harder to learn later in life. This idea is most often talked about in the context of language learning.

Early Childhood and Brain Development: The critical period is usually during early childhood. During this time, the brain is highly flexible and can easily absorb new information. This flexibility, also known as “neural plasticity,” allows young children to learn languages quickly and naturally. For example, children who are exposed to a language during this period can easily pick up on its sounds, grammar, and vocabulary.

Language Learning: Language acquisition is one of the best-known examples of the critical period. Experts believe that the ability to learn a language naturally and fluently decreases after a certain age, usually around puberty. Children can learn their first or even multiple languages during the critical period without much effort. They do this by simply being exposed to the language in their environment.

Examples Beyond Language: The concept of a critical period is not limited to language learning. It also applies to other skills, such as vision. For example, if a child does not receive proper visual stimuli during the critical period for vision, they may develop permanent visual impairments. This highlights the importance of early exposure to the necessary stimuli for proper development.

In short, the critical period is an important time when the brain is mostly active in learning specific skills. It highlights the benefits of teaching children multiple languages at a young age.