critical period
Key learning phase
A critical period is a window of time during development when an organism is especially sensitive to particular environmental influences.
The concept appears most often in biology and psychology: there are critical periods for language acquisition, for imprinting in birds, for visual development.
Children who aren't exposed to language during the critical period may never fully acquire it.
Once the window closes, the same experiences have diminished or no effect.
Process of becoming complete
- neuroplasticityBrain's self-rewiring ability
- brain developmentMental faculties emerging over time
- cognitive developmentAcquiring reasoning abilities over time
- formative yearsChildhood and adolescence
early childhood · infancy · childhood · adolescence · puberty · differentiation · myelination · neural pathways
Developing communication ability
- first languageTongue learned from birth
- second languageTongue learned after childhood
- bilingualismProficiency in two languages
- fossilizationOrganic remains becoming mineral
Chomsky · motherese · syntax · morphology · accent · pronunciation · native speaker · immersion
Willingness to accept ideas
- plasticityAbility to change shape
- vulnerabilityOpenness to harm
- impressionabilityEase of being influenced
- susceptibilityLiability to influence
openness · adaptability · responsiveness · malleability · window of opportunity · timing · irreversibility · threshold
maturation
Process of becoming complete
- neuroplasticityBrain's self-rewiring ability
- brain developmentMental faculties emerging over time
- cognitive developmentAcquiring reasoning abilities over time
formative years · early childhood · infancy · childhood · adolescence · puberty · differentiation · myelination · neural pathways · plasticity
language acquisition
Developing communication ability
- first languageTongue learned from birth
- second languageTongue learned after childhood
- bilingualismProficiency in two languages
Chomsky · fossilization · motherese · syntax · morphology · accent · pronunciation · native speaker · immersion · overgeneralization
receptivity
Willingness to accept ideas
- plasticityAbility to change shape
- vulnerabilityOpenness to harm
- impressionabilityEase of being influenced
susceptibility · openness · adaptability · responsiveness · malleability · window of opportunity · timing · irreversibility · threshold · exposure
- developmentgrowth, progress, advancement, expansion, improvement
- life stagesbaby, teenager, adult, childhood, adolescence
- neuroscienceneuron, MRI, brain, neurons, synapses
- Language Acquisitionfirst language, second language, bilingualism, interlanguage, universal grammar
- psycholinguisticslanguage processing, language comprehension, word recognition, tip of the tongue, tip-of-the-tongue
- imprintingKonrad Lorenz, ducklings, goslings
critical periodlifelong learning
Ongoing self-improvement through study
period, critical, critically, periodically, periodical, uncritical, hypercritical, periodicity, noncritical