Within the field of second language acquisition (SLA), there has been much less research undertaken with children than with adults, yet the two cohorts are quite distinct in characteristics and in their learning processes. This article provides a review of child SLA research, particularly the research with a pedagogical focus. We describe a series of studies, including those informed by different theoretical perspectives (interactionist and sociocultural), in different instructional settings (i.e., second language, foreign language, immersion, and content and language integrated learning [CLIL] contexts) and using different research methodologies (longitudinal, case study, experimental, and naturalistic). We begin by highlighting the importance of age as a factor in SLA research, presenting studies that have focused on the differences existing between younger and older learners. We also consider interventions that can support language learning—including form-focused instruction and the use of tasks. We finish by presenting a proposed change in the way that research with children is conducted.

中文翻译：

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儿童第二语言习得 (SLA) 回顾：检验理论和研究

在第二语言习得 (SLA) 领域，对儿童进行的研究比对成人的研究要少得多，但这两个群体在特征和学习过程上却截然不同。本文回顾了儿童 SLA 研究，尤其是以教学为重点的研究。我们描述了一系列研究，包括在不同教学环境（即第二语言、外语、沉浸式、内容和语言综合学习 [CLIL] 情境）中不同理论观点（互动主义和社会文化）的研究，并使用不同的研究方法论（纵向、案例研究、实验和自然主义）。我们首先强调年龄在 SLA 研究中作为一个因素的重要性，提出的研究侧重于年轻和年长学习者之间存在的差异。我们还考虑了可以支持语言学习的干预措施——包括以形式为中心的教学和任务的使用。最后，我们提出了一项改变儿童研究方式的建议。