Abstract This study seeks to identify differences in language learning progress and experiences among 24 adult migrants, who arrived to Australia after the age of 40. The results suggest that age per se was not a reliable predictor of language learning progress. Instead, the initial English level of participants when they arrived to Australia, opportunities to use English and prior level of education were associated with considerable language learning gains. For example, participants who had a higher initial English level were able to find jobs that required them to perform a range of oral and written tasks across different domain, which further improved their level, while participants who had a low initial level were mostly unemployed. Another common factor we noted among participants with high and reasonable gains but not among those who made little progress was a proactive attitude and the use of a range of language learning strategies beyond the classroom. The study also revealed differences in age construal among participants with high and reasonable gains and those who did not improve.

中文翻译：

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40 岁后语言学习的因素：纵向研究的见解

摘要 本研究旨在确定 24 名 40 岁后抵达澳大利亚的成年移民在语言学习进展和经历方面的差异。结果表明，年龄本身并不是语言学习进展的可靠预测指标。相反，参与者抵达澳大利亚时的初始英语水平、使用英语的机会和先前的教育水平与可观的语言学习收益相关。例如，初始英语水平较高的参与者能够找到需要他们在不同领域执行一系列口语和书面任务的工作，这进一步提高了他们的水平，而初始英语水平较低的参与者大多处于失业状态。我们注意到，在获得高和合理收益的参与者中而不是在那些进展不大的参与者中发现的另一个共同因素是积极主动的态度以及在课堂之外使用一系列语言学习策略。该研究还揭示了具有高和合理收益的参与者与没有改善的参与者之间的年龄解释差异。