In: Psychology
The 'critical period' hypothesis of language acquisition states that an individual is most sensitive and receptive in lernig the intricacies of any language and related skills during a specific maturational stage only. If for some reason, the individual is unable to make optimal use of learning a language during that particular stage, the individual misses the "window of opportunity" and may experience difficulties in learning a language later on in his/her lifespan. Theories state that the first few years of human life is the most vital and critical in learning a language.