| 中文摘要 | 第1-4页 |
| Abstract | 第4-7页 |
| Contents | 第7-11页 |
| List of Abbrevaitons | 第11-13页 |
| List of Tables | 第13-15页 |
| Charts | 第15-16页 |
| Chapter 1 Introduction | 第16-24页 |
| ·Research Orientation | 第16-17页 |
| ·The Status of Age Effects in Second Language Acquisition | 第17-18页 |
| ·Second Language Environment and Foreign Language Instruction Environment | 第18-19页 |
| ·Rationale for the Study | 第19-20页 |
| ·Key Research Questions | 第20-21页 |
| ·Organization of the Dissertation | 第21-24页 |
| Chapter 2 Previous Studies on Age Effects in Second Language Acquisition | 第24-54页 |
| ·Introduction | 第24-25页 |
| ·General views of the Age Effects in Second Language Acquisition | 第25-26页 |
| ·Critical Period Hypothesis in Language Acquisition | 第26-30页 |
| ·The Concept of Critical Period | 第26-27页 |
| ·Critical Period Hypothesis in Language Acquisition | 第27-30页 |
| ·Behavioral Studies of CPH in Second Language Acquisition | 第30-41页 |
| ·Introduction | 第30-31页 |
| ·Proponent of CPH in Second Language Achievements | 第31-37页 |
| ·Opponent of CPH in Second Language Achievements | 第37-41页 |
| ·Neurological Study of CPH in Second Language Acquisition | 第41-45页 |
| ·Introduction | 第41-42页 |
| ·Supportive Evidences of CPH in Second Language Achievements | 第42-43页 |
| ·Opposing Evidences of CPH in Second Language Achievements | 第43-45页 |
| ·Comments on the Ongoing Controversy about Age Effects in SLA Research | 第45-52页 |
| ·Introduction | 第45-46页 |
| ·Major Problems in Previous Studies of Age Effect in SLA | 第46-52页 |
| ·Summary | 第52-54页 |
| Chapter 3 Connection between Previous Research and This Dissertation | 第54-78页 |
| ·Introduction | 第54页 |
| ·The Definition of Age Effect in This Dissertation | 第54-55页 |
| ·Environment Issue of Age Effects Study in Second Language Acquisition | 第55-69页 |
| ·Environment Differences | 第55-57页 |
| ·Previous Studies of Age Effects in Foreign Language Environment | 第57-67页 |
| ·Research Findings of Age Effects Studies between SL and FL Environment | 第67-69页 |
| ·Foreign Language Education in Primary School | 第69-75页 |
| ·Foreign Language Education in Primary School during 1960s-1970s | 第69-70页 |
| ·Foreign Language Education in Primary School since 1990s | 第70-72页 |
| ·Primary English Education in China | 第72-75页 |
| ·Necessity of the Present Study | 第75-77页 |
| ·Summary | 第77-78页 |
| Chapter 4 Research Design of the Dissertation | 第78-90页 |
| ·Introduction | 第78页 |
| ·Basic Principles for Age Effect Study in FL Environment | 第78-79页 |
| ·Research Design for Age Effect Study in FL Environment | 第79-88页 |
| ·Participant Issue | 第79-81页 |
| ·Achievement Issue | 第81-84页 |
| ·Research Method Issue | 第84-88页 |
| ·Statistic Measures | 第88页 |
| ·Summary | 第88-90页 |
| Chapter 5 Study One:Relationship between Ages of Onset and the Short-term English Achievements by Chinese EFL Learners | 第90-98页 |
| ·Introduction | 第90页 |
| ·Participants | 第90-92页 |
| ·Data Description and Collection | 第92页 |
| ·Data Analysis | 第92-96页 |
| ·Statistics for Junior-3 English Scores | 第92-93页 |
| ·Statistics for Junior-1, Junior-2 English Scores | 第93-96页 |
| ·Summary | 第96-98页 |
| Chapter 6 Study Two:Relationship between Ages of Onset and Mid-/Long-term English Achievements and Achievements of English Skills by Chinese EFL Learners | 第98-110页 |
| ·Introduction | 第98-99页 |
| ·Participants | 第99-100页 |
| ·Selection of Senior School Participants | 第99页 |
| ·Selection of College Participants | 第99-100页 |
| ·Data Description and Collection | 第100-101页 |
| ·Data Analysis | 第101-107页 |
| ·Statistics of English Scores in CEE and Scores of CET-4 | 第101-102页 |
| ·Statistics for Scores of Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing in CET-4 | 第102-107页 |
| ·Summary | 第107-110页 |
| Chapter 7 Study Three:Multi-factor Study of the Differences in Speaking Scores in CET-4 among Distinct Groups of Ages of Onset | 第110-122页 |
| ·Introduction | 第110-112页 |
| ·Data Collection and Analysis | 第112-120页 |
| ·Results of ANCOVA | 第114-115页 |
| ·Correlation Analysis | 第115-117页 |
| ·Multiple Regression Analysis | 第117-120页 |
| ·Summary | 第120-122页 |
| Chapter 8 Discussion and Conclusion | 第122-142页 |
| ·Summary of Major Findings | 第122-123页 |
| ·General Discussion | 第123-139页 |
| ·Findings concerning "earlier-is-better" Notion | 第123-124页 |
| ·Findings Compared to Prior Studies on "earlier-is-better" Notion | 第124-127页 |
| ·Explanations for the Study Findings | 第127-137页 |
| ·Issue of Instructed Time in Age Effect Study | 第137-139页 |
| ·Conclusion | 第139-142页 |
| Chapter 9 Implications, Limitations, Suggestions for Future Research | 第142-148页 |
| ·Educational Implications | 第142-143页 |
| ·Limitations of the Dissertation Study | 第143-145页 |
| ·Suggestions for Future Research | 第145-148页 |
| Appendix-1 Survey Instrument | 第148-149页 |
| Appendix-2 Questionnaire for College Students | 第149-150页 |
| Appendix 3 Sample Oral Test for CET-4 | 第150-152页 |
| Appendix 4 Criteria for Oral Test Scoring | 第152-153页 |
| Appendix 5 Sampling Figure Table | 第153-154页 |
| References | 第154-166页 |
| 攻读学位期间承担的科研任务与主要成果 | 第166-168页 |
| Acknowledgements | 第168-170页 |
| VITA | 第170-172页 |
