Exploring The Relationship Between Age Of Onset And Oral Proficiency The Case Of Second Year Middle School And Fourth Year Primary School Students.

Résumé: This study aims to explore the relationship between the age of onset and the oral proficiency of Algerian primary and middle school pupils learning English as a foreign language (EFL). To achieve this, a descriptive, mixed-method approach was employed. The study involved recording the responses of 40 pupils—20 from the fourth year of primary school and 20 from the second year of middle school—during self-introduction and descriptive tasks. The recordings were analyzed using a comprehensive rubric scoring based on established criteria from Farhady, Jafarpur, and Birjandi (2001), Heaton (1990), Hughes (2003), IELTS Testing Center (2000), and Underhill (1987). This rubric evaluated six key aspects of oral proficiency: fluency, comprehension, communication, vocabulary, structure, and pronunciation. Results indicated that middle school pupils generally outperformed primary school pupils in most aspects, demonstrating better fluency, comprehension, and communication skills. These findings suggest that the age of onset affects oral proficiency, highlighting the need for age-specific teaching strategies. Consequently, to achieve optimal language learning in EFL environments, this research recommends developing a curriculum that is specifically designed for each age group

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