RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Boxtel, Sonja van A1 Bongaerts, Theo A1 Coppen, Peter-Arno YR 2003 T1 Native-like attainment in L2 syntax JF EUROSLA Yearbook VO 3 IS 1 SP 157 OP 181 DO https://doi.org/10.1075/eurosla.3.10box PB John Benjamins SN 1568-1491, AB In this study, we test the prediction, derived from the Critical Period Hypothesis, that a native-level of attainment in L2 grammar cannot be reached by learners who start acquiring a second language after the onset of puberty. We selected 30 very advanced German and French late learners (age of arrival less than or equal to 12 years) of Dutch and compared their performance on a grammar test with that of 44 (highly educated) native speakers of Dutch. The test consisted of two tasks: an elicited imitation task and a relative grammaticality judgement task. In these tasks, participants were tested on their knowledge of dummy subject constructions. These construction types were chosen because they are known to be very hard to acquire for learners of Dutch as a second language. The results show that it is possible to attain a native level of proficiency for learners who start acquiring a second language (long) after puberty., UL https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/eurosla.3.10box