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Second-language acquisition research has long grappled with the question of why some adult learners achieve near-native fluency while others, despite years of study, plateau well short of that level. Early explanations centered on a hypothesized critical period, a developmental window closing around puberty after which the brain supposedly loses much of its capacity for implicit language learning, forcing adult learners to rely on slower, more effortful explicit strategies. While this hypothesis retains some support, particularly regarding native-like pronunciation, more recent research has complicated the picture considerably by highlighting the substantial role of factors unrelated to age. Studies comparing adult learners with similar starting points have found that the quantity and quality of comprehensible input, meaningful engagement with the language at a level slightly beyond the learner's current competence, predicts outcomes more strongly than age of first exposure in many cases. Motivation has emerged as an equally significant variable, with learners who identify personally with the target language community, rather than studying purely for external requirements such as employment or examinations, generally sustaining effort over the years required for advanced proficiency. Anxiety during practice has also been shown to impair performance independent of underlying competence, suggesting that classroom environments emphasizing error correction over communicative risk-taking may inadvertently suppress the very production practice learners need. These findings have practical implications for language education: programs that maximize immersive, low-anxiety input, connect learning to learners' personal goals, and delay explicit grammar correction until fluency has developed tend to produce stronger outcomes than programs organized primarily around rule memorization and testing, even though rule-based instruction remains useful for learners with limited access to native speakers or immersive environments.