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SLA or Second Language Acquisition is the process by which people "take in" a language separate from their first. This process is similar to, but not to be confused with learning a second language which employs a significanlty different method to approaching the problem of learning a second language.
People can acquire a second language and become bilingual both early and late, but with noticeable differences. In an examination of these two groups, those who come to it late tend to have an accent when speaking their second language while those who come to it early tend not to have an accent in either language. Also, those who come to it early tend to have more difficulty in being able to distinguish actual words versus words that differ in the specific vowels used.
Grammer-wise those that learn a language later tend to have a better grasp on syntax while the younger ones had trouble with certain problem areas. Since grammer requires abstract thinking and reasoning it could be that grammer is generally acquired later in life. But in a group of speakers of the same age, those that became bilingual in early childhood tend to perform better on certain grammatical tasks than those that become bilingual later on. There have been efforts to study and clarify this Concept of Ability which distinguishes between knowledge of language rules and practical application of them.
Second Language Acquisition is also affected by the age at which a person learned their first language. Even if the languages are completely unrelated, the initial exposure to language is vital for forming learning abilities that are vital for the acquisition of a second language. This is also known as Language Transfer where knowledge of your first language can help you in acquiring a second.
Even now it is rare for a person over the age of 12 to become fluent in a second language, but rather than attribute this to the cognitive change that comes about due to puberty, it can be attributed to teaching strategies. In an experiment it was shown that by promoting listening as central in the acquisition of a second language, listening fluency was achieved in half the time while achieving the same level of reading and writing skill as compared to courses that specialize in literacy.