I am currently in my 5th year of studying Italian, and still find it very difficult. For a while I blamed it on being “too old” to learn a language. This theory is commonly attributed to the Critical Period Hypothesis. The CPH is “the claim that there is, indeed, an optimal period for language acquisition, ending at puberty” (Abello-Contesse, 2008). As it turns out, being “too old” to learn a language is a myth. Adults can still learn new languages, they just learn them differently than small children. However, both age groups have certain advantages.
In their study, “A Test of the Critical-Period Hypothesis for Second Language Acquisition”, Kenji Hakuta, Ellen Bialystok, and Edward Wiley analyzed the data (age of immigration, level of schooling) of 2.3 million immigrants (Spanish and Chinese) in the 1990 US census. Essentially, what Hakuta, Bialystok, and Wiley were looking for was a severe drop in an immigrant’s ability to learn English if they came to America to test the CPH, and that is not what they found. Although there was indeed a decrease in ability to learn a new language with the increase in age, it was not severe, and it involved more factors than age alone. Education level, and socioeconomic factors played a big part as well. While this study didn’t prove that there’s no correlation between age and language learning ability, it did prove that there is not necessarily a specific “optimal age” for language learning, seeing as it is possible at all ages.
Some other reasons that adults have a harder time learning languages are that they lack the time, motivation, and dedication. They have the upper hand in some ways as well. Adults are more cognitively developed, know what type of learning works best for them, and they can understand the complex parts of the language with more ease than small children. Of course, children have their advantages as well. Children have stronger memories, a lot more time and schooling centered on language, and more motivation from outside sources.
Based on the research, it seems that if you can start a language at a young age, or start teaching your kid another language when they are young, that would definitely be beneficial. There is no downside to starting earlier, and it can only help in the long run. As for adults, although it may be hard to find the time, motivation, or focus to learn a new language, it is not nearly impossible, and ones difficulty learning a new language can not simply be blamed on being “too old”.
Sources:
http://www.livinglanguage.com/community/discussion/340/too-old-to-learns-research-says-no./p1
http://grammar.ucsd.edu/courses/hdp1/Readings/Hakuta_Bialystok_Wiley.pdf
http://blog.esl-languages.com/blog/learn-languages/harder-to-learn-language-older-age/
http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/content/63/2/170.full
http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/linguistic/source/JohnstoneEN.pdf
In addition to there being a critical period which prevents adults from easily being able to learn a language there’s also the genetic factor. Some people can pick up languages from simply taking it in school for a year or going to a foreign country for a couple months. But then there are people like me who have taken French since 6th through 12th grade and the language still feels as foreign as any language I have never learned a word of. I went to Italy for an entire summer and still don’t know a word of Italian even though I desperately tried to learn it. Some people just don’t have that gene to learn language!
For my entire school career, I have taken spanish. I still am unable to speak and write fluently in it. I believe that we are too old to learn a new language and learning a new language at a very young age is the best and easiest way to learn it. I agree with you and the study that adults have a hard time learning a new language because they have a lack in time, motivation, and dedication. I have some friends who are fluent in spanish and they were taught the language at an extremely young age. ” Based on the research, it seems that if you can start a language at a young age, or start teaching your kid another language when they are young, that would definitely be beneficial.” I agree with you here.
I love this topic because I can relate to it as a student who is in their first year of French and took four years of Italian in high school (don’t ask why I decided to switch, it was a horrible mistake). It is insanely hard for me to catch on to anything I learn in French this semester. It feels like all the information I learned in class is erased from my mind as soon as I walk out of the classroom. When I took Italian in high school, it was not nearly as difficult to retain the information. Of course, it definitely took a lot of practice, and never stuck with me naturally like it would with a child who was learning the language. I agree that both children and adults each have advantages when it comes to learning a new language, but I feel that it’s harder for adults because their native language is so ingrained in them that it is heard to break away from it. It was harder for me to learn Italian in high school than for a child who could easily get used to using both languages. Now that I am in college and started a completely new language from the beginning, it feels even harder. My mind is so used to English and even used to a certain extent of Italian that trying to find room for another language seems impossible. I looked at an article to see what they had to say about this topic, and this one (http://www.eldr.com/article/brain-power/why-it-easier-young-children-learn-new-language) says that after age 10, it becomes progressively harder, and your native language “comes to dominate your linguistic map”. I think adults can learn a new language if they really want to, but it is going to take more effort than a child who is learning to do the same.
Wow great topic. I can relate for I am a first year italian student here at UP. I also believe the myth that I am too old to learn a new language. I personally believe that is a fact over a myth as you stated. I mean, yeah if you have the heart and time learning a new language is no problem but given my mind set and extensive knowledge in the languages of spanish and english taking on a new language is very difficult for me. It seems as though my brain is already programed for only those two languages. On the other hand, when a child is born they are like a clean slate and have nothing to confuse and mix up. They are like a sponge everything is easily absorbed and obtained by them. This link adds more opinions to this interesting subjective topic, take a look
http://www.livinglanguage.com/community/discussion/340/too-old-to-learns-research-says-no./p1
This is a good controversial topic, especially with a second language being required to take at Universities and in high school. Although like you said is true, that anyone can learn a new language at any time, the best time to learn a new language, according to the critical period hypothesis is before puberty. This is the peak time to learn a language as children have the highest success rate of fluency and of picking up the accent if they learn the language at a young age, while adults have a harder time with this.
http://people.howstuffworks.com/best-age-learn-language.htm