Or, do children possess squishy genius brains that can pick up any language effortlessly while language-learning adults are doomed to imminent failure?
Thanks for the encouragement! For someone who often wants to learn/improve in foreign languages but ends up sputtering in the motivation department, it's really encouraging to know that it's "not too late" for me to learn. I do find it interesting that there data is actually against the concept of kids learning faster than adults - everyday experience makes it seem like kids find it easier than adults to identify and pick up on grammatical patterns (i.e. they seem to just learn the language even without proper schooling in it). Curious to know what factors influence language learning in a casual setting (e.g. learning because it is spoken at home) as opposed to a proper educational setting (e.g. taking classes), and how they may be "better" or "worse" for learning.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment -- your question related to natural learning vs. structured learning is definitely highly debated, and may be the topic of a future newsletter :)
Thanks for the encouragement! For someone who often wants to learn/improve in foreign languages but ends up sputtering in the motivation department, it's really encouraging to know that it's "not too late" for me to learn. I do find it interesting that there data is actually against the concept of kids learning faster than adults - everyday experience makes it seem like kids find it easier than adults to identify and pick up on grammatical patterns (i.e. they seem to just learn the language even without proper schooling in it). Curious to know what factors influence language learning in a casual setting (e.g. learning because it is spoken at home) as opposed to a proper educational setting (e.g. taking classes), and how they may be "better" or "worse" for learning.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment -- your question related to natural learning vs. structured learning is definitely highly debated, and may be the topic of a future newsletter :)
Super interesting! There's hope for us!