Category: Cram Session
This may sound like a stupid question to some degree, but some friends and I were discussing this earlier this afternoon; is it true that most people are better off learning a foreign language before they reach middle school? Or should they do like I did, and wait until high school and had to take one in order to earn the required amount of credits? Lately, I've noticed, that I've been having a hard time comprehending Spanish, and I'm wondering if it's just because I haven't had much interest in it lately, because I waited until recently to start learning it, or a little bit of both. Again, this may sound like a stupid question, but I would apreciate any answers any of you may have.
The genral scientific answer is the earlier the better. Ones mind starts to lose aptitude for learning several languages around 12 or 14.
I have no scientific evidence for this, only personal experience but...
I definitely find language learning much more difficult now (I'm studying French and Spanish in college), than I did when I started French (aged 6) or Spanish (aged 13), so I'd definitely say the earlier the better... that's not to say I think it's impossible to learn a second/third language when you're older, it's just more work!
I didn't have the opportunity to start learning French until eighth grade, and I couldn't start German until college. I did well in my studies, but I definitely believe it would have been easier if I had started learning these languages as a small child.
there's evidence out there about something called a critical period look at a case called genie. So, yes, but keep trying, you can at least get somewhere partiially though it's going to take a lot more work and be harder. I picked up English at 5 and lost the accent at 10 and I don't ever think you can ever stop learning a language so I am still learning English though I can understand Shakespeare pretty well, I am definitely glad I didn't start English at ten or 12 or even later the early start gave me an advantage because I even lost the accent, which I think it's a great thing. I don't have to be embarrassed about speaking with one, though I somehow have a hard time pronouncing my ths? if you notice hard enough my thing sounds like fing and math sounds like maf. though I need to start concentrating harder to pronounce them right.
they say that the younger one acquires a language, the less likely they will have an accent when they speak that same language as an adult.
I learned Canadian English as an infant and as a result speak it fluently, albeit with a very heavy Vancouver regional accent,
I learned Canadian French when I was in Grade 8 or approximately twelve and a half years of age. I don't speak it nearly as well or fluently as I do English, and as a result the French language that comes out of my mouth is a mild Joual dialect (i.e. Quebec French accent as opposed to Parisian French) that is intermixed with a Canadian English accent,
I formally learned to speak Japanese at age 14, and as a result, I speak that language like a tourist, even though I'd had exposure to random words and phrases all of my life,
My 1 year old nephew, on the other hand, he will grow up bilingual at the very least... very possibly trilingual or more, as his Dad (my brother) speaks to him in English (but not Japanese... his skills are more advanced than mine but not nearly advanced enough to teach his son) while his Mum only speaks to him in Italian at present, as she was raised in Italy and wants the boy to be a native Italian speaker.
it also depends on you. some people just have a apt for languages and the arts. Those would be right brained where the left side of the body is dominant.
I for example cannot learn languages as well as others since I am very scientific and my mind works logically which is the wrong aproach to take while atempting to learn a new language.
oh, I forgot to mention trying to learn spanish, I took three years in high school and I definitely sound like an american speaking spanish. As hard as I try I don't speak it fluently because I was way past the critical age for languages I was 14 when I started to learn spanish. though I have discovered recently losing a language is much easier. I must admit I don't use my Chinese all that much and sometimes when I am asked to demonstrate the language so people can hear what it sounds like and stuff I realize at times if I don't try hard enough or focus on switching my languages my cantonese Chinese can come out with an american accent, and keep in mind that cantonese Chinese was my first language.
I started my first year of Spanish during my third year of French. The vocabulary and grammar were easy for me because French and Spanish have a lot of similarities in those areas, but French pronunciation is much easier for me easier than Spanish. I think part of my problem was that I never learned how to roll my R's.
its an interesting question. I am natively english, learned French at 10, spanish at 12, German at 16 and Catalan at 19. I think a lot depends on the interrelation of languages and hw you're learning. American education does not teach languages well and in most circumstances, ones exposure to them is very limmited unless your learning Spanish in some parts of the US. So if you'v already learned one language, the patterns are there for you to learn another with similar characteristics. Spanish was a snap after French and even at 19 I picked up Catalan quite quickly, but German I had to work at very hard because it has a different base than the others. Were I to pick up arabic or Hindi, two languages I would like to learn, I'd have that same problem. So age is a factor but also, learning a language very different from English just takes work and some people use age as an excuse. Incidentally, even though I picked up German at 16, people tell me my accent is virtually flawless.
MJ
I've seen some breeches and contradictory examples to the critical age for languages theory and it's pretty interesting but I've also seen the theory work in other situations. yes, the way that it is explained could very well be a large factor, and the amount of exposure as well. I admit the need for learning English was greater and the amount of exposure to the English language when I had to learn it was much greater than the exposure and motivation for learning spanish. Besides, I learnt it at a school and really only used it for school and homework so I suppose that's why I didn't do it well and I was not taught the basics as I did in english in terms of vigorous grammar lessons and my father was big on me learning the phoenetical sounds of English as well. And, I was told by some spanish speakers that the textbooks they were using was teaching some very interesting spanish words and some of which was not how you said certain things.