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| http://www.access2interpreters.com/learn-another-language-brain/ |
Many adults these days have a desire to learn a second language, but are finding out that it's not all that easy. As an employee at Barnes & Noble, I've had customers ask me about language learning books because they are having trouble learning one. I, myself, am trying to learn Spanish, but find it to be quite difficult. Why is this, though? Why is it harder for adults to learn a second language than it is for children?
This topic has been explored in the press a lot, so adults can look no further for some answers to their question. The articles in the press are geared towards older adults who most likely do not have pre-existing knowledge on what language learning entails, but they still provide accurate information and raise similar points that scholarly articles do.
As Abby Abrams states in her TIME article, it is easier for children to acquire a language because of their age. The "sensitive period", which is the best time for one to learn a language, lasts until puberty, and it is during this time that one's procedural memory is stronger. As we age, other parts of our memory mature, and the procedural memory is no longer in charge of language learning. As a result, instead of learning a language through observation or experience like children do, adults learn by studying the grammar rules, which is more difficult. The idea of this sensitive, or critical period, is also explored in a scholarly article by Anca Maria Slev. She, too, states that the prime window for language acquisition takes place before puberty because after adolescence, it is no longer an "automatic" acquisition like it is for children, but a "conscious effort" to gain proficiency.
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| (One's ability to learn a second language decreases at the "critical period", around the time of puberty. Image from: http://www.brains-explained.com/why-its-tough-to-teach-an-old-brain-new-tricks/) |
Another disadvantage adults face is the decrease in the brain's plasticity. An article in the Guardian explains plasticity as the brain's ability to change itself when new experiences get introduced. So, the older one is, the harder it is for their brain to adapt to the new language. Fei Deng and Qin Zou also explain in their article the affect plasticity has on language learning, stating that it is the plasticity that allows children to acquire a second language, and the change in it overtime is what makes it more difficult for adults.
Although adults have these disadvantages, it does not mean that they cannot acquire a second language. As Laura Keen writes in Forbes, one of the keys to learning a second language is motivation. The more time an adult spends learning the language, the better they will be, and every day exposure will help with that. However, Fei Deng and Qin Zou deem motivation as also being one of the difficulties adults may encounter when learning a language. Children's motivation is innate since they see language learning as being necessary for survival and communication; for adults, they have to find something to motivate them to learn a second language and then devote themselves to extensive studying. However, once they find this motivation, it will help them acquire the language easier and quicker.
