Learning Foreign Language

We are living in a very diverse society and, want it or not, we need to communicate with each other. But in order to do that people have to speak foreign languages. When it comes to learning a new language the most common piece of advice given from adults to children is “You are young. Now is your time to learn a foreign language”. But I have always wondered why is that? Can’t adults also learn foreign languages? Here the answer is “Yes, they can.”, but it is harder for them due to a few factors, which they should overcome if they want to easily reach their goal. Nowadays, children are being exposed to and start learning languages from the kindergarten and then continue in the school. There are some factors for these children to start learning

Neurology is dealing with the brain and its abilities at a certain stage of its development. The brain maturation is more active at young age and the brain is said to “absorb” information unconsciously, without even putting any effort. It is proven that the brain loses its plasticity over time, which refers to changes due to environmental or experiential stimuli. This can be illustrated with a piece of clay. When it is fresh, it is easy to moderate. When it starts to dry, it becomes harder to change its shape. Once carved with the mother tongue, it cannot be easily reshaped and that is why we learn the second language harder than our native one. Thinking of that we can implement that being naturally exposed to a bilingual environment, children learn even better. They don’t recognize the second language as foreign, but they use both as native depending on the situation. On the other hand, adults have already their native language backed up in their brains and in order to learn something new they have to put a lot of effort because it is harder for the brain to learn on purpose. For example, think of a song that you have heard recently and unconsciously you have learned the lyrics. Although you didn’t put any effort, the song is in your head. Now think of a lesson for school you tried so hard to learn but still you tend not to memorize.

It is usually common to hear a child talking about whatever he/she thinks about, without even bothering if it is right or wrong, or appropriate according to the situation. It is said that “practice makes perfect”. Here comes one great privilege for the children not to be afraid or embarrassed to talk and make mistakes. With more practice aloud they become better at speaking and pronunciation which are the most difficult skills one has to attain learning a foreign language and thus, they learn the language better. However, in contrast, adults are afraid to speak and they are being more careful about what they say and how they say it so that they don’t sound stupid. They are always putting some limits and barriers because what they say may have negative impact on them or their reputation. Adults usually practice more by reading or writing rather than