What’s The Best Age To Learn A Second Language?

One of the most common questions that adults ask themselves regarding language learning is when it is the best time to acquire a new language. Although most studies suggest, and oftentimes scientifically prove, that the ideal time-period is childhood, I hope that you are convinced that this is not always necessarily true.

As the video above explains, there are several theories that suggest that if you get more exposure to a language at a young age, ages 2-13, you have more plasticity in your brain, which is better at making connections and is more adaptable. On the other hand, adults' brains are better at focusing and have complex thought processes, making it faster when learning a new language. The main reason behind this phenomenon is that you are using conscious systematic learning.

That being said, I have met just as many bilingual and multilingual individuals who have acquired a second, or a third language as early as birth up to their 80s. I, myself, have a little bit of bias, as I have always been brought up bilingually and have acquired the benefits that come along with it, but am just as motivated and dedicated to my language studies as individuals who were brought up monolingually. If you want to learn about my experience being raised in a bilingual household and what it was like to attend a bilingual elementary school, make sure to read my post "Raising Your Kids Bilingually” in March 2016. For more information about bilingualism, make sure to read my post “5 Benefits of Bilingualism: Why You Should Be Blingual” in February 2016.

I want to assure you that age is nothing but a number and that anyone is capable of starting from scratch, or of restarting language learning at any age. Due to our incredible brains, we are able to acquire new information at a rapid speed and have the possibility of communicating with all types of people. If you are above 13 and are reading this, do not automatically beat yourself up and tell yourself that you can never learn another language. Most importantly, try not to get into the mentality that you are too old, or were not a good enough student in your language class, and therefore cannot pick one up. My biggest recommendation is to get into a positive mindset, and even trick yourself into believing that you will reach a somewhat difficult goal sooner than you would expect. It is all psychological: if you tell yourself that you can do it, the motivation will come more easily. As the little blue engine said, "Can you do it?"... "Yes you can."

If you were struggling with motivating yourself to start, or to build up on your language, you might benefit by reading my post titled "How to Stay Motivated When Learning a Language" in March 2016. Aside from that, make sure to watch inspirational YouTubers who were monolingual a few years back, but have come to master, and to become fluent in dozens of languages. My favorite polyglots from which to gain inspiration are: Benny Lewis, Tim Doner (I have an entire post devoted to how he inspired me to become a hyperpolyglot titled "Tim Doner: The Hyperpolyglot That Inspired Me" in February 2016), and Luca Lampariello.

5 Reasons Why You Can Learn Any Language

•  1. Most of the best language-learners are teenagers, and adults.

This means that if you are a teenager, or an adult, you will have an equal playing field. The theory that you can only learn a language well if you are a child has already been disproven by some of the most famous polyglots around the world. Although it can give you an advantage early on, you do not have to have any prior experience, or be bilingual in order to do this well. In fact, as Benny Lewis (a well-known polyglot) has said, adults have the advantage of knowing how they learn best. Teenagers, and adults have had years of learning, and have had many different experiences. Children, on the other hand, have had very few years of learning, less experiences, do not understand grammar rules, and are not as focused on the mechanisms that build up a language. Therefore, teenagers, and adults are more likely to distinguish patterns, and can compare their mother tongues to other languages that they speak, in order to learn information quickly.

• ·     2. Once you find the learning-style that bests suit you, and your needs, you will be unstoppable.

As you all know, everyone has preferred ways of studying, or to go about retaining new information. The same pertains to language-learning. There is no wrong way of doing so. Some people like to study flash-cards with words in their native tongue on one side, and the words in their target language on the other. Some people like doing traditional grammar exercises, while some like to be completely immersed as much as possible. Every language learner retains information differently, but is ultimately capable of achieving mastery, or fluency in a language.

• ·   3. No matter how different a language is from another; most languages have similarities.

It may seem hard to believe at first, but I have experienced this first-hand. Before starting to learn Russian, I thought that it would be impossible to retain vocabulary, but as time has passed, I have realized that Spanish and Russian share some words that are identical, but that are pronounced differently. 

                                           For example,

Atmosphere = atmósfera, атмосфера

Music = música, Музыка

Opera = ópera, опера

System = sistema, система

This especially holds true if you are learning a language that belongs to the same language family group. Even more so than in the previous example, it will be more likely that these languages share similar grammatical structures, vocabulary, and, oftentimes, expressions. Let's take German, and English as an example:

Bed = Bett

Fish = Fisch

House = Haus 
Warm = warm

As mentioned in the comparison of Spanish and Russian words, the German and English languages also share words that are similar, or identical, but that are pronounced differently. This can make language-learning more enjoyable.

• 4. There are many free applications, resources, websites, and videos that are just as good, or that are even better than paid ones.

I have found that some of the best resources that I have used to maintain 7 languages have been free of cost. Many of them have complete courses, links, and tips on how to learn what is essential in each level of language-learning: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. A common myth is that you have to spend a lot of money on textbooks, workbooks, courses, audios, or CDs in order to become fluent in a language. Although it would be a good idea to own at least one of these, it is not necessary. We have information right at our fingertips with a simple click of a button, and a search on Google, or on YouTube. The best part about all of this is that you can spend less than an hour a day using free resources, and achieve satisfying results, as long as you are consistent with your learning.

• 5. You do not have to have a “good” memory in order to learn a language.         

I added this bullet-point, because I cannot stress it enough. I have personally struggled with learning vocabulary, and memorizing information all of my life. I would often find myself spending countless hours trying to cram information into my brain, and not retaining most of it. Luckily, there are several simple solutions to this problem. Spaced-repetition, which is a method in which you review information in intervals, allows your brain to remember words, and concepts in the short-term, as well as in the long-term (stay tuned for a blog post on what I do in order to learn vocabulary, and expressions). You can also learn how to be confident in what you are saying, or learning from the very beginning, and get much better results.

Although there are more reasons why anyone can learn a new language this year, I decided to write about the 5 that I think are the most important, and that are rarely mentioned. If you thought that you could not learn a language before reading this post, I hope that you thought about that a little differently. Have you started learning a new language recently? If so, which obstacles have you faced?