If you're trying to learn a second language past the age of 12, it's going to be hell, according to research presented today at the conference for the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Well, maybe you already knew that -- but perhaps you didn't know why.
It's not just that languages get harder to learn because you're older: your first language actually shapes the architecture of your brain, interfering with your ability to learn new languages later in life, says Pat Kuhl, Co-Director of the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences at the University of Washington. Up until the age of six months, babies can easily distinguish between all different types of sounds, whether they're sounds native to English, Finnish or Chinese. But sometime before their first birthday, everything changes, and babies stop being able to decipher between sounds that aren't a part of their native tongue. At six months, both Japanese and English babies can decipher between "ra" and "la," for instance, which are relevant sounds to English but not to Japanese. But six months later, the Japanese stop being able to tell the difference between them.
And lest you think you can train your kids to be trilingual by plopping them in front of foreign language videos every day, it turns out that children really need one-on-one interaction with language speakers in order to learn from them. Research shows that when English infants spend six weeks interacting with Mandarin speakers, they get better at distinguishing Mandarin sounds, but they don't learn a thing if they spend the same amount of time sitting in front of Mandarin speakers on TV.
So, once again, science proves that TV is bad and that as we get older, we get dumber. Sigh.
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Comments
John Pavlus
says:
Dang - I was totally planning to cram my future son/daughter's pliable baby brain with as many difficult languages as I could before the "window" closed. But if TV doesn't work... jeez, where am I going to find a native Icelandic-speaking nanny?
February 17, 2008 10:33 AM
JohnSt says:
Something is wrong here.
I had 3 languages at 12 and learned no. 7 (Castellano) in 6 weeks at the age of 59.
Does this "hell" apply only to native speakers of the rather primitive English language?
February 19, 2008 4:29 PM
Nancy says:
Yes, we've known this for a long time (I think it was in my intro developmental psych books in the late 70's). I assume Kuhl was presenting something new and exciting having to do with lateralization and brain development after puberty.
The TITLE of the article is about learning languages after age 12. But 60 seconds of science is about learning languages at 6-12 months. Those developmental differences are pretty important.
February 19, 2008 4:49 PM
Frank says:
It's not clear what type of Mandarin speakers the children are exposed to on TV. If the children are receiving comprehensible input (Sesame Street in Mandarin) there can be some language learning going on because the children are engaged. Just watching cartoons, they might not be as good at learning the language.
February 19, 2008 5:03 PM
adrian says:
Geesh, I'm with JohnSt.
It may be difficult and it may take a while (work and effort, by george!), but it is not hell. I learned Mandarin in college and after living in Taiwan for 3 years, I spoke proficiently, if not with a touch of fluency. I know several other friends who with similar backgrounds are doing simultaneous translation.
Maybe some people's brains are more fluid... And, of course there are all levels of learning. So can we cut down on the "we're doomed rhetoric," please?
One may not come to be as fluent in a second language, but knowing even a bit can be quite heavenly.
February 19, 2008 5:21 PM
John says:
This blurb really says nothing. Everyone knows that languages are easier for a child to learn. And, everyone knows that millions of adults have mastered a language well after their teenage years. It's easy for some and impossible for others and usually requires hard work and commitment. My son was able to speak Spanish fluently in 8 months at the age of 24 when he was living in Costa Rica.
Next time someone publishes something like this, I hope they make sure that it has much more substance.
February 19, 2008 6:12 PM
sduford says:
That's non-sense. I learned to speak English in 6 months when I was 24. I'm now learning Spanish quite well and I'm 47!
Hasta Luego.
February 19, 2008 7:31 PM
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