Why it's never too late to learn a new language

This informal CPD article on Why it's never too late to learn a new language was provided by Learn French with Alexa, Online Language education and teaching content of the highest quality, ensuring that our students achieve their desired goals.

The younger you are, the easier it is to learn a language. At least, that’s the conventional wisdom. Studies have shown that our language learning abilities decline as we grow older, with the first three years of our lives representing the period when our brains are most receptive to new languages, while age 10 is the peak for understanding the various complexities of grammar.¹

It's all to do with the ways our brains develop. Children's brains are hardwired to learn, and new information doesn't have to compete for space with all the excess knowledge that typically fills an adult's brain. But our cognitive abilities are only one part of the picture. Experience, determination and lifestyle also play a huge role in language acquisition, and in these areas, adults often hold the advantage.

Being an adult comes with added flexibility

If children have an easier time learning languages, they also have a lot less control over what, when and how they learn. While it's true that having a job and raising children of your own will eat into your free time, if you're deciding to embark upon a language learning journey, it's likely to be your decision, and not anyone else's.

Having your own goals that you set out to achieve is vital for motivation. Unbeholden to school examinations or the desires of your parents or guardians, you can choose any language you want to learn, for whichever reason you want. Perhaps you want to learn a language that was never offered to you at school, or perhaps you're interested in returning to a language you were familiar with but had to drop in favour of another subject. As an adult, not only can you do that - you can learn as many languages as you want. And with the increasing proliferation of online resources, learning by yourself only gets easier and easier.

The flexibility that comes with being an adult doesn't only extend to these initial decisions. It also means you'll get to set the pace of your learning. You can choose which time of day, and which days of the week work best for you, as well as how long you would like to spend learning, how many breaks you want to allow yourself, and similar considerations. If you miss the routine regularity of school lessons, after-work or weekend classes are a great way to learn in a reliable and consistent fashion, with expert guidance from your teacher.

Many of these classes are geared towards passing exams or achieving internationally recognised grades, such as the CEFR, but you can often take these exams without formal tuition. But if you just want to learn a language for your own reasons, there's nothing stopping you from measuring your success and proficiency in a way that satisfies your own ambitions.

You already have the experience

Chances are, whether you are a seasoned polyglot, or you don't know a single word outside the English language, you are already familiar with the basics of language learning. While children may pick up vocabulary and grammar a little easier, they generally lack the practice that comes with having studied languages before, and at very young ages won't even have mastered the basics of their first language.

If you've learned a language before, even if it was only partially or a long time ago, you'll find that it comes back to you more quickly than if you were to embark on a totally new language.² And even for those of us who have never learned a language, familiarity with the different building blocks of language is something we absorb as we grow older, and as we use language more and more in professional, educational and recreational environments. This awareness of the various components of language, from different tenses and moods to how to conjugate verbs, makes the planning and organising aspects of learning a language so much easier, and will consequently save you a lot of time.

You may struggle at first, but the more languages you learn, the easier it gets, as you become more and more experienced with the methods that work best for you. The experience of studying languages filters into the way you tackle problems too, meaning that obstacles are more easily surmountable. A study conducted in Israel³, for example, found that adults outperform children when it comes to understanding artificial language rules and have longer memory retention. 

Motivation is more important than age

The recipe for success in language learning varies from person to person, but you can be sure that commitment and consistency will always be among the main ingredients. In contrast with these, the advantages that come with having a young brain aren't so great - and with enough motivation, some can even be replicated.

For instance, one of the advantages commonly cited in infant learners is their lack of embarrassment when it comes to speaking. But this is easily something that adults can learn - or rather, re-learn - too. Practicing your second language in conversation with a native might feel awkward to an adult used to speaking fluently in their own language, but it's worth remembering that your interlocutor is far more likely to feel flattered than amused at your attempts, and will gladly help you out.

When it comes to our brains' potential to store and apply information, it may be true that certain advantages are lost with age. But there is also a great deal of research which suggests that aspects of brain development necessary for language learning, such as neuroplasticity, don't deteriorate with age. (Why It’s Never Too Late to Learn a Foreign Language - Mondly)

A recent study by Dutch and British researchers even came to that conclusion that, with all the various advantages and disadvantages of different age groups considered, there is no such thing as a critical age for learning a language.⁴ In other words, the educational advantages of youth are greatly exaggerated. In contrast, we don't talk enough about the advantages that come with age. This isn't to say that childhood isn't a good time to learn new languages, but rather that it's never too late. All you need is time and motivation.

We hope this article was helpful. For more information from Learn French with Alexa, please visit their CPD Member Directory page. Alternatively please visit the CPD Industry Hubs for more CPD articles, courses and events relevant to your Continuing Professional Development requirements.

References

¹https://www.webmd.com/balance/features/best-age-to-learn-foreign-language

²https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/recalling-a-language-after-50-years-its-like-remembering-how-to-faire-du-velo-cjg7jrdj8

³https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0013648

⁴http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0143328