Learning a new language can be confusing
This post has been contributed by St Georges International Foreign Languages.
Language is a vital part of the human experience and differentiates us from other animals. Academics such as Howard Gardner and Noam Chomsky suggest that our brains evolved specifically for the purpose of understanding and producing language. Why, then, are some so much harder to learn than others?
Although very young children of any ethnic background can learn to speak any language given the appropriate setting, adults do not have the same facility. Outside of what scientists term the ‘critical’ learning period, adults find it harder to learn languages and must adopt a different learning process to that of a child.
While most adults aren’t unfortunate enough to have missed out on learning a first language, many have missed out on acquiring a second. Those seeking to remedy this will find it more or less difficult depending on how the language they already speak relates to the one they seek to learn.
A family affair
For those undertaking Spanish courses London is full of reminders of the similarities between English and Spanish. The Latin alphabet makes it relatively simple for English speakers to make sense of languages that use it, such as Spanish, French, German and other languages in the Indo-European family.
Westerners may find some languages more difficult
For native English speakers languages get trickier the further one moves away from the English language’s relatives. While the vowel sounds of other European languages vary more than those of English, those of more exotic languages are far more complicated. Languages such as Thai, Mandarin and Cantonese use tones that require speakers to change pitch – something many westerners find fiendishly difficult.
Learning made easier
While the numbers of different ways to learn a language as an adult are almost as numerous as the languages themselves, some are more effective than others. For those seeking to learn French London with St Georges can provide a more rewarding learning arena than home-study options.
Whatever method is chosen, the key to an adult learning any language is hard work. No language is out of reach for the committed student, a fact demonstrated by linguist Tony Traill. Traill dedicated himself to learning the !Xóõ language of Botswana. Spoken by just a few thousand people, !Xóõ has five basic ‘clicks’ and 17 accompanying ones, while its vowels include pharyngealised, plain, breathy and strident. In mastering the range of wildly unusual sounds, Traill developed a lump on his larynx, just like the native speakers.
Although it is said that process of learning embraces students of all ages but frankly speaking if you have entered your adult age the procedure becomes much harder. What a 16 years teenager can do a 60 years man cannot. Sometimes it is due to facilities and many times it is due to their age. Thus the best time is to exercise your knowledge during your young age.
Learning a language as an adult is a tricky and often long process. My advice to the young people I meet asking about learning a language is to ensure you do it early. In my experience learning a language young, often provides a more natural way of speaking, free of errors and regional mistakes.