Is it better to learn a new language when you are young or older?

Question

?

Answer 1

Scientifically proven when you're young.

Answer 2

Maybe not better but certainly easier for most people when they are younger. There seems to be a lot of research that shows language learning is much easier as a small child and gets much more difficult after about 11 which is when many children in the UK first start to learn.

That's not to say that you can't learn a new language when you are older. My partner learned Russian as an adult and I know a few people whose brains just seem to be wired for languages and they pick them up very easily.

I'm sure that the way you learn/ are taught also has a lot to do with it. Living abroad I learned a new language far more easily that I had previously.

There is a well known BBc programme for children (not sure about advertising rules) which makes a lot of claims about the ability at different ages. If you search 'second language for children' it will probably be a sponsored site.

Answer 3

Young 100%. You can talk to a baby in many different languages and they will retain all of it.
Many children in the world are bilingual and even trilingual. Growing up with each parent speaking a different language to them and both languages come as easy as speaking one language.
I spoke English to my daughters since they were born and my husband spoke German to them (he's Austrian). Now they are school age and they know both languages fluently and have no problems switching between either of them.
When they are teenagers then they will probably learn a third language. I think that they are sooo lucky to already know two at such a young age!
I have been learning German for 8 years now and I can tell you that it is so much harder for an adult brain to comprehend. I have already learned what is grammatically correct in English and since German doesn't follow the same rules, it makes it VERY confusing. When you are young, you don't even know about grammar rules so, you just go with what is natural and it somehow just comes together. When you are older then you think too much about it and it ends up leaving you quite puzzled.
Of course, you can always learn a language no matter what age you are! You have to be dedicated though and put in some hard work.
Good luck!
P.S. we get a lot of children in my daughters' school that can not speak one word of German when they arrive. Within a few weeks they are already having conversations in German and by the end of the school year you would have NEVER guessed that they didn't know one word. Kids are really like little sponges!

Answer 4

I think older because when you are older you can pronounce more things then when you are older. But when you are younger there might be small pictures that go with it. A little kid will realize that before a grown up does (at least most of the time). It also depends on the language. If you are learning something easy for most people then it might be good for a kid. i.e. Spanish is an easy learn for most 4th graders. But if you are learning something like Japanese or Italian then you should wit a little bit because when you speak those languages the people speak very fast and very fluid. Like you won't see them stumbling on words most of the time. So do something very basic if you are learning a COMPLETELY new language.

Answer 5

Young. You learn it faster and with a better success rate so when you're older you are able to learn more languages much easier. The best age for a child to begin learning a second language is before they hit puberty (so less than 12 or so).

Answer 6

It has been proven that a young child's brain is more receptive to learning new languages. Here are a couple of websites that have articles about this.
http://www.parenting.com/parenting/baby/article/0,19840,1579577,00.html
http://www.babyclassroom.com/article-language-second.html
Two books that are great for understanding how babies learn language are
What's Going on in There? by Lise Eliot, Ph.D. and How Babies Talk by Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, Ph.D.
Tina M
Librarian
Arlington Heights Memorial Library
Ask Us We Answer!

Answer 7

The more crucial factors to learning a foreign language is:
(1) memory and
(2) a reasonably good foundation in the 1st language

as the abovementioned factors will help to speed up the learning and acquisition process, regardless of one's age.

I had a solid foundation in my first language before I started learning a second, which is English, at the age of 7. As I have an exceptional memory and the essential language transference skills, I was able to master English well.

At the age of 24, I learnt other languages, namely German, Spanish, Indonesian, Malay and Thai. At that age, I find language learning easier than when i was young though it sounds ironic. This is because as an adult, our analytical skills become more adept and flexible so it makes it easier to "decode" a foreign language. I think I really owe multilingual learning to my memory and solid foundation in the 2 languages.

Generally, I find that one's capacity to learn languages has, to a certain extent, to do with memory. Other than excetional memory, most people need to be immersed in the language itself, meaning it must be used actively and in everyday life so that language gets into the long-term memory.

Answer 8

Young, but the caveat is you must keep at it til older to keep it. I lived in five countries growing up and had to learn a new language every time. I only use three (English, Korean, Spanish) and dream in three (English, German, Korean), different languages...I only understand what I dream in German during the dream, but it sounds like mother tongue. Weird but true. I wish I remember Farsi (Iran language), but somehow I repress that one.

Answer 9

Younger I spoke 4 languages growing up and now I want to learn new languages but it's kinda annoying.

Answer 10

young, because it's a lot easier to learn a language when ur young, u have a better memory than grownups. when ur older it will be 3 times harder

Answer 11

you can learn new language at any time but young time is better