Learning a Second Language is Kid Stuff

May 10, 2010, 1:10 pm by Jennifer Johnson

Language researchers would probably agree that your second language acquisition would have been more easily-achieved had you started before age five.

There’s an abundance of research out there confirming that young kids pick up languages more easily than adults. The relative ease with which children learn a second language may have something to do with a linguistic theory called “language transfer.”

The more children learn about a foreign language, the more they understand about their own language,” said Nancy Rhodes, Director of Foreign Language Education at the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, D.C.

For young kids, language learning is intuitive and natural. What educators call a “window of opportunity” may be what experts say is a greater neural and linguistic plasticity, which allows kids to acquire language with relative ease and speed.

Researchers led by neurologist Dr. Andrea Mechelli studied the brain images of bilinguals and concluded that learning a foreign language at any age increases the grey matter density in the brain, according to a 2007 New York Times article. Though learning a foreign language at any age adds to grey matter density, the most significant advantage exists for people who acquired that language before age five.

Learning a new language could have helped your SAT scores. The 2007 College Bound Seniors report, issued by the SAT-administering College Board, reported the significant benefits of studying a foreign language for four or more years: students scored an average 140 points (out of 800) higher on the Critical Reading section than students with only two semesters of foreign language, 150 points higher on Writing, and another 140 points more in the Math section.

Web MD reports that learning multiple languages can ultimately delay the onset of dementia by nearly four years in elderly patients.

Adults find it hard to mimic never-before heard sounds in other languages. Children, on the other hand, are natural copycats, often delighting in repeating and mimicking sounds and words. Kids can pick up slight differences in tones and sound, which can be helpful when imitating a natural-sounding, native-like accent that may take adolescents and adults years of practice to achieve.

A study conducted by researchers from UCLA and the University of Hong Kong shows that even adults with significant exposure to the language in childhood can end up speaking like a native.

Immersion–where all or nearly all of the verbal inputs a person receives are in the language they’re trying to learn–can be enormously helpful for learning a new language quickly and in a manner that lasts. Linguists suggest that, if you can’t study abroad in a place where you’re immersed in the language, consistently exploring the language may be your next best bet.

So stick with your foreign language classes in college or sign-up for them as an elective and your grey matter will thank you.

http://blog.openstudy.com/2010/05/10/learning-a-second-language-is-kid-stuff/