We’ve heard it, time and time again about adult language learning: iT’s sO hArD tO LeArN A nEw LaNgUaGe aS aN aDuLlt.
They say if you want to sound like a native speaker, your chances are better if you start learning a language before the age of 10. The adult brain must learn the language plus fight against applying the language rules of their original language and retrain their brain. Ok, ok, we get what research says.
But after spending the past two years rapidly increasing my Spanish-language skills across Latin America, I’ve grown to despise that claim. We hear it so much as the prevailing topic regarding adult language learning. Which opens room for self-fulfilling prophesies and excuses not to learn after age 10. The truth is, while it might be challenging — it isn’t impossible. Adults learn new languages every day. And we need to hear more of that conversation as well. Here are seven observations that need to be included in the language-learning conversations with just as much frequency:
1. Not all researchers agree on the same conclusions about the best learning age.
Researchers from three Boston Universities claim that even among native speakers, it takes 30 years to master a language fully. However, I noticed that the research never defined what constitutes mastery. Does that mean mastery of your one dialect or multiple? Was AAVE one of the dialects used in the study? Does mastery include an academic vocabulary and understanding of syntax and rhetorical devices or simply being able to communicate on a day-to-day basis? Elissa Newport, a Georgetown University neurology professor specializing in language acquisition, still needs convincing of some of the findings in that research. “Most of the literature finds that learning the syntax and morphology of a language is done in about five years, not 30,” she says. “The claim that it takes 30 years to learn a language just doesn’t fit with any other findings.” Five years is a lot more encouraging.
2. Childhood language learning is easier because we are better at teaching children.
With children, we engage all sorts of language-learning tools! Books with repetition and rhythm are covertly teaching language. Books like “Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See? It isn’t just a silly little children’s book. It’s a phonics book that builds vocabulary. The interactive song game Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes is a language tool. So much interactive play as a child is geared toward making learning a language stick. As adults, we are given a long list of words to conjugate and commit to rote memory without context. If we want adult language learners to build language skills, we need to get them playing and singing and actively using the language within the context more!
3. Native English speakers don’t know language-construction rules in English.
Gather 100 English speakers with post-graduate degrees, and you’d be lucky if ten could accurately identify or define a “past participle.” If you asked the same group to identify a split infinitive in a paragraph or, better yet, just identify the infinitive. Very few, if any, would get it right.
Yet, this is a common way we approach foreign languages. The strongest emphasis is placed on grammar rules and language construction. We introduce topics like, “This is the conjugation for the past participle in Spanish.” That means nothing to most people. They don’t know what to do with that information. People do not know the technicalities of grammar laws, yet not knowing the rules does not impact their fluency.
I remember my high school Spanish class. We had this lengthy back-and-forth between the teacher and a student that went like this:
Teacher: Ustedes is the plural you form.
Student: There’s no plural of me. I’m the only me.
Teacher: No, no, it’s when you’re talking to a group of people.
Student: Why would I say “me” to a group of people?
This continued for way longer than it should, with the teacher using sterile, academic grammar terms. Finally, after so much back and forth, I realized “plural you” means “y’all.” When I announced my epiphany, a sigh fell over the class. No one rationalizes in their English-speaking mind that they’re using a first-person singular or first-person plural pronoun when they speak their native language. Yet, we expect adults to recall that construction when learning a new language. No one would explain “plural you” to a five-year-old learning a new language, yet somewhere along the way, we start teaching teens and adults this way.
4. Adult language learners need to hear language used in context.
Hearing the language used in context is pivotal for adult language learning. Language Instructors give adults and older teens a long list of verbs to conjugate with torturous drills. A native Spanish-speaking child has never done a single “o, as, a, amos, ais, an” drill a day in their life. They’ve heard word endings used in context and know when something sounds wrong. This method needs more prominence in the adult language learning approach.
Additionally, words and phrases don’t always directly translate. For example: “ir” means “to go” in Spanish. So naturally, when I placed my order, “Quiero una hamburgessa, no lechuga, ir,” I caused confusion. Finally, after two months of confusing Guatemalans, someone finally understood my direct translation. “Para llevar” or “For to carry” is how is the way to communicated this desire in Spanish. That real-life context gave me a learning experience that I will never forget.
5. Adult language learners want to know everything at once.
It takes a baby takes one year before speaking. Then, they only know a few (about 50) words most pertinent to their little worlds. These words are usually about familiar relationships and food. But adults want to know how to flirt, ask directions, order meals, discuss complex history, geography, and weather, ask questions, speak on the arts and politics, and tell compelling stories immediately!
Managing the expectation of needing to know everything at once and prioritizing the topics most pertinent to one’s age group and interests will not only give adult language learners confidence but also motivate them to delve deeper into learning. An adult will quickly lose interest if, after four months, all they’ve learned is “Donde esta la bibliotheca” or “Yo vivo en la casa azul” when they really need to learn how to order a medium-well steak.
6. We need a mix of native and non-native language teachers.
The United States already has an overall teacher shortage. According to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, teachers who are qualified to teach Spanish are even rarer. Often, those teachers are not native speakers or from a Spanish-speaking culture. However, knowing the culture is vital to knowing the language. Nuances and idiosyncrasies in how a language is used cannot be learned isolated from the culture. One must to go beyond textbooks and dictionaries to understand connotations. Native Language Speaking teachers aid in that connection.
That’s not to say non-native foreign-language teachers don’t have value. On the contrary, they fill the gaps in how students process a second language. Going back to my experience with translating “y’all” into Spanish, a culturally astute native English speaker teacher with awareness of southern dialect English would have known how to make that connection to a class of Kentuckians.
7. There’s no standardization of the Spanish taught in the United States.
Additionally, in the US, students get a cornucopia of native language speakers. Vocabulary and expressions can vary from country to country and Spanish teachers (native or not) are not always aware of or acknowledge the differences. New learners may get a teacher who emphasizes European-Spanish one semester and Mexican-Spanish the next. In my experience, language instructors often completely leave out the Spanish used in Southern South America.
On the other extreme, teachers may introduce the multiple forms of Spanish at once. For example, in Spain and Mexico, “coche” means car. But in Guatemala the same word means pig and everyone uses “auto.” I learned both. However, in Chile it means stroller. In four semesters of Spanish, that never came up. All of my teachers drilled “vosotros” used in Spain but never mentioned “vos” and “sos” used in South America. American language learners end up with a unique hybrid. My Spanish tests would include “How would you say xyz in Spain.” Meanwhile, native speakers thoroughly learn their one dialect before later being introduced to other variations. The lack of standardization of Spanish can lead to information overload, disengagement, and more time learning depth rather than breadth.
Adult language learning is possible and we need to emphasize language-learning conversations around opportunities rather than missed learning windows. Emphasizing that learning a new language later in life is an uphill battle is one of the major roadblocks to learning. Nothing — not age, not technique– improves learning outcomes more than curiosity a can-do approach to learning.
