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DON'T WASTE YOUR POTENTIAL

 

Up to the decade of 1990, in general, it was said that just children could learn asecond language at the same level as a native speaker. The theory arguing that the children are more receptive to new learnings and especially to the learning language. But, when the linguists started analyzing the information, they thought that the situation wasn't so clear... Nowadays, whereas children adapt naturally learn new things, adults take advantage of their life experiencies to learn. So, to learn a language isn't necessarily be more difficult with the age, simply it's different.

 

Hypothesis of the Critical Period says that children have certain advantages:

• Cognitive: the memory is essential to learn anything and children really "absorb" the information easier than adults. Many affirm that this phenomenon also spreads to the languages, and the evidence of this it's that children are more inclined that adults to learn the "foreign accent" of the second language.

• Motivation: technically, this one is a disadvantage for many adults, who have problems to find the motivation adapted to learn a language. On the contrary, the children are motivated by several factors, as his parents, exams, songs, the desire to communicate...

• Structural: in the developed countries, the majority of children can be focusedin their education. The progresses are practically inevitable, with so many hours dedicated weekly to the learning of a foreign language. Adults have a little free available time and have to look for a space to devote itselt to the linguistic learning.

 

On the other hand, the adults also have other advantages:

• Cognitive: adults have their cognitive systems more developed and can integrate the new linguistic knowledge with their wide experience of learning.

• Experience: thanks to their life experience, adults can make associations that the majority of children cannot. If you have knowledge of other languages, it can be a great help. You can realize associations come from unexpected places, already be lyrics of a song, known slogans or even things that aren't related to the languages.

• Contextual: the meaning of the language becomes clearer with the age. The investigations have demostrated that adults learn discursive and conceptual aspects of the language with more success that children. 

 

Briefly, children and adults learn in a different way. If you have the time and the sufficient enthusiasm, an excellent domain of a language is possible both for adults and for children.

 

Don't waste your potential: the only thing that can prevent that you don't learn a language is not trying it!