Why you’re never too old to learn a language
Wednesday, 15th April 2009
For many people, learning foreign languages is something they have to do in school. Many see this as an unpleasant chore that has to be endured and are only too happy to forget all they’ve learnt after leaving school.
In later life many people realise that the ability to speak foreign languages can be useful for a variety of reasons, including improving your employment prospects, visiting foreign parts for business or pleasure, working abroad, getting in touch with your roots, and so on.
However many people think that they are ‘not good at languages’, perhaps due to lack of confidence, and/or memories of unsuccessful language learning experiences in school. There is also a widely-held belief that the older you get, the more difficult it becomes to learn languages, and that if you don’t manage to learn a language as a child, there’s not much point in trying as an adult.
While there is some truth in the idea that language learning abilities decline with age, there doesn’t seem to be a cut off point after which learning languages becomes a lot more difficult. When learning languages adults have advantages over children in that they are already fully proficient in their native languages, they have more life experience, and can devise interesting learning strategies. Retirees have the additional advantage of having more time to devote to their studies.
Learning new words is one aspect of language learning that people tend to find more difficult as they get older, mainly due to declining memory. There are ways around this though – you could link the unfamiliar words with ones you already know through association. The more words you learn, the easier it becomes to learn new ones as you start to see connections between the ones you already know.
So whatever your age, it is possible for you to learn a new language. It can open up new worlds of knowledge and experience to you, can help you get in touch with your roots, and can help you connect with your children and grandchildren if they’re also learning the same language. It’s also a great way to keep you mind active.
More about language courses abroad for mature learners
More about evening language courses in the UK
Tags: spanish, french, german, italian, languages, language, tailor-made, language learning, young at heart
Posted by Simon Ager under Attitudes to Language Learning,
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