Advantages/disadvantages mature learners (General discussion) Language Learning Forum

Advantages/disadvantages mature learners
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Language Learning Forum : General discussion

20 messages over 3 pages: 1 2 3

zonius
Triglot
Newbie
Israel
Joined 5062 days ago
12 posts - 15 votes
Speaks: Russian*, English, Modern Hebrew
Studies: Spanish, Mandarin

Message 17 of 20

26 May 2011 at 11:47pm | IP Logged

I've tried some language-exchange social sites (of the "let's friend each other and correct each other's mistakes" kind) and it seemed that there was a strong undercurrent of 20-something people being flirty with exotic strangers. Feels a little weird when you're old enough to have daughters of the that age and don't relate to "bad day in college", "that bitch stole my boyfriend" or "problems with parents" kind of themes.
(I could relate to the last one but I was not at the sufficient language level to properly express the parents' perspective :)
2 persons have voted this message useful

varjakpaul
Newbie
United States
Joined 4928 days ago
22 posts - 20 votes
Speaks: English*
Studies: Italian, Spanish, Mandarin, Persian

Message 18 of 20

30 May 2011 at 5:59pm | IP Logged

Raincrowlee wrote:

Disadvantage:

Both our personality and our world-view have pretty much been formed. When we learn a new language, instead of using words as building blocks to frame our image of the world and ourselves, or as an expression of our thoughts and feelings, we find ourselves merely trying to find replacements for words and concepts we already know. There is no sense of discovery, or not as much. We learn the language but we often do not learn how to think about the world, something most young people are still going through when they are learning languages. Discovery gives the process an emotional tinge, and the words defined flavors because they mean more than just "if I want to say fish in French, I say poisson." Since other connections are not formed ("what is this delicious thing I just ate? Poisson? Marvelous!"), we don't have the intimate connection with the language that younger people do. Or at least the connection doesn't come as easily.

Wow, I totally disagree! There is no scientific reason why a "mature" person has to lose his/her sense of wonder and/or the ability to lay aside (or at least suspend) previously held beliefs/world view and be open to new ways of looking at the world, ourselves and interpersonal relationships. (And I can compare this to traveling to the far East and being exposed to something such as Buddhism, which had never before been more than an academic subject for me...not that I converted to Buddhism but studying it showed me that there are different ways of looking at the world.)

I'm forty-something, just started learning Romanian, and I am in awe of the excitement that lies ahead for me as I learn it. And what doors it might open for me; the same for the Mandarin that I study off and on. As for your food example, some cultures have foods I have never heard of, so I am still experiencing delectable wonders of the edible kind! No matter how old one is, learning a foreign language is a great opportunity to experience "child-like" wonder and discovery again! And it may be that as an adult, I actually appreciate those things.

Besides, I think each foreign language we learn makes the next one easier to learn. That is an advantage of an experienced language learner, as has been pointed out.

But I am interested in what the OP meant by "mature." 40 years, 50 years, 60 years, 70, 80? And all you guys that mentioned memory loss or that it was not as quick; I don't know but I don't think mine at forty plus is that much worse as compared to when I was twenty two. I still find it easy to pick up new vocabulary and feel from my language experience that I find a lot of languages intuitive to learn.

Motivation, for me, remains the most important part of successfully learning a foreign language, no matter where we live and what circumstance we find ourselves in.
1 person has voted this message useful

Snowflake
Senior Member
United States
Joined 5959 days ago
1032 posts - 1233 votes

Studies: Mandarin

Message 19 of 20

30 May 2011 at 6:24pm | IP Logged

zonius wrote:

Mention in your profile that you are older and keep trying. While it seems that many people don't read the profiles, all it takes is one chat partner that you can relate to. That one person can make a huge difference.
1 person has voted this message useful

Solfrid Cristin
Heptaglot
Winner TAC 2011 & 2012
Senior Member
Norway
Joined 5334 days ago
4143 posts - 8864 votes

Speaks: Norwegian*, Spanish, Swedish, French, English, German, Italian
Studies: Russian

Message 20 of 20

31 May 2011 at 2:35pm | IP Logged

I did not define mature, as I wanted to let people define that for themselves, but I am in my late 40 ies and
would define myself as a mature learner. If you sense no change since you were 22 then good for you. I still
have not figured out if the fact that I am a slower learner now is because of the age or simply because
finding time to sit down and do any serious study seems impossible due to family obligations. I was curious
as to the experiences other had, hoping to get closer to an answer.

1 person has voted this message useful

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