Learning Language at 14 vs 20 (General discussion) Language Learning Forum

Learning Language at 14 vs 20
Tags: Teenagers \| Age
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Language Learning Forum : General discussion

55 messages over 7 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next >>

Nguyen
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Message 41 of 55

19 April 2011 at 1:34am | IP Logged

Here is an interesting dialogue with some polyglots and language profs talking about this very point http://brooklynmonk.wordpress.com/2010/11/ . The concensus seems to be that adults actually learn faster than children. We (adults) also have a much larger working vocabulary in our native language. Kids seem to have an inate ability to lose their native accent and greater phenomic flexibility. Why not ask the Mythbusters?
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Gorgoll2
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Message 42 of 55

20 April 2011 at 1:01am | IP Logged

I´m 14. But I´ve a huge problem: He´s called Sloth. But, I´ll study more soon.
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Arekkusu
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Message 44 of 55

20 April 2011 at 4:58pm | IP Logged

Kuikentje wrote:

I know some adults also, who learned when they were older, and you can hear after about 3 words that they're foreign: they make some mistakes, or little bit weird construction and have a foreign accent but the people who learned when they were children haven't those at all.

Children are often ostracized for sounding foreign; most adult learners don't want to stop sounding foreign or aren't willing to make the effort necessary to improve their accents.
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Arekkusu
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Message 46 of 55

20 April 2011 at 6:10pm | IP Logged

Kuikentje wrote:

Arekkusu wrote:

Kuikentje wrote:

Children are often ostracized for sounding foreign; most adult learners don't want to stop sounding foreign or aren't willing to make the effort necessary to improve their accents.

I don't agree, the people who I've met wanted to speak the best possible.

If you mean in a sort of magical wishful thinking way, then I agree, but we've otherwise had many discussions in this forum about accents and most people stated they simply did not think that working on their accent was time well spent.
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Solfrid Cristin
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Message 48 of 55

20 April 2011 at 8:23pm | IP Logged

I am a 100 percent with Kuikentje on this one. As a child you do not decide that you want to get a good
accent. You just do. And frankly I don't buy people saying they are unwilling to make the effort or don't care.
If they are able to they just will. If they don't get a decent accent it is because they are unable to. And
noone is going to tell me that this is not age related. As a kid I just absorbed languages. That just doesn't
happen anymore.

Edited by Solfrid Cristin on 20 April 2011 at 8:38pm

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