Myth #4 – Too Old to Learn a Language

I’ve heard people enrolled in mandatory language classes complain that they are never going to succeed because they are “too old to learn a second language.” It’s a good excuse, but no one is really too old to learn another language.

While children and teens are generally accepted as the better language learners in a natural environment; adults are certainly able to learn a second language to a high degree of proficiency as well. I have a friend who learned Italian as an adult. Italians think she’s a native speaker, just from a different city.

Perhaps what makes adults feel they are too old to learn a language is the difference in the effort involved for them vs. the effort for children. Language acquisition for children seems effortless in a natural environment; whereas the adult is very conscious of his/her learning and is highly affected by his/her attitudes and motivation, anxiety levels, and willingness to communicate. These are the true impediments for an adult learner to overcome: fear, anxiety, motivation, and attitude.

The effect of age on language learning is a hotly debated linguistic topic (the Optimal Age Theory, Maturation Theory, Critical Period Hypothesis). Most of these theories explore whether or not the ability to learn a second language diminishes after puberty. Results are controversial and provide ongoing debate in linguistic circles. There does seem to be a definite advantage, however, in terms of native-like pronunciation for children as a group. Notwithstanding, adults, too, can achieve native-like pronunciation, just not as consistently as a group. And adults and teens are actually better at many aspects of overt language learning than children, at least, initially.

Another consideration for adult language learners is personality. Linguistic studies on which personality traits correspond to good language learning seem to indicate that risk-takers and those with a high tolerance for ambiguity are better at learning a new language. This doesn’t mean you can’t be a good language learner if you are a careful person and need to understand everything. It just means that learning a new language is easier for those who are comfortable with guesswork, split second decisions, looking silly and making mistakes (all important aspects of learning another language).

To those who use age as a reason not to learn a language, I would like to point out that as we age, learning a second language, even in a classroom setting, can be extremely beneficial. It’s a great way to keep the mind active. A classroom setting for language learning does require memorization of vocabulary lists and grammar rules, tasks that involve short-term memory.  This may not be comfortable for some seniors whose short-term memory may be affected by age.  However, seniors report that they feel that studying a language is an overall boon: it improves their enjoyment of life and their self confidence.

So don’t give up on language learning if you are 30+. For adults, learning a language is indeed about the A word: but that word is more likely “Attitude,” than “Age.”

Myth #3 - Speak Only English at Home

I have heard many teachers with good intentions tell immigrants that they need to speak English at home to their child so the child’s English and school work will improve. This is not good advice from a linguistic and cultural point of view. 

While it is true that the key to success in a new country is language, children will learn a second language best if they have a firm foundation in a first language and a first cultural identity. From there, they can transfer knowledge to the new language and the new culture. It is important to have a strong foundation in a first language and a first culture so that what is learned about the new language and culture can be built upon that foundation.  This creates true bilingualism where both languages are strong and both cultures and cultural identities are valued.

If a parent’s proficiency level in English is not good, it is far better for them to give their children the gift of a solid first language by speaking and reading the native language to them in all its richness and complexity.  This language richness (the idioms, the rhetorical devices, the proverbs, the vocabulary, clichés) is the foundation upon which the child’s knowledge of a second language can grow. A rich first language will help the child succeed far better than trying to speak to him or her in not-so-perfect English.

Essentially, the important point to remember is that language learning is all about INPUT. You’ve heard of “garbage in = garbage out” for computers? The same is true in learning a second language. If you have good quality language going in, you’ll have good quality language coming out. So, if poor quality language input (broken English without idioms, expressions, proverbs, cliches) is going in, the child will not have a good first language foundation to build upon.

In a past life, I spent a year or two teaching children of Mexican immigrants. These children’s parents spoke to them in a mix of poor English and Spanish. The children had extremely low English skills although it was, for them, their native language. Socially, they had difficulty as well because they didn’t really belong to either culture. Healthy bilingualism means there is a strong identity with both cultures and both languages.

The final lesson: Don’t listen to teachers who say immigrants must speak English to their children at home. It is a myth that this helps a child succeed in school and life.  Give children the gift of true bilingualism by speaking, reading and writing in the first language and showing the value and richness of that language and culture.

Language Change with Online English

My  latest passion is for online variations of English.  There are all sorts of new and flexible ways to use spelling, punctuation, abbreviations, grammar, vocabulary, morphemes…. It’s a great new language playground out there!!  

Rejoice in texting acronyms! (LOL—once I mashed the keyboard with my fist and sent the letter blob to a colleague who uses lots of texting acronyms—took him half an hour of searching to realize I’d just sent him random letters.) 

Gotta  love tweets (RT@someoneyouknow), throw in the pronouns  “i” and “u,” add a few “z” to wordz, publish “thru” defiantly in ur blog, and isn’t it gr8 2 use #s, 2? 

Purist writer colleagues shudder.  They point to the degradation of the language and bemoan the fate of the English language: everyone is writing sloppily and getting away with it!  

I have a journalist friend who tells me her life is full of different styles now--she writes in one register for work, but texts her kids in another "speak" in the evening and tweets in another verse later. They all  have their own purposes and functions.

Languages do change and evolve...(think of the pronunciation of  "r" in NYC), but I don't think we have to fear it. Words come and go. Standards remain more rigid for academic, literary, and business writing. What we now have is more registers  to use and more flexibility in how we use these new registers. It's creative and a fun new word world out there--go out & njoy ur new freedom 2 break rulez.

Myth #2 – Best Teaching Strategy = Grammar

Learning a language by studying grammar can be traced back to the 19th century Grammar/Translation Method of language instruction. This method has been proven consistently to be one of the most ineffective language teaching strategies — and yet it is alive and well in many parts of the world, including (and surprisingly so) the capital of a bilingual country (ahem, C_n_d_-- your French language programs, particularly). 

This grammar-based teaching strategy has been justifiably criticized for teaching about the foreign language without ever teaching how to use the language. Learners can take foreign language classes based on this teaching strategy for years and years, yet never know how to communicate in real life. 

Why do language schools continue to use this teaching strategy despite its ineffectiveness?

• It’s the easiest way to teach a language.
• The teacher is in control the entire time.
• It lends itself to relying on a textbook and exercises.
• It is traditional. Many people think this is the only way to teach a language.
• It doesn’t require specialized training on how the brain acquires information.
• It is very easy to assess.

Using a method or combination of teaching strategies that are appropriate for language development is much more difficult for the teacher. It requires:

• understanding how to analyze needs and assess language proficiency (apart from a written test)
• giving up control and allowing students to practice
• much more student-centred structure and teaching strategies
• a significant amount of effort being put into the design phase
• willingness on the part of students to participate in classes with teaching strategies other than lecture, notes, written exercises and tests.

A combination of methods and teaching strategies are the tools of a professional second language instructor who is more than just a native speaker of the language. And it results in learners being able to do more than just conjugate verbs and answer grammar questions in the new language. They can actually understand and use the language to communicate.

Myth #1 - English is the Hardest Language

Thought I’d tackle a few language myths I’ve heard people confidently reinforcing to each other. A common one I’ve overheard is that English is the hardest language to learn or that it’s one of the hardest languages to learn, or that it’s much harder to learn than French. I take a deep breath and begin…

Actually, it’s all relative: it depends on where you start.  If the language you are learning is closely related to your mother tongue, you’re alright—that language won’t be hard to learn. If, however, the language you are learning is completely unrelated to your mother tongue (e.g., English and Mandarin), the language you are learning will be hard since you can’t transfer much knowledge over. 

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Look at the Proto-Indo-European language tree here. If you speak Dutch and want to learn English, it wouldn’t be much of a stretch. If you were Dutch and wanted to Iroquois (a language not even in this family), you are facing a much greater challenge since those two languages are completely unrelated.

Uncomforable though it is, with language, there are no absolutes. If you like standards, there aren’t any. All languages are complex in their own ways and no one language can be said to be the most complex of them all. So no, English is not the most difficult language.Remind me to tell the people in front of me on the bus.