Adults Learn a Second Language Faster and Better then Children.
Provide your perspectives from the readings and research you have learned about so far regarding the benefits and disadvantages children and adults have when learning a second language. You can respond to each other and keep the conversation going.
Adults learn faster and better
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Children learn faster and bett
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For a challenge, I believe I'll argue that the idea of children learning a new language faster than adults is simply a myth. As a matter of fact, there have been studies that show that adults can learn a new language much faster because they already have a solid foundation in their own language. "Several studies that have compared how quickly children and adults acquire the same language have shown that older adolescents or adults performed better and faster than younger children" (Brown Larson-Hall, p.7) An adult obviously has to show interest and practice often if they want to acquire a new language, but it can be done, especially if the adult immerses themselves in the language and hears, speaks, and writes the language daily. "If adults are immersed in a situation where they are receiving massive amounts of input in the second language and are also forced to speak and express themselves in that language, they too are able to reach quite good levels of speaking proficiency within a relatively short amount of time (about a year)." (Brown Larson-Hall, p.12). People adapt to their surroundings and this includes being able to communicate. I can also argue that an adult brain can be just as absorbing and malleable as a child's. "It appears that our brains are set up to learn and grow at any age, although there may be different kinds of growth when the exposure occurs at different ages." (Brown Larson-Hall, p.16). The idea that children's brains are like "sponges" and adults brains are hardened and not subject to any changes, is ridiculous. Also, because our brains are so different, some scientists have concluded that "learning a new language is far easier for some adults than others, because of innate differences in how the various parts of the brain talk to one another. Some individuals may have a particular neuronal activity pattern that may lend itself to better learning of a second language" (Knapton, Why some people find learning a language harder than others). In conclusion, if I (an adult) decided that I wanted to learn a new language, my brain is more than capable of absorbing the language, as long as I am immersed in an environment where it's necessary for me to listen and speak the new language constantly. It takes a little more effort for an adult, versus a child, but it's definitely not impossible. - Brigitte Emmert Side: Adults learn faster and better
""Several studies that have compared how quickly children and adults acquire the same language have shown that older adolescents or adults performed better and faster than younger children" (Brown Larson-Hall, p.7)" This is consistent with my reading of the literature, but it also appears that older children (8-15) outperform adults (Source 1). Of course young children wouldn't be able to understand the rules of a second language very well because they don't entirely understand the rules of their native language yet. I completely agree with your conclusion that it is never too late to learn a new language though, the brain has remarkable plasticity at all ages. Sources: (1) https://www.jstor.org/stable/ Side: Children learn faster and bett
For a challenge, I believe I'll argue that the idea of children learning a new language faster than adults is simply a myth. It is not a myth but observed experience. As anyone who comes from a bilingual family or children growing up in bilingual communities. Such children acquire new language effortlessly. The same cannot be said for learning a language by adolescents and adults. Your citation from Brown Larson-Hall claims that older adolescents and adults "performed better" but it did not indicate what test was used to measure performance. I wager the older adolescents were learning from grammar books and classroom lectures as well as exercises. Children learn differently and the quality of that learning is different from how learning occurs post puberty. I am sure there is a good deal of qualification attached to the study you cite. Side: Children learn faster and bett
This is an interesting statement because of the semantics used; therefore, I am hesitant to choose a side. While I am posting on the adult side, I remain neutral because, the words, faster and better, do not discern or specify the level of proficiency, the second language learner will obtain. Furthermore, these terms are neither valid nor specific, when discussing Krashen’s Second Language Acquisition (1982). Assuming the learner will have the ability to communicate with Cognitive Academic Level Proficiency (Cummins 2006), then we need to factor in the individual brain of each subject, both child and adult. According to Piaget, Language is part of cognitive development, language acquisition is defined as a lifelong active process that constantly updates and reorganizes data. If this is true, our brains can be malleable at anytime throughout life (1926). If we consider Piaget’s theory, we cannot state an adult OR a child learns “faster” or “better” than the other, because language acquisition relates more to Paradis’ theory on Neurolinguistic bilingualism than age. It states, “Identical performance on behavioral language tasks does not mean that early and late bilinguals process the tasks identically. Early and late bilinguals differ fundamentally. High proficient late bilinguals use compensatory mechanisms to process language; they use speeded up control, rather than automatic processing (2006).” This infers, the language acquisition process has nothing to do with age, rather executive function of the brain. I agree with Hellman who states, “Effortless acquisition and automatic processing are the privilege of early childhood but we need to reevaluate the definition of success in sequential, dominant, and late onset multilingualism. Native level is not the goal; however, high Proficiency is extremely beneficial for processing efficiency (2009).” Side: Adults learn faster and better
According to Piaget, Language is part of cognitive development, language acquisition is defined as a lifelong active process that constantly updates and reorganizes data. If this is true, our brains can be malleable at anytime throughout life (1926). I do not agree that the malleability of the human brain remains the same just because language acquisition continues after childhood. Language acquisition is not only a factor of malleability but of intelligence and exposure. Adolescents and adults have their first language to help when learning a second language but this does not require malleability to the same degree or nature as childhood acquisition of language. Side: Adults learn faster and better
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I'm Indian, my dad's from the south of India, while my mom's from the north, and the languages are different in the north and south. I was spoken to in both the languages, and I picked up both simultaneously, kids have a better grasping power in my opinion.. Side: Children learn faster and bett
Children certainly do appear to learn languages better than adults (Source 1). In addition, the best period to learn additional languages appears to be between the ages of 8-15 (Source 2). Adults can still learn new languages and attain fluency comparable to native speakers though. Sources: (1) https://www.oecd.org/edu/ceri/ (2) https://www.jstor.org/stable/ Side: Children learn faster and bett
I believe that children can acquire a language quicker than adults can because of the research I have read about language acquisition. According to Dr. Xiaoquian Chai, “The brain is very plastic, meaning that it can be shaped by learning and experience”. Adults and children are constantly learning but I believe that children’s minds are more flexible to receiving information because the brain is in such early stages of development. It has been proven through research that children who are exposed to several language as an infant are able to differentiate between them as they are growing up and becoming proficient with the grammar rules and vocabulary. Steven Pinker states that, “acquisition of a normal language is guaranteed for children up to the age of six, is steadily compromised from then until shortly after puberty, and is rare thereafter” (Pinker 1994, p. 293). Knowing this fact, it leads you to wonder if the acquiring of a second language can better be learned during that time as well. The brain has a high plasticity as it is developing and its ability to intake new information that is complex slows over time, which is why it is hard for some adults to grasp a new language with proficiency. However, to argue this information, Collier said in 1989 that, “Children’s SLA appears superior largely because the structures and vocabulary they need for adequate communication are so much simpler than those required of adults”. After reading this quote, it shows me that children may learn the language faster because of their early brain development, but just because they learn quickly does not mean that they will be as proficient as an adult would need to be to be able to communicate in the real world with other adults. This debate is a hard one to decide on one definite answer of if an adult or child learns faster, I feel that in adulthood because of all the outside circumstances that they have going on it can be very difficult to devote the time needed to learning a second language. This is why I chose the side for children learning faster simply because they have more time and more time for exposure. According to Macguire in a study done in 2000, it was determined that adult brains are plastic enough to grow and change as well through the receiving of information and experience. However, this only occurs if true effort and time are devoted to the learning. The last point to make in favor of children gaining a second language is that according to the book Second Language Acquisition Myths by S. Brown and J. Larson-Hall, “-children are better learners in the long run…if we are discussing ultimate attainment after five to ten years”. This shows that children are socially interacting so much with the language and are practicing it throughout this critical period that they will retain the information better over time due to the intense exposure if they are receiving a second language to that extent. So yes, I believe both adults and children learn a second language but I believe because of the time it takes and exposure needed to this second language to reach proficiency, children are more likely to have the time to support this type of learning. Side: Children learn faster and bett
While I am teetering between both sides and am hesitant to say that children learn ”faster,” I do not see that research refutes the common conception that children learn languages better than adults. While Cummins’ Common Underlying Proficiency argues that language learners are able to transfer language skills from the proficient language to a new one, it is also worth noting that kids can learn multiple languages simultaneously and become proficient as their brains develop (Penfield and Roberts 1959). While extreme and rare, examples such as Genie (abused and never introduced to language until age 13) suggest that there is a critical point in learning language before puberty. She was never able to master language. This leads to the idea that it is optimal to learn new languages before puberty as well. It’s also worth mentioning that children are much more likely to reach a native-like accent than older learners. While not necessarily better, it does suggest mastery of the language. This can be seen on brain scans of adults as language acquisition later in life is stored in a different way than is a language acquired before puberty. The adult brain does not process phonology as well. Also, early acquired languages seem to be stored in the brain in a more effective way to process information (Hellmann 2009). Perhaps it is not correct to say that children learn faster or better than adults, but it does appear that a child’s brain is capable of learning information in a way that an adult cannot. This could mean language learning is done more effectively by a child. Side: Children learn faster and bett
I believe that although adults may generally be able to learn a new language as quick as or even maybe quicker than children at first, in the long run, the earlier you start learning a language the more proficient you will become overall. Pronunciation in particular is attained better when starting earlier. I believe this is because the younger you start learning a language the more natural it is. According to Brown-Larson Hall, “there seems to be a natural process of learning a language that develops along the same lines of natural development.” I do believe as far as vocabulary development and grammar structure, adults can gain quicker at first. According to Collier, “children’s second language acquisition appears superior largely because the structure and vocabulary they need for adequate communication is are so much simpler than compared to adults.” However, the more natural learning a language is, the more it is retained I believe. Brown-Larson Hall also explains research showing that in the long run, children usually are much more proficient overall when comparing to a native speaker. Side: Children learn faster and bett
Vocabulary and language structure (grammar) are acquired before puberty and without effort. Learning from books and language lessons is a different process and more difficult for learners who are using different faculties to the natural subconscious learning experienced by children. Side: Adults learn faster and better
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