In an excerpt from the novel "How I Learned English" by Tom Miller, Miller describes the difficulties in learning languages later in life. He describes how his wife attended ESL class for the first time, and that when she came home she answered, "Oh, really? That's interesting" to everything he asked in English. Because of the high demand for English in the United States, many people, like Miller's wife, take English classes to learn the language. However, learning languages as an adult has been found to be much more of a struggle than learning languages during childhood.
Scientists have found that children and adults actually process language in different areas of the brain. Children use a part of the brain that processes information unconsciously and automatically. This area of the brain functions in motor skills that humans do not have to be actively thinking about while using. Adults, however, must store information in other regions of the brain when learning a new language. Because of this difference in processing, adults are forced to translate a new language in their minds before they can process it, whereas children tend to think automatically in the new language. Research suggests that the cut-off age for this change in language processing is approximately eighteen years old, but can vary from individual to individual. The research suggests that despite how well an adult knows a language, if the language is learned in adulthood, it will be processed much differently than if it is learned in childhood or early adolescence.
In reference to my earlier blog, learning a language at a very young age can be especially beneficial. Children who have parents that speak two languages from the child's birth are at an advantage in language learning, because they will retain recognition of phonemes from two different languages, rather than forgetting the phonemes of one of the languages.
This research raises some questions. What determines the individual age variations in how language is processed? Does processing of language change due to physical age, or environmental and cultural influences with language? What happens specifically in the brain to change the pathway of language processing? Are there ways to teach language differently so that for adults it can be stored in a part of the brain that will process it more automatically instead of through translation? As a society, do we have a responsibility to teach our children languages at younger ages so that the learning process is facilitated? I am also interested in the specific areas of the brain that are responsible for the distinct processing of language. How do these areas of the brain function in language acquisition?
On a personal note.......
I am familiar with three languages. English, as my native language, is logically the one that is most natural for me to use. I began learning Spanish when I was twelve years old. I have been taking Japanese classes for about two weeks. I mentioned in an earlier blog how interesting it was that now when I try to think of a word in Japanese that I don't know, I automatically revert to the Spanish word rather than the English word. I had lunch with my advisor last week, and I spoke with her about this phenomenon. She called it "interference". She said that because I learned Spanish later in my childhood, I had it stored in a special place in my brain that I used when I remembered Spanish words. Now that I am learning Japanese, she told me that I am storing information about Japanese in that same area of the brain. So when I look for a Japanese word that I have not learned yet, there is nothing in that space for the word in Japanese, but there is a word in there for Spanish, which is why my mind reverts to Spanish rather than English. I thought it was an interesting concept....I am sure that we will probably learn about it in this class (I actually think someone mentioned something about interference during introductions)!
Links:
Miller, Tom (2007)."How I Learned English." Retrieved on October 6, 2007 from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14692405
Thompson, Paul (2003). "Learning Language." Lab of Neuro-Imaging & Brain Mapping Division. Retrieved on October 6, 2007 from http://www.acfnewsource.org/science/learning_language.html
Shiver, Elaine (2000). "Brain Development and Mastery of Language in the Young Years." Retrieved on October 6, 2007 from http://www.parentinginformation.org/braindevelopment.htm
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3 comments:
In response to your personal note, I completely understand what you mean. I've learned Japanese and Hawaiian intermittently througout my life and now as I am taking Japanese I sometimes grasp for a word and come up with something in Hawaiian.
It's sad that our brains have already (or are almost) shut down to the "natural" acquisition of languages. When I try to speak or write in French, I always have to think of what I want to say in English first and then translate. Having to translate a language really discourages me from learning a new language, because I've never had to do that for English and Korean. But I do want to learn more languages!
Great post! If you are really interested the question of language acquisition, there are several professors here at Stanford that you could speak to who are looking into some of these very issues that you raise!
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