High school and college classes are typically a person’s first introduction to language learning. Many times our first experience with language learning dictates our perception of our ability to learn a language.
If I let my language learning experience, four years of Spanish in high school and an additional two years of college level Spanish classes, determine my life long ability to learn a language, then not only is it impossible for me to learn a language but I would have to admit that my ability to learn and the quality of education I received are the epitome of failure. I just don’t believe in surrendering to failure or willingly accepting the idea that learning a new language is impossible.
Then, whose fault is it that so many failed language learners feel like learning a new language is impossible? Let’s blame it on the general public, on the misconceptions promoted by the fear and failure of language learners and our educational system. It’s easy to point fingers because hindsight is 20-20. For most language learners, we failed because the methods and systems that supported language learning failed us during our early years of education (Elementary and High School). This is greatly due to the lack of exposure in the primary grades and the poor instructional methods coupled with lack of available resources throughout the secondary foreign language instruction model.
Adults have many more advantages than children when it comes to learning a new language. The idea that it is easier for children to learn a new language and that they learn faster is a misconception. Fear, doubt and lack of self-confidence are the greatest roadblocks for adult language learners.
Adults have a greater capacity for higher-order thinking and comprehension that contribute to their ability to understand and use language including word and sentence structure, vocabulary and grammar. Intellectual maturity, advanced reading skills and the use of complex learning strategies allow adults to have a better command of vocabulary and commit information to long term memory. These skills allow adult language learners to more quickly learn a foreign language and to more readily attain levels of fluency as compared to children.
All language learners can be successful if they choose the instructional methods and learning strategies that work best for them. There is not one single language that is impossible to learn but there is only one person to blame for being fearful and doubting their ability to learn a new language.
