It has long been known that children are much easier to comprehend the language than adults. Physiologists believe that in the process of brain development, each stage has its own time intervals during which a particular type of brain activity is activated. The understanding of language, the main tool of human communication, is no exception.
Adjectives that start with i child under three years old can master the language of playfulness without any significant efforts. If family members communicate in two languages – the baby easily starts to speak both; if there are three languages – simultaneously in three, absolutely at the same time, and not perceiving it as work. At first, it’s true that words from different languages are mixed up in a kind of “vinaigrette”, but very quickly everything is “shelved”.
A teenager to pass a path that a child does not even notice, it takes a lot of effort and time. And for an adult, comprehension of a foreign language belongs to the intellectual work of the heaviest type; it becomes almost a mental feat that requires a full mobilization and effort.
The reason is that the child’s brain is literally “confined” to the processes of language improvement. The cells of the speech center of the brain responsible for the perception and reproduction of speech are in a state of “latching”: when a child comprehends speech, associative links are established between neurons. The “latch” is triggered, the connection is fixed, and as a result, complex conductive systems are formed. The older the child, the less interconnected cells are left in the brain. The absolute majority of associative systems emerge by the age of ten. There are many known cases of real “Maugli” raised in the wild from infancy. If the child returned to human society as a teenager, any attempts to how to cite textual evidence in an essay attach him/her to human speech remained unsuccessful. The brain is already connected, let’s say, with the “monkey language” and is almost unable even to distinguish sounds that are not in the “speech” of monkeys …
Has your childhood passed? Not everything is lost, late – does not happen!
The conclusion from the above seems to be obvious: the earlier you start learning a foreign language, the better. There seems to be nothing to discuss, from a superficial point of view. But everyone knows very well that the truth on the surface usually does not float.
It is not that simple. Yes, a child is a sponge that easily absorbs everything new. Yes, it is easy for children to learn to pronounce sounds that differ from their native speech. Yes, children’s ability to memorize words and phrases is phenomenal, and adults only have to dream about it. All this is obvious, but this is where the benefits of learning an additional language in childhood come to an end.
