Human beings have fascinating abilities. We can learn more than one language at any age. Your origin, native language, IQ score, and age do not matter. You can still become fluent in any language you choose to learn. 

The common myth is the older you are, the more difficult it is to learn a foreign language. Because of this myth, many people even do not try to learn a second language. Yet, the impossible is nothing. We will talk about it today. But first, let’s get clear on what bilingualism and late bilingualism are. 

Bilingualism is when a person can speak two languages. Whereas, when we talk about late bilingualism, we mean that people learn a second language after the age of 6 or 7, in their teenage years or adulthood. 

Today, our main focus is on late bilingualism.

Adult brain

Many say that once you turn 18, your brain ceases to grow. But this is not true. Now, many research studies show that your brain goes on fully developing and adjusting itself well into your 20s. 

An adult brain varies from an adolescent brain. Until your adulthood, your brain loses gray matter because surplus neurons and synapses are cut back. It happens until about your late 20s.  Meanwhile, some brain regions form stronger connections with each other. The majority of nerve tracts get wrapped in insulating myelin. It means that it boosts the brain’s white matter. White matter’s size crests by the age of 40.

As we grow, far-flung areas of the brain start linking up with each other, causing bigger and more extensively distributed networks.

The front portion of the frontal lobe, which is called the prefrontal cortex, turns fully “wired up” in adulthood. 

The prefrontal cortex is responsible for executive functions. For example, controlling certain aspects of speech and language, short-term memory, decision-making, planning, etc. If we compare a brain of an adult and a brain of a teenager, we can see that an adult brain is better wired for cognitive control. It means that when it comes to making decisions, the adult brain is more influenced by rewards, social acceptance, and of course, emotions. 

Psychologist Raymond Cattell was the first one who introduced the concepts of fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence in 1963. Fluid intelligence is the capacity to solve novel reasoning problems. It includes many important skills. For instance, comprehension and learning. In comparison, crystallized intelligence is the ability to deduct secondary relational abstractions using previously learned primary relational abstractions. Crystallized intelligence develops until about the age of 50.

It goes without saying that fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence play a big part in learning a foreign language. 

Age of acquisition of the second language

Many believe that the younger you are, the better you learn a foreign language. Yet, we do not have research studies to claim that children reach adult levels of accuracy (Hartshorne et al., 2018).

In the same study, they found out that a group of people aged 30 -70 showed similar results in learning a second language as the group with people who are under 12. 

Another research study “A critical period for second language acquisition: Evidence from 2/3 million English speakers” shows that there is almost no difference in how old you are when you learn a foreign language. One more interesting finding in this research is that 

                    even non-native immersion learners who began learning in their late 20s   eventually surpassed the youngest native speakers in our  dataset (Hartshorne et al., 2018).  

Brain plasticity 

Brain plasticity is when your brain learns, modifies its connections, or re-wires itself as you age. 

Scientists have proven that bilinguals have a cognitive reserve. They perform better in executive control. Brains in bilinguals change structures and functions relative to monolinguals. Being bilingual delays dementia and some other diseases which are related to memory. 

In addition, learning a second language promotes neuroplasticity. 

Neurolinguistics had a look at how particular aspects of language learning affect the bilingual brain using brain imaging technology. We already know that the brain’s left hemisphere is more dominant. Also, we know that the brain’s left hemisphere is more analytical in logical processes. At the same time, the right hemisphere is more involved in social and emotional ones. 

In 1959 neurologist Wilder Penfield and his co-author Lamar Roberts suggested a hypothesis, which is called the critical period hypothesis or sensitive period hypothesis. This hypothesis states that there is a perfect time frame for brain development to learn a language in a linguistically rich environment. The hypothesis also states that it is much more difficult to learn a second language after this time frame. In addition, they suggest that it is much easier for kids to learn a second language because their brain is more plastic, and kids use both their hemispheres, whereas adults use only one when they learn a language. This hypothesis is the topic of a long-lasting debate in linguistics.

On the contrary, the latest research studies showed that adults, who start learning a new language, are less biased emotionally. They also have more rational approaches when it comes to problem-solving. 

It doesn’t matter how old you are to start learning a new language. As the brain of multilingual people has got impressive advantages. For instance, there is a higher quantity of gray matter. It accommodates most of your brain’s neurons and synapses. It was discovered that it is more active when a person learns a foreign language. 

Advantages of learning a second language as an adult: 

1. Keep your brain sharp and active. People who know more than one language have bigger intellectual flexibility and can juggle information easier fast. 
2. Delayed symptoms of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. 
3. Grow your problem-solving skills. The latest research studies showed that adults, who start learning a new language, are less biased emotionally.
4. Get more job opportunities. Nowadays, there are many job offers where they want to hire people who speak more than one language. Moreover, you can find a job much easier in other countries.
5. Understand foreigners better. When you travel or make new friends with people from other countries, a foreign language will help you do your thoughts in a coherent way. 

Whichever language you choose to learn, you can still contribute in more than one way. 

SPEAK BUILD CONTRIBUTE

Used sources:

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Hartshorne, J. K., Tenenbaum, J. B., & Pinker, S. (2018, August). A critical period for second language acquisition: Evidence from 2/3 million English speakers. Cognition. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6559801/

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