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“researchers from three Boston-based universities showed children are proficient at learning a second language up until the age of 18, roughly 10 years later th
by czzr 6y ago
“researchers from three Boston-based universities showed children are proficient at learning a second language up until the age of 18, roughly 10 years later than earlier estimates. But the study also showed that it is best to start by age 10 if you want to achieve the grammatical fluency of a native speaker“
- Causality1 6y agoFriends of mine who moved to the US as teens have what I would call off-native. Their mastery is definitely native-level but their accent is a bit odd. You might wonder if their accent is just an American one you haven't heard before. A good example of this level of English proficiency is YongYea on YouTube.
- microtherion 6y agoOne detail the article does not discuss is the distinction between oral and written competence. I started learning English in my teens. I would judge my reading and writing proficiency to be at the higher end of the native speaker spectrum. I speak fluently as well, but have retained a distinctly non-native accent, and I sometimes have difficulties understanding spoken English (getting older does not help there either…).
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- SomeoneFromCA 6y agoMila Kunis has very-very slight slavic accent, if you listen carefully.
- outworlder 6y ago> But the study also showed that it is best to start by age 10 if you want to achieve the grammatical fluency of a native speaker Another angle that should be considered is that, while children learn languages very quickly, they can 'unlearn' just as fast. One of my cousins spoke fluent Japanese as a young child. Then he moved to another country. A few years later he couldn't speak or understand Japanese anymore. I've since learned that this is very common.