The human brain has specialized hardware for encoding and decoding language. That is why even a child can pick it up. No grammar lessons required, just lots and

The human brain has specialized hardware for encoding and decoding language. That is why even a child can pick it up. No grammar lessons required, just lots and lots of exposure. It is also why speaking and listening are as easy as falling off a log. You put about as much thought into it as you do touch-typing. Learning a second language, likewise, is best done the same way as the first: through immersion, if you can swing it. The high school student who spent a summer in Mexico came back far more fluent than I was even after three classes in high school and one in college. The plasticity, though, of this area of the brain will decrease over time. It is easiest to pick up a new language before adulthood. Most people don't appreciate this or don't believe it. For more information, read The Language Instinct, by Steven Pinker. Programming? Yeah, I guess it spins the CPU more than any specialized chip. I hate how I can't be interrupted while doing it, and for a few moments trying to come out of it, I am in some kind of daze.