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That babies can learn multiple languages with ease is a surprise to no one in the world. Only surprise is that education systems around the world continue to w

by solve 12y ago

That babies can learn multiple languages with ease is a surprise to no one in the world. Only surprise is that education systems around the world continue to waste so many years of people's lives trying to teach them additional languages when they're teenagers, instead of having done the bulk of the work when they were babies, the way that nature's been doing it successfully for tens of thousands (or more) years.

TazeTSchnitzel 12y ago
What works for babies does not necessarily for adults. L1 and L2 acquisition are quite different.
- solve 12y ago
  I strongly disagree, and the education system approach is provably a massive failure in this regard. That's all I'll say for now.
  - maaku 12y ago
    The grandparent's point is correct, although he didn't say anything about formalized education. You inserted that yourself.
    - deleted 12y ago
      [deleted]
  - TazeTSchnitzel 12y ago
    You can't just "disagree". This is a matter which science (linguistics specifically) has lots of research on.
    - solve 12y ago
      If you're just saying that they're not perfectly identical, then that's obvious, you've said nothing. What I'm replying to is your implication that they're vastly different. Science shows that they're not as vastly different as the education system assumes.
  - emodendroket 12y ago
    "Provably" how? Many people learn through a class and go on to speak a second language, so what's the proof? Sure, eventually you just have to use it. But as an adult learner, you can get going a lot faster by using your knowledge of other languages, understanding of rules, and so on, before jumping in, and it's not always practical for people to just take off and spend months or years in a foreign country in the hopes they'll learn a language while they're there.
- ekidd 12y ago
  This is actually a somewhat controversial claim, academically. There's pretty strong evidence for a "critical period" for acquiring a native-sounding accent, and some evidence that certain adult learners still occasionally mess up minor grammatical details after decades of immersion. But other studies suggest that language-learning ability trails off gradually with age in much the same way that, say, physical ability does. A 35-year-old can still get in pretty good shape if they work at it. I know plenty of people whose language-learning strategy is basically, "Put myself in situations where I need to use the language and I can puzzle things out. If I get curious, maybe look something up once in a while." It's not quite like childhood acquisition, but neither is it a completely different process.
LeonRobrotsky 12y ago
> teach them additional languages when they're teenagers, instead of having done the bulk of the work when they were babies My (semi-related) reply here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9226046 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9226046 My instructor chose to go full immersion, basically what children are subjected to. The other instructors took the grammar/vocab workbook route.

by solve 12y ago

TazeTSchnitzel 12y ago

What works for babies does not necessarily for adults. L1 and L2 acquisition are quite different.

solve 12y ago
I strongly disagree, and the education system approach is provably a massive failure in this regard. That's all I'll say for now.
- maaku 12y ago
  The grandparent's point is correct, although he didn't say anything about formalized education. You inserted that yourself.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
- TazeTSchnitzel 12y ago
  You can't just "disagree". This is a matter which science (linguistics specifically) has lots of research on.
  - solve 12y ago
    If you're just saying that they're not perfectly identical, then that's obvious, you've said nothing. What I'm replying to is your implication that they're vastly different. Science shows that they're not as vastly different as the education system assumes.
- emodendroket 12y ago
  "Provably" how? Many people learn through a class and go on to speak a second language, so what's the proof? Sure, eventually you just have to use it. But as an adult learner, you can get going a lot faster by using your knowledge of other languages, understanding of rules, and so on, before jumping in, and it's not always practical for people to just take off and spend months or years in a foreign country in the hopes they'll learn a language while they're there.
ekidd 12y ago
This is actually a somewhat controversial claim, academically. There's pretty strong evidence for a "critical period" for acquiring a native-sounding accent, and some evidence that certain adult learners still occasionally mess up minor grammatical details after decades of immersion. But other studies suggest that language-learning ability trails off gradually with age in much the same way that, say, physical ability does. A 35-year-old can still get in pretty good shape if they work at it. I know plenty of people whose language-learning strategy is basically, "Put myself in situations where I need to use the language and I can puzzle things out. If I get curious, maybe look something up once in a while." It's not quite like childhood acquisition, but neither is it a completely different process.

LeonRobrotsky 12y ago

> teach them additional languages when they're teenagers, instead of having done the bulk of the work when they were babies My (semi-related) reply here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9226046 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9226046 My instructor chose to go full immersion, basically what children are subjected to. The other instructors took the grammar/vocab workbook route.