Do Children Really Learn Languages Faster?
Almost anyone I talk to thinks that either they’re not good at languages or they’re too old to learn. But is it actually true?
“I’m Not Good At Languages”
This is easy to disprove — if you learned you mother tongue, you can learn any language. Period.
“I’m Too Old To Learn A New Language”
Children have many advantages when picking up a language.
Baby Talk
First, adults simplify their speech when talking to children. It’s so common it’s even got a special name — “baby talk”.
This is especially true about very young children but applies also to older ones to a lesser extent. Adults modify their vocabulary and grammar according to the child’s age (and current language level). It’s called comprehensible input — speech or text that’s slightly above your level but still comprehensible.
As an adult, it’s nearly impossible to hear simplified speech. Even if you ask people to talk more slowly, they’re either not going to do it or they will only keep it up for a while. And you can never get them to talk in “baby talk” with you. They’re just too embarrassed or it simply doesn’t make for an interesting conversation.
100x More Input
This graph illustrates the sad truth about adult language learning — most children get way more input than what most language classes and apps provide.
It’s hard to estimate exactly but my best guess is that there’s a 100x difference on input. How many words do you hear or read in Duolingo vs how many did you hear daily as a kid? They’re in completely different ballparks.
Meaningful Interactions
Another difference is that children have meaningful conversations. The input they receive is interesting — about their wishes, wants, and interests. It’s called compelling input.
It’s completely different for adults. In most language learning apps and classes you study theoretical situations. But those have no meaning. For example, I don’t have any use for the vocabulary about museums while I’m on my couch at home.
Mistakes Are Okay
Generally, when children learn how to speak, they’re not ostracized for their mistakes. They’re not stressed out because of testing etc.
This, of course, is very different for adults (and even older children when they try to learn a new language later in school). Testing is a constant nightmare for some, or at least something stressful for most.
The Big Disadvantage
Children, however, have one major disadvantage — their brain is still developing. So, they’re not able to absorb complex grammar rules etc. as easily as adults. Nor are they able to do deliberate practice without adult supervision.
The cognitive skills of adults act like a turbo boost for language learning. However, like with cars, you also need fuel (input), you can’t drive purely with turbo boosts.
So What Can You Do?
As you saw above, adults try to learn language differently. It’s why they’re often not successful. So what can you do?
You need to find a method where you:
- receive lots of comprehensible input (text or speech simplified near your current level)
- receive only compelling input (text or speech that’s interesting to you)
- don’t get stressed out about making mistakes
- can take advantage of your superior cognitive skills
Apps such as Duolingo or Babbel are great for absolute beginners. Even language courses. You’ll learn some basic vocabulary and will get some idea about the grammar.
Their main shortcoming is the lack of engaging, meaningful input. Instead of providing content that’s interesting and practical, they push a rigid, artificial curriculum focused solely on theory and hypothetical scenarios. It’s easy to measure progress there but it doesn’t correspond to actual fluency.
So, after a month of learning the basics (which is easy to do as an adult) you should have enough vocabulary (and understanding of grammar) to start reading actual content via apps like Lingo Champion. They’ll help you expand your vocabulary very quickly while serving you interesting content where you learn also about the culture. Otherwise, how can you find common topics with the natives?
Later on you can progress to talking with the native speakers — either in real life or via apps like Tandem or HelloTalk. If you do it too early, your conversation will be too basic for them to enjoy. It’s why they don’t like simplifying it in the first place.
