Learning a language: Baby vs Adult

Kate Yerimizina

What is an indispensable part of our everyday life? Of course it is a language – a thing we cannot live without. This is what our mothers want us to be able to do when we are babies – to speak and this is what we need to know when we are adults – a foreign language. It is indisputable that perfect knowledge of a native and national languages assisted by proficiency in foreign ones will let anyone to work one’s way.

On the score of great importance of being multilingual many parents take steps to get their children acquainted with English, German, Spanish or even Chinese at an early age.

According to diverse surveys, children are by far better learners that adults and there are some reasons for this. To start with, when a baby learns its first language it shouldn`t make any effort of learning since everything occurs naturally. That is very different to what is going on to adults who have to take pains to memorize each word, set expressions or grammar constructions. What is more important, learning of a language is more favourable for babies rather than for grown-ups by reason of absence of psychological barrier. Children are not afraid of being ridiculed and undergoing censure or disapproval like it often happens to older learners who prefer to be passive and shy. Examining the process of baby`s learning from the view of an up-to-date person we may see one more benefit – it is absolutely for free while an adult has to expend large sums of money on taking lessons of highly-qualified experts.

Although, babies have survival motivation and a lot of time to learn a language there are some obvious drawbacks of their learning. The main disadvantage is time and the fact that children require too much of it to have a perfect command of a language. It is completely different for a mature person. Life experience of many people shows that after half a year of intensive lessons a person with high motivation is ready to go to a country a language of which he studies and will keep his head in everyday situations.

What is more, babies always depend on a person who gives information and can not concentrate on studying for a long time. Unfortunately, the memory of a baby is arranged in a way which doesn`t allow it to memorize abstract nouns and make associations which often helps to an adult learner.

Summing up these drawbacks, the advantages of learning a language as a mature person become clearer. Since a foreign language is always an opportunity to get a promotion, a person has high motivation to learn it. In the age of technologies a responsible person who can control himself is able to get basic knowledge with the help of the Internet. Even though it sometimes gives unchecked information and online dictionaries are not always accurate, this source of data is invaluable.

All things considered, the foundation of any progress is a language and whether you are a baby, a teenager or an adult it is never too late to start learning it. A man should always remember that the future belongs to quick-thinking multilingual people who are ambitious, resourceful and can take the initiative. That is why my advice is not to waste the time but to go to a shop and to buy a French, Polish or maybe Chinese textbook.