Learning English as an older person it’s not only feasible but also advantageous. Although young children seem to pick up languages more easily, people can nevertheless acquire a new language well into adulthood and even become fluent in it. Of course, there are both advantages and disadvantages to learning when we are older but it’s definitely possible.
In this article, we will talk about how it is completely possible to learn English as adults and there are actually some advantages of doing it when we are older.
Motivation and Goals
One of the first things we can take advantage of when learning as adults is our motivation. You can think about your motivation for learning English, whether it’s for travel, work, or personal enrichment, having clear goals will keep you motivated. Also, you can set specific, realistic goals and manage your time in order to learn more efficiently.
Immerse Yourself
When you are older, you have the opportunity to travel around the world and immerse yourself in the language as much as possible in order to learn faster. Furthermore, you can surround yourself with English content like, movies, listen to music, read books, and follow English-speaking social media accounts. Also, you can join a course, a book club or social club in English in order to spend more time in English-speaking situations because being in an environment where the language is spoken accelerates learning.
Practice Speaking
As mentioned in the previous point, talking to people who speak English will greatly improve your learning. Not only will conversations help you to improve pronunciation but also vocabulary. And, as adults we certainly are more aware of the fact that everybody makes mistakes, so we don’t have to feel ashamed or get worried about speaking. Don’t be afraid to try it since it’s a crucial part of the learning process.
Age and Learning
The conventional wisdom that younger people always perform better at language learning has been refuted by some studies showing that older beginners can perform well after the same number of classes. Most studies concur that adults and older teenagers pick up word formation and sentence structure more quickly than children. Furthermore, older students possess the cognitive abilities necessary for explicit learning, which enables them to comprehend grammatical rules and apply instructor or book explanations.
Neuroplasticity
This speaks to the brain’s capacity to adapt to new experiences. Even though the ability to learn new things, including languages, declines with age, individuals can still do so. Actually, some research has indicated that learning a new language has cognitive advantages and can help slow down the aging of the brain. So, remember that practice and consistency are essential. However, learning a new language requires time and work, it’s a gratifying experience that broadens your horizons and keeps your mind engaged.
Finally, don’t believe everything that you hear. Although it is true that learning as an adult has its shortcomings like lack of time, more responsibilities, less neuroplasticity, among others, it is also true that when we are committed and motivated, no matter the age, we can learn anything. And actually, learning when we are older can have some benefits as we are wiser and have our priorities more in order.