At what age can children easily learn Spanish without forgetting it as an adult?
at or just around puberty – and for various reasons, after that point, it is impossible for most people – perhaps all people – to ACQUIRE language (there may be a very few exceptions). It can only be learned. “The single most important issue in my opinion is the distinction – the PROFOUND difference – between L1 ACQUISITION and L2 LEARNING. As Chomsky once said “You simply cannot teach a foreign language to an adult the way a child learns a language. That’s why it’s such a hard job.” And by that I think Chomsky meant that’s why it’s a hard job BOTH for the adult and the teacher. It’s a hard job but it can also be very rewarding – for both learner and adult. And what Chomsky says may SEEM obvious – but it isn’t, because the main trend in methodology is still AWAY from the idea that there is this profound difference between ACQUIRING and LEARNING. Acquisition is GENETICALLY TRIGGERED and largely BIOLOGICAL in nature. All over the world, children go through very predictable stages of acqu
