Language learning myth: "You're too old!"

A common myth about language learning is that your ability to acquire a foreign language diminishes drastically as you get older, to the point where it's simply too late for you to learn a language if you're past a certain age. Let's analyze this nonsense before putting it firmly in the trash can where it belongs.

[@pjmmccann]

Well said: I think that language learning is one of the fields of knowledge most riddled with fakery, false promises, unrealistic expectations, snake oil, *gefährliches Halbwissen*, usw. I started on German when I was about 54, and yeah, it's a *process* -- has been and still is! In particular, it quickly became clear to me that my knowledge of the mechanics of English (as distinct from its use) was less than rudimentary, and more like non-existent, which is, of course, typical for a monolingual adult, especially in a country where only one language is widely spoken. And that lack of structural knowledge makes a big difference when you run head first into the German abyss containing cases, gender, prepositions, moods, conjunctions, adjective endings, forms of address, tenses, and all that jazz. Essentially, there's a huge amount to assimilate, and all of it takes time: enjoy the journey! Force-feeding, unless absolutely vital (for work or study, zB) just doesn't make for fun, and the tripe about learning a language in 30 days or 6 months or even a year is for me the exact opposite of *fun*. It just sets up a game that you can't possibly win. Hmm, this is getting out of hand: but one or two small things before finishing. The language myth that I might hate most of all is that you "just have to learn language like a child" and/or "Don't think in English, just think in German and it'll all just start to make sense". Oh, FFS, where to begin? Maybe by realising that children take about 5 years to learn their first language to an effective level, and that's with pretty much 24/7 interaction with, and correction by, a native speaker. Whatever else it is, that's not *efficient*. And "just thinking in your target language" could be one of the dumbest things I've ever heard! How, exactly? Force of will? Just randomly throwing Wörter together and hoping for the best? OK, enough!!

[@friedmandesigns]

Agreed ... i think it may be a ton more "natural" to just grow-up learning more than one language, because you're already in "formative mind language-learning" mode, but being older (a bit, or a bunch) doesn't mean it's naturally "harder." Learnin' is for any age of our brain or meatsack! And some lovely singing at the beginning, mate. ;) Tschuss!

[@MotoFuzzi]

Hello, my Canadian motorcycle friend. My name is MotoFuzzi and I am German and I live in Spain 🤣