this post was submitted on 01 Sep 2024
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but can't adults learn a second language much faster than a child learns its first? I assume with dedication an adult can reach a fluency of a 10 year old in just a couple of years - where it took the child... ...10 years.
You'd have to be somewhat intensely studying and immersing yourself for two years to speak like a native 10-year old.
I'm not saying if you moved to another country with good motivation to learn the language that it couldn't be done, but I do think you would need to at least immerse yourself in an environment which has the language. Doing duolingo for a couple of years will not net someone the fluency of a native 10-year old.
My parents said I was already speaking when I was one. Not well, but I was. Much sooner than my siblings. So by the age of two-three I could've had some rudimentary conversations, had that language proficiency not been in the underdeveloped mind of my toddler-aged self. I think that's more like the language skill you'd get with two years of not-super-intense studying.
I just did a Google- depending on language, student and other factors, between 600-2500 hours.
That's a very subjective window.
I know a guy who's lived in my country for more than 12 years, and still can't really speak but the most basic sentences, however, it is understandable, because his native language is English, and people like having the chance to practice their English. So despite being immersed and even needing the language, he just hasn't really gotten around to learning it.
That's the difference between language acquisition and learning one as an adult; motivation.
If you don't have any, you're not gonna learn. Kids can lack it totally, and they'll still learn to speak, just as much as they'll learn to walk.
I mean children under 10 can be shockingly fluent. I think their utter lack of life experience can mask their otherwise surprisingly developed language skills.
When you teach a child what a dinosaur is, you have to do a lot more explaining than when you try and teach an adult what a dinosaur is in french - the child isn't just learning a language for those 10 years.