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You’re Never Too Old to Learn a Language Fluently
But you might be too old to sound like a native speaker
Debunking the Myth That Only Kids Can Achieve Fluency
There’s a persistent myth floating around that if you didn’t start learning a new language as a child, you might as well not even try. The idea that fluency is only possible if you start young has discouraged countless adults from even attempting to learn a second language. But is there any truth to this belief? Science says no.
The Truth About the Critical Period Hypothesis
A lot of this misconception comes from the Critical Period Hypothesis — a theory suggesting that there’s a limited window in childhood during which language learning happens effortlessly. This theory is often misinterpreted to mean that once you pass childhood, learning a new language is impossible.
The truth is, the critical period mainly applies to first language acquisition. Studies on extreme cases — such as Genie, a girl who was locked in a room and deprived of language input for the first 13 years of her life — show that without exposure to any language in early childhood, acquiring full linguistic ability later is nearly impossible. But for second-language learning, the…
