The Suitable Age to Learn a New Language

Abstract

This is a question that researchers, scholars, and teachers are still sorting out. We have all have observed children acquiring their first language easily and well. First language is a language that someone acquires from birth and a second language is a non-native language usually learned at a later stage. Second language refers to any language that is not a person’s native language. In other words, it is a language that comes after mother tongue. Second language acquisition is the process of acquiring a second language. Due to its importance, the optional age for this process has been the subject of many empirical studies. It would seems for many reasons that the younger the child starts acquiring his second language, the more likely that he will reach a native-like proficiency. Yet adults learning a second language particularly in educational setting can meet great difficulties and sometimes failure. This is because learning a new language takes time, skill, and determination, and may be easier for some than others. It's a known fact that kids learn a new language faster than adults, and they can achieve native speaker levels with more ease. Many studies revealed that learning after a critical period is harder than before it (see Hutchcroft, 1981; Dean1992, Harmer 2007; Tudor 1996). This paper sheds lights on the suitable age in letting our children start learning second language and the techniques may be used in order to obtain good results.