Adults and Children Have Different Ability To Acquire Their Second Language
Adults and Children Have Different Ability To Acquire Their Second Language
Age: Second language acquisition is influenced by the age of the learner. Children who already
have solid literacy skills in their own language seem to be in the best position to acquire a new
language efficiently. Motivated older learners can be very successful too but usually struggle to
achieve native-speaker-equivalent pronunciation and intonation.
Personality: Introverted or anxious learners usually make slower progress, particularly in the
development of oral skills. They are less likely to take advantage of opportunities to speak or to
seek out such opportunities. More outgoing students will not worry about the inevitability of
making mistakes. They will take risks and thus will give themselves much more practice.
Motivation (intrinsic): Intrinsic motivation has been found to correlate strongly with
educational achievement. Clearly students who enjoy language learning and take pride in their
progress will do better than those who don't.
Extrinsic motivation is also a significant factor. ESL students for example who need to learn
English in order to take a place at an American university or to communicate with a new English
boy/girlfriend are likely to make greater efforts and thus greater progress.
Experiences: Learners who have acquired general knowledge and experience are in a stronger
position to develop a new language than those who haven't. The student for example who has
already lived in 3 different countries and been exposed to various languages and cultures has a
stronger base for learning a further language than the student who hasn't had such experiences.
Cognition: In general it seems that students with greater cognitive abilities (intelligence) will
make the faster progress. Some linguists believe that there is a specific innate language learning
ability that is stronger in some students than in others.
Native language: Students who are learning a second language which is from the same language
family as their first language have, in general, a much easier task than those who aren't. So for
example a Dutch child will learn English more quickly than a Japanese child.