Posted on 05/29/2026 6:47:49 PM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
The long-held idea that language learning is better before adulthood is up for debate...
Lourdes Ortega, a professor of linguistics at Georgetown University...says factors beyond age, like immersion, make a bigger difference in language learning success. “Without the opportunity to be exposed to the language, there's no learning that can happen, early or late..."
The FSI [Foreign Service Institute] says languages that native English speakers would find similar to their own, such as Spanish or French, can be taught relatively quickly in about 24-30 weeks. In contrast, languages that have significant cultural differences from English, like Greek or Russian, will take about 44 weeks. Learning time could double that for languages considered exceptionally hard, such as Arabic or Mandarin...
“There are all sorts of cognitive benefits of being bilingual,“ says Boaz Keysar, a professor of psychology at The University of Chicago... What’s more, many studies suggest learning another language as an adult could even help stave off dementia...
(Excerpt) Read more at wisdomcenter.uchicago.edu ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
Great news! There’s still a chance for 2026 graduates to learn English.
This is a true story and it happened today at the University of Alabama. A friend of ours called to tell us what his out of state tuition payments gonna pay for. His daughter called and told him the glasses she just registered for today. Two of them were absolute bangers: 1. Swahili. 2. Sleep: How to better prepare for naps. I kid you not one but. She also tried to get, Science of Fishing. He says, “I’m paying all this money just so she can learn how to talk to East African Natives and then take a 15 hour nap? WTF? Dude is pissed! Thing is, Swahili is probably the easiest of all foreign languages to learn for us Americans. Everyone knows it’s an easy A!!!
Been learning Polish. A great way is listening to music.
Languages are kind of a hobby for me. I’m not really good at them but I enjoy messing about with them. It’s fascinating to me how one starts to think differently when one’s mind is operating in a different language.
‘Long time no see’ has a very Chinese-language vibe.
There are loads of free on-line resources for trying your hand and mind at a new language.
Ever watch any YT videos with Xiaoma? I don’t know how many languages he’s learned.
A joke I once heard. It’s based on how difficult learning Hungarian is:
Rosetta Stone has finally issued a Hungarian language course. It comes in two parts. The second part contains the actual lessons.
The first part tries to talk you out of learning Hungarian.
😀
If you speak 2 languages you’re bilingual
If you speak 3 languages you’re trilingual
If you speak 4 languages you’re quadrilingual
If you speak 1 language you’re American!
“Sleep: How to better prepare for naps. “
I don’t think that is a course.
Learning a language is like playing the piano. Everyone can do it, but if you aren’t hard wired for it you will never do it well and every sentence will be a pain. It biological not teaching methodology.
I’ve been learning to play music. It’s great for this old brain.
Does Klingon count?
Actually, the discipline to practice at least as important, or maybe more, than natural talent.
Did you see the Frasier episode where someone did Frasier’s son’s Bar Mitzvah in Klingon?
I was at dinner in southern German with some customers I was visiting. The topic of language came up and why do many Americans only knew one. I asked them how many native languages were spoken within 900 miles (or 1500 kilometers as I said it in European 🙂). They had about a dozen and a half and were arguing how far into eastern Europe and Scandinavia the distance went. For me from my home it was one. Of course 901 miles hit Quebec for a second, which is why I picked 900.
For practical reasons, I need to get better speaking the little bit of Spanish I know, but I’m suddenly curious about French. I heard a Youtube concerning an Organ Fugue, with that Organist being interviewed.
Spoken French (by someone who is fluent) has a beautiful sound to it. It’s like some kind of music. Maybe I can listen to a few French Lesson CDs and keep my brain a little busier as I scroll online for my News Fix.
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
The purpose of college elective courses is to force even smart STEM students to waste money in liberal arts “schools”.
Being that this is from Chicago maybe the ‘teens’ should learn English.
Ever watch any YT videos with Xiaoma?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.