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I began learning Spanish when I was 8 years old in Puerto Rico. As a result my accent is better than 95% of the other "gringos." However, when I try to pronounce French it is horrible. As a result, I am convinced that foreign languages should be taught in grade school rather than starting in high school like it currently is. Because we lived in Puerto Rico, Spanish was mandatory for all grades even though I went to an English speaking school (Commonwealth School). Within an amazingly short period of time I had the accent down pretty good. The only pronunciation I had trouble with was the distinctive double r. That took me about 4 or 5 months to be able to correctly pronounce. I actually remember the time I was finally able to duplicate it. It was on a trip on the island and my dad was driving and suddenly I was able to roll my tongue correctly. Once I accomplished it, I spent most of the rest of the trip rolling the double r's on my tongue much to the amusement of the Puerto Rican women in the car.

The biggest problem for gringos is that double r pronunciation (also single r since it is also requires a slight tongue roll). Therefore I am convinced that languages should be learned while young.

Therefore I am convinced that languages should be learned while young.
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It is a great advantage. My son started French at the age of 6 -

When he was 12, we spent 2 months in French Polynesia, and a Frenchman (from France) asked us why our son spoke with a Tahitian accent. In just 2 months of his association with local children, his accent had shifted.

When we went to Chile and stayed in a locale with few English speakers, he was able to converse in colloquial teenage Spanish in about 3 weeks. The very friendly kids there really gave him a concentrated course in Spanish. Adults preferred to explain something to him and have him translate for his father rather than try to converse with the adult who only had 'book-learning' knowledge of Spanish.