EspañolLanguage, Literacy and the Brain
The brain is biologically primed to acquire language right from the very start of life; the process of language acquisition needs the catalyst of experience.
There is an inverse relationship between age and the effectiveness of learning many aspects of language – in general, the younger the age of exposure, the more successful the learning – and neuroscience has started to identify how the brain processes language differently among young children compared with more mature people.
This understanding is relevant to education policies especially regarding foreign language instruction which often does not begin until adolescence.
Adolescents and adults, of course, can also learn a language anew, but it presents greater difficulties.
There is an inverse relationship between age and the effectiveness of learning many aspects of language – in general, the younger the age of exposure, the more successful the learning – and neuroscience has started to identify how the brain processes language differently among young children compared with more mature people.
This understanding is relevant to education policies especially regarding foreign language instruction which often does not begin until adolescence.
Adolescents and adults, of course, can also learn a language anew, but it presents greater difficulties.
"Understanding the Brain: The Birth of a Learning Science", 2007, page 15
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