When it comes to learning English or any other language as an adult, I hear many people complain that it’s very hard because they are, as they say, “too old.” While it’s true that kids under the age of 11 are like sponges and acquire another language effortlessly, adults can indeed reach a near-native level of English or any other language if they put their mind into it.
Because I’ve learned English as an adult, I’m here to assure you that you can do it as well.
Adults vs. children
But let’s first talk about the difference between adults and children.
When we are born, we can hear and distinguish between all sounds in the world. But as we age, this ability starts to diminish. That’s why when families with little children relocate to the US, after a few months, the kids already speak English, while most adults still struggle to hold a conversation. And this is not just because kids don’t care if they make mistakes. It’s also because adults are biased by their native language. In other words, they want to fit grammar, sounds, intonation, and vocabulary into what they are already familiar with.
Learning English as an adult
But no need to worry. As I said, I started speaking English as an adult and I can tell you that there are challenges, but also benefits to that.
1. Vocabulary and grammar
The first challenge, as you probably already know, is that you have to put some effort into memorizing unfamiliar vocabulary and understanding different grammar rules. However, that might not be as hard as it sounds. Yes, you are gonna feel frustrated when you see a word you know you had learned before and are supposed to remember, but you don’t. But this is totally normal. According to some research, it takes up to six iterations until new words enter our long-term memory. So don’t get frustrated just because you keep forgetting new words. The more you use a certain word or phrase, the faster you will recall it when you need it.
The benefit to learning new vocabulary and grammar as an adult is improved memory and creativity. When you learn a foreign language, the parts of the brain responsible for learning and memory increase. One study where they compared brains of members of the Swedish armed forces before and after intense language training, reports that after three months there was growth in the brain’s language and memory processing areas. So, the next time you complain that learning English is too hard and gives you a headache, remember that your brain is literally expanding. I’d say that in this case the headache is worth it 🙂.
2. Pronunciation
Another thing that might be hard when you learn English or another foreign language as an adult is pronunciation. You have probably seen children not only learn another language in no time, but also speak it with no foreign accent. This is because before puberty we are able to hear and produce many different sounds that are new to us. But as we age, we lose this ability.
However, there is a solution. First, try to identify what sounds are similar and what sounds are different from your native language. To do this, you can Google the American English vowel chart and compare it to the vowel chart of your native language. You can also look up the consonants in English so that you can understand what place the tongue needs to touch in your mouth when you are producing them. Of course, if you live in the UK or any other English-speaking country, you can specify what English dialect you are looking for.
I strongly suggest that you learn the International Phonetic Alphabet. This will make your life easier if you decide to look up words in the dictionary. It will also help you think about the sounds in a more specific way.
If you don’t want to do this on your own, you can always take a pronunciation course. I personally took one several years ago called Accent Makeover by Hadar Shemesh. She’s upgraded it since then and the new program is called New Sound. It taught me everything about American English pronunciation.
So, I know this sounds like a lot of work and could be intimidating, but learning a new sound system as an adult could make you more sensitive and empathetic to other nonnative speakers. It would make you aware of how your tongue and mouth muscles are moving in order to produce new sounds. I personally think that that’s super cool 🙂.
3. intonation
Another challenge that adults face when learning a foreign language is Intonation. Every language has its own melody, but unfortunately traditional language classes don’t put enough focus on this. Your grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation might be great, but if you don’t have the right intonation, you might be misunderstood. For example, pitch patterns in English depend on the type of the sentence. The pitch in yes/no questions goes up at the end. On the other hand, the pitch in open questions goes down and it can sound like a statement to a person who is unaware of that.
An example of a yes/no question is:
Do you want to have breakfast?
An example of an open question is:
Where do you want to go for breakfast?
Make sure to raise your pitch at the end of the first one and slightly drop it at the end of the second one. Learning such nuances will make you a better and more confident communicator.
4. Culture
Also, if you plan to stay longer in the US or any other country you relocate to, I advise you to learn something about the local culture. For example, many Americans are way more informal than people in many other countries. Most of them are on a first-name basis even with their boss. This is just one aspect of the cultural differences you might face. Immersing yourself in a new culture as an adult could be scary at first, but in the long run it makes you a more open and well-rounded person. You feel like a citizen of the world. I have another post and a two-part video series (part 1 and part 2) about what surprised me when I came to the US, where I also discuss culture. Make sure to see it if you want to learn a little more about life here.
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Let me know in the comments what you find really hard when it comes to learning English and why.
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