Nowadays, many people want to learn or desire earnestly for having an ability of speaking a second language, especially
english. Also it has become compulsory education. For that reason, we can see that young
children studies abroad for learning
english. Moreover, work places or universities require
english test for entrance. There are some significant differences are observed for learning
english between young and adults. It has long been believed that
children are better able to learn a second language. In actuality, it is not that
children learn language better than adults, but adults and
children learn language differently.
First, there are distinct differences in the way an adult brain processes a foreign language when compared to the brain of child. Many researches are found that the brain of
children is responsible for their thought unconsciously so
children express their ideas freely and adapt learning about new materials without hesitation. However, adults process language in a more active part of the brain, meaning that they think more consciously about language rather than it being intuitive.
Second,
children adapt a second language quicker than adults because the different standards of proficiency between adults and
children. Many educational psychologists have compared
children as a sponge because they absorb language input and produce expression without any apparent relevance to lexical or grammatical rule whereas adults think grammar and vocabulary before they speak. This means that communication becomes more complicated and takes long time to adapt a second language. Because adults have greater cognitive abilities than
children so it results in less successful learning a second language.
There are marked differences between adults and
children when it comes to the importance of purpose in learning.
children are simply happy to accept what they are learning regardless of its purpose however they have short attention if they feel bored or are not interested in the lesson materials.
children do not realize that why they should learn something and how it is importance of understanding for the future career. However, adults have responsibility of learning
english and purpose for academic achievement. So they are enthusiastic and act as internal motivators with self esteem.
Lastly, it is true that the younger
children adapt the proper pronunciation of a language than adults. Because under 5years young
children are not structured their mother tongue language properly, so between 3 to 5 years old young adapt new language as their mother tongue with proper accent, the better their pronunciation. Adults have a more difficult time adapting the pronunciation of a foreign language, and so sound less competent than a child. For that reason adults avoid speaking and do not want to participate in speaking activities because they would like to minimize their mistake to classmates. Therefore, it is important to teach them the ‘International Phonetic Alphabet' and use sound charts of the vocal apparatus, and show them how to produce each sound in the class.
There are many reasons that are affected on learning
english between adults and young
children.
esl or
efl teacher should consider all possibility problems in their mind. Appropriate lesson materials can be a good way to engage students in a more interactive lesson while improving the quality of
english skills.