Written by: Roblin
I want to learn to speak Spanish. I was in Spain 20 years ago and absolutely adored the country. I loved the pace, the food and the amazing friendliness of the people. One thing that was missing was being able to talk to the local people. I didn’t know a word of Spanish when I arrived and everything I learned was out of necessity. Now, I would like to go on a Spanish language holiday and learn enough of the language to enjoy the country on a deeper level.
The problem is that I’m terrified that I won’t be able to do it. I’m older; my brain is full of, well, life. Is it going to be too hard for me to learn Spanish at this age?
We have all heard that children can pick up languages so much faster and easier than adults because the older brain has lost cerebral plasticity and it makes learning harder. Through my research I discovered that this theory is a product of the 1960’s. Current studies have shown us that although children and adults learn differently adults actually have an advantage over children because we have developed the neural cells responsible for higher-order linguistic processes. In fact, in the areas of vocabulary and language structure adults have more experience and therefore are better at using these learning strategies to further their language acquisition.
If the older brain is fully capable of learning a new language then the biggest obstacles to the adult learner are doubt, fear, and the aversion of making mistakes. The Learning Traveller 50 plus language learning holidays are specifically designed for the older learner and the schools have created programs that use different methods for the older learner. The course content is relevant, classes are small and the emphasis is on interaction between fellow students and the teacher.
Learning a language in the country where the language is spoken is also a great motivator. Language classes in the morning and practice in the tapas bar in the afternoon. Since I have always been a fan of immediate gratification, so I know this is the way to go.