Why is it never too late to teach English?

It is well known that children - with their high learning - have certain advantages in terms of languages.

You can complain about the fact that you were unlucky to be born in the family of an Italian and Chinese woman in England - such a trillingval help would be a good starting point in life. But this is not true that for adults, studying English and any other language is a matter of long -term perspective. And although such a morning will not come when you wake up and begin to babble in Italian, Chinese or German, with the right approach and zeal, nothing will prevent you from teaching a foreign language at a fairly good level. The whole question is to “teach” your consciousness to a new language.

Change your expectations

If you started learning the language not in childhood, then it is very unlikely that you will be able to adopt the natural accent inherent in English carriers at all 100%. However, under the fluency of speech, different people understand completely different ones. Yes, and who said that language knowledge should certainly include such a point as a natural accent. Language is only a tool of communication, and the main goal here is to be understood and convey your message. Therefore, do not be unnecessarily demanding. Change your expectations. Instead of mimicating under the Scots, Irish, or trying to adopt a fat American pronunciation so that Locals cannot recognize you as a stranger, set yourself more realistic goals. For example, learn to read middle -level books in English. Or be able to spread a couple of words in local residents during a vacation. These are much more fulfilled goals for beginners.

Now that we have somewhat changed our idea of ​​success, consider the hypothetical scenario. Who will master English faster - a six -year -old child whom parents recorded in English courses for children after school, or an adult who attends English courses after work? Most of this question will answer that the child, remembering that the brain of children is like a sponge and absorbs everything. After all, children study, practically without making any efforts, right?

Motivation

But some, knowing from the experience that motivation is an important success marker, would make a bet on an adult who pays for training from his own pocket, manages to find time to study English in his dense graphics and limits his weekend.

The adult has a clear goal, he knows what steps should be taken to achieve the task and will achieve the desired result after the year.

It is not the fact that the progress of the adult will be greater than that of the child, but still it is very likely. Children, despite all their natural abilities to perceive the new, are easily distracted and they need regular lunch breaks. In addition, not all children know how to work hard and make maximum efforts, unlike motivated adults.

Financial stability

Adults have more freedom of choice, which is explained by the presence of finances. It is no secret that the time spent abroad in a new culture surrounded by a new language can significantly improve language skills. And adults can afford such an experience. While on vacation or by retirement, we can benefit for ourselves during foreign trips and travel, studying at the university, or working at an international company. And how, in the case of individual lessons in English with the teacher, such an experience is a personal choice of an adult, and not his parents. Hence the probability of getting a higher result.

Previous experience

In adults who study English, there is experience in mastering their native language. For years they communicate, write and listen to their native speech, which makes it possible to accumulate a significant amount of knowledge (although possibly unconsciously) regarding how language mechanisms work. Such a base of knowledge helps a lot in learning new languages, especially if it is some kind of close, related language with similar grammatical patterns and vocabulary (Spanish/Italian or English/German).

Adults who teach English already have a kind of help, a springboard in the form of a native language. And even if an adult teaches a new language, which is very contrasting compared to his family, it will still be easier for him to understand new grammatical constructions than a child.

And this, of course, is not the whole experience. An adult studied at a school, a university, acquired other practical skills, such as the ability to change the wheel of a car, plant a tree, management of a small business, disputes with the boss, raising a child and so on, and so on. That is, an adult can easily write an essay on the topic “I study better when ...” such a set of strategies for learning and thinking is called meta -know, and this is a very useful tool in learning a new language. Fortunately, there are many ways to learn a language from weekly classes with a teacher to language courses abroad, which allows, for example, to learn English in a year. While the child has yet to master methods and approaches to the study of new objects and knowledge, adults are based on existing experience and can choose the most effective strategy.