THE BENEFITS OF LEARNING ANOTHER LANGUAGE

Continuing with children’s relationship with language, children learn “implicitly”, which means they are able to absorb have a substantial amount of knowledge of a language but are not consciously aware of it. Adults can possess a substantial amount of knowledge prior to developing any knowledge “that can be used with the same speed, accuracy, and spontaneity with which children use their implicit knowledge”. Teens and adults depend on analysis and working memory, whereas children utilize patterns in sound and short-term memory.

Because of the fluidity in learning with children, those who learn more than one language before the age of 6 are more likely to become native speakers in all aspects of a language but the older children get the harder it becomes to be fluent in a language (DeKeyser 1). Timing and sequence heavily impact how a person learns a language, so much that researchers have discovered distinctions between kinds of multilingualism​. An example of different​ kinds of multilingualism ​can be informal and formal bilinguals. People who are “formal bilinguals” are people who learn a language in school or academic settings, where people who are informal bilinguals learn their languages outside of settings like schools, “imitating the natural processes of acquiring the mother tongue”.

Another distinction in multilingualism is hyperpolyglots. Hyperpolyglots are multilingual people who are able to retain knowledge and learn languages at much faster rates than the average person. Their neurology is much different than most providing them the capabilities to learn several languages with ease. Research has shown that hyperpolyglots tend to be​ “males, left-handed and… take pleasure in pouring over grammar and vocabulary exercises that others might find tedious.”​ Hyperpolyglots also tend to use various methods to learn another language. These methods can range from being on online chat rooms where only one language is spoken, watching TV or listening to music in a language, reading a book in a language, and so much more.

In the experience of one hyperpolyglot, “​I’ll probably go through anywhere between three to 15 hours of audio programs and then, after I’m relatively confident in terms of vocabulary, I’ll start reading and watching the news. I’ll read the BBC, I’ll go through English and then Arabic, Farsi, maybe Swahili or Indonesian. I’m guessing [foreign language] would be to make it legal. You know, once I’m really confident with a language, I can watch a movie without reading the subtitles [background talking] and also, I can feel a little bit less guilty about you know, watching [laugh] soap operas.”​

Hyperpolyglots provide great insight into how the brain functions when learning multiple languages. Their proficiency can open new doors in the way of learning. I’ll be finishing up this series next month, so please stay tuned!

See you next month.