Multiple studies have confirmed that there is a better age to learn English. However, this should not discourage those of other ages.
And what is the best age to learn English? One of the most relevant works in this regard was done by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in which almost 700,000 people were surveyed.
What is the best age to learn English?
The results were clear: the best age to learn English is between 10 and 11 years old. The study also makes it clear that from the age of 11, the ability to acquire other languages begins to decline, but it went further:
The MIT scientists also pointed out that it is easier to learn the grammar of a new language up to the age of 18, and that to achieve a “native” level it is best to learn the language before the age of 10.
What if I’m past the best age to learn English?
The good news is that this MIT study doesn’t demolish theories about the possibility of learning a language in adulthood. It just says that being children, it’s easier.
In fact, at York University they believe that the idea that you can’t learn a language in adulthood is questionable.
Especially because there are certain cases of people who manage to reach a native level having learned English after the age of 20.
And although, those cases are few, at Lingua Language Center we have seen our adult students learn to master English at a high level.
This is due, according to several authors, to the fact that adults have certain advantages when learning a language that children and adolescents do not have.
For example, the cognitive structures provided by experience. This allows adults to use learning techniques without thinking about them, that is, they have spent so much time learning various things that they can apply their personal methods to language acquisition.
Another advantage lies in the vocabulary. By knowing more words in their native language, adults can relate them etymologically to English words and learn them sometimes faster.
On the other hand, there are benefits to learning a language as an adult:
- Delayed neuronal aging, prevents diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
- Increased self-esteem.
- Increased synaptic connections.
- Neuronal regeneration is promoted.
Take advantage of the best age to learn English
From Lingua Language Center, our invitation is to take advantage of the learning peak of childhood and adolescence in you or your children. But at the same time, we want to make it clear that you can learn English at any age as long as you have the right methodology and the necessary motivation. Write to us today and we will give you all the information you need to take the first step and start speaking English.